The Hayti herald. (Hayti, Mo.) 1908-1922, 1915-01-14

| CrosBley.Orr law, provides free text
books from the incidental fund Of q
district adopting same by proper vote
A proper proportion of the county fire
and insurance tax money received
from the state Is placed to the credit
Of the incidental fund Of such dis.
trict, thereby enabling It to purchase
free textbooks for the children. Be.
fore the adoption Of this law, free
textbooks were supplied to only Ave
districts in the state, whereas today
the number Of districts runs into the
hundreds.
To the end Missouri may ever be
ready to push forward our educational
interests, recommend tt7t you enact
law creating an education commits.
sion, consisting of three or Ave mem
bers appointed by the governor to
serve without pay, but whose expenses
are paid out Of the general revenue
fund.
Reformatory.
The penal institutions of the state
consist Of the penitentiary, Missouri
Training School for Boys, at Boon
Vile; Industrial Home for Girls, at
Chillicothe. and the Industrial Home
for Negro Girls, at Upton. The mere
punishment by confining in these
penal institutions is not the full meas.
ure Of the law. The state can and
should render higher service, that
Of reforming as large a per cent az
possible, bringing them back into the
paths of rectitude and good citizen
ship.
Realizing this, I believe there should
be a new building or buildings erected
at Boonville. and that institution made
not only a training school for boys,
but also a reformatory. The name Of
the institution should be changed from
"The Missouri Training School for
Boys" and there should be substituted
the name 1.-THE Missouri Reforma-
tory"
There should be different classes or
departments established in the re-
formatory, according to the offenses
committed. the age, conduct and char.
acter of the inmate, and provision
or department to another.
In having the training school and
reformatory at the same place and on
the same farm, presenting the good
and the bad as object lessons, and
what the reward would be il good, and
what the punishment would be if bad,
q very wholesome lesson could be
taught and great good follow. At the
same time, 1t would relieve the con.
gestion at the penitentiary, as our pen
itentiary is the largest single penal
institution in the world Perhaps some
200 or more men could be removed
from the penitentiary to the reforma-
tory, and the reformatory continue its
labors and industrial training, as the
Boonville training school is located
upon farm of 500 acres.
Good Roads.
Since the proclamation declaring
two Good Roads Days" in Missouri,
in August. 1913, there has been awak-
ened new spirit for this important
internal improvement. Since that time
some Is states have, by proclamation,
had their annual Good Roads Days."
and some of the foreign countries.
The public highways of the country
have ever marked by distinct epochs
its civilization, and agricultural and
progress. 1t has marked
it in the life of Missouri and of the
republic. Until the high
ways stand abreast our broadest
We will not be living up
to our best privileges and the highest
standard we can maintain in our civic
and commercial life. We need to con-
tinue the construction, improvement
and maintenance of our dirt and our
hard surface roads. The dirt road.
however, is the most important of all
the roads. 1t constitutes 80 per cent
OF the road mileage of the state, and
will continue so to do for many years
to come. 1t is the real road Of the
people and the great highway of COM
merce.
We are in favor of the construction
and maintenance of macadam, rock,
concrete and other high.grade roads
because every road that is constructed
and passes through section Of coun-
try that produces something is an In
ternal improvement of inestimable
value.
There are bad dirt roads and good
dirt reads. Bad dirt roads are a liabil-
ity. good dirt roads are an asset. Mis-
souri, cannot afford bad dirt roads, but
1t can afford good dirt roads. The dirt
roads reach out into country life like
and over them are moved
the products representing the real
commerce of the country. and their
will mean more to the
state and nation than any other one
achievement. which can be
brought about. We cannot make all
the roads in Missouri high-clas roads.
but we can make all the bad dirt
roads good dirt roads. and In the
meantime construct as many high
grade roads as possible.
Missouri has 63.37O miles Of unim-