Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1919-02-27
VOTE ON GOOD
ROAD AMENDMENT
Frank +. Rogers Tells of the
Importance of Good Roads
in State.
BETTER HIGHWAYS NEEDED
People to Have Chance To Pass on
Measure at Election To BE
Held in April.

graduate engineer 10 MI thesOllce OF
State Highway commissioner and
whose administration of that big de-
partment has been perhaps the
brightest spot in Wolverine politics
of recent years, draws some interest
ing deductions from the history Of
road building in Michigan, which
shows the evolution has been toward
the method of financing which calls
for the use of the states credit
The submission of an amendment
20 the constitution authorizing the
people. through their representatives
in the legislature, to bond Michigan
for a permanent, comprehensive sys-
TEN of main market highways IS but
a logical result of the march Of pro-
gress in road building in the Wolver-
inc state. Road building in Michi-
gan is not the simple problem it was
80 years ago" says Commissioner
Rogers. In the early days, when
the roads hardly justified the term
Of highways, the township had entire
control Of road building and main
tenance and maintenance IN those
days was a negative quantity. The
great majority of the work was done
by statue labor. The property own
ers went out on the roads with
teams, men, plows, wagons and other
farm tools and performed the neces-
sary work. At least they performed
such work as the overseers of the
several road districts directed.
"Any Michigan farmeri who's,
memory goes back to that age Of
road of improvement will smile as h'
recalls those happy days. He vii
remember how haphazard was th'
routine and how lacking in efiicienc!
and direction. Road work was in th'
nature of social gatherings in mos
instances. Ii was timed not 70 inter
! fere with the routine of the farm
work and being a local official, tn
district overseer never supposed an,
great burdens upon the men wh'
were called upon under the statute t.
do the work. The hours were shor
and the work made as easy as pos
sible. The quality of the road, S
long as it was kept in REASONABLY
passable condition, was of little i'm
portance In the light of present da
road building it was a joke. But
was a beginning and it led to bette
methods just as soon as the economi
lcal value of good roads began to ge
universal recognition.
During the last ten years 81 Mich
igan counties have adopted the sc
called good road system. This mad
the county rather than the local dist
rick the unit through which roa
building and maintenance was admir-
istered. Under this plan a tax
levied upon the property Of the count
TO obtain a fund fofr building sue
highways as the county road con
missioners elected should be built. |
the meantime, the system of state al
or state reward has been inaugurate
as a further spur to the movemer
of good roads.
ut worked out splendidly an
, Michigan took long strides along Il
pathway improvement. The trend {
. events always has been toward II
. big unit for control of road buildin
. land maintenance. There followt
: farther expansion. The social,
Covert law authorizes the state
: build and supervise the building
. roads and charge the cost to u
abutting property and propert
, holdings lying within a certain dis
t ance from the highway TO be in
: proved.
2 "The next step along the pathwa
of progress and toward the bigg,
unit of control for road building W.
4 registered when the United Stat
4 government took cognizance Of VIII
the states were doing TO provide goo
/ roads and inaugurated the federal a
t system. Michigan has alreaC
= reaped its reward from this syste
r and is destined to get a lot more a
D sistance from Uncle Sam II is
5 pave the way for federal aid that q
: legislature, without a dissenting vo
passed the resolution to submit
e the people Of the state an amendme
!, to the constitution which will make
h possible for the Wolverine state
}. have funds available TO match q
e federal government, dollar for dolla
= and get Michigan's share Of the S2OC
n 100000 good roads plum TO be di
2 tributed among the various states
e the union.
= "We now are facing probably &
o greatest era Of road building Mich
q gan ever has seen. The unanimo
d vote of the legislature submitting
o constitutional amendment to the vo
r ers which will allow the state to DO
e row not to exceed S50,0O0,000 for &
s improvement Of highways marks &
e climax Of the march Of events in &
e history Of road improvement in o
4 commonwealth. II should be Dor
!. in mind by the people that the vo
r on April is not to bond the sta
Continued on page four)