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The Clinton News Record, 1913-05-22, Page 4News -Record Sup lement Clinton, Ont., Maas 22nd 1913. Co-operation in Road Ma The Highway Problem is both local and Provincial wide. Good Roads are of direct importance to those who must use then seven days a week and to those who are dependent on them as channels of food supply or avenues for the distribu- tion of merchandise. They are also an asset of even nation- al importance and if real progress is to be made in the se- curing of a system of roads adequate to meet the increasing demands of modern traffic conditions, the co-operation be- tween local niuni,:ipalities . and the central provincial high- ways' organization will have to be extended. In developing a system of improved highways, the Pro- vince can co-operate with counties and townships ' in various, ways. Much good has already been done through -the assis- tance rendered municipalities by the Provincial office. With the increase of road building in the Province,: nothing can be' of more value than the extension of this work, Money alone will not build roads. The construction of highways demands the applicatien of scientific principles, intelligent administration and above all, organization and system, Dur- ing the past two decades, Ontario has put over $30,000;000 in money and statute labor on her township . roads. This expenditure, however, was made in a 'haphazard and spas- modic manner, and as a consequence few; if any, permanent results are to be found. With the passing of the 13ighway Act 01 1901, a measure of cooperation between Province and municipality was made possible and already the rudiments of a fairly well defined road system are beginning to make their appearance in various parts of the Province. One way in whichthe Province is already co-operating with municipalities is in the supplying of .expert advice on the technical side of highway construction. This assistance has been extended more particularly to townships and es- pecially to those in which statute labor has been wholly committed or abolished. Literature hearing on ro^d prob- lems have been distributed among municipal councillors and road overseers and advice has been freely offered whenever the Provincial Office has been consulted. The weakness of this method of co-operation lies in the fact that no provis- ion is made by which the standards .set can be enforced. On- ly the greatest public spirit and unanimity on the part of every individual called on to take advantage of the advice offered would suffice to made this system perfect and such public spirit atnl unanimity may exist -in Utopia, hut are not to be found in Ontario. The municipalities have ,not in themselves the capacity for sutlicient ipowers of supervision and organization and without these no well defined plan of roads' can be ,developed, or no fetid sufficiently large to pro- vide for substantial work can he established. Co operation is most effective which carries with it the authority to enforce certain recognized methods of organiza- tion and standards of construction. Backed by a fund suf- ficiently large, a provincial body is best fitted to perform this function; It is non proposed that a highway com- mission be appointed,to go into the problem on a provincial scale, and the report on this investigation will undoubtedly result, in the establishment of a system of highway ad- ministration. The lessons which the Province has already learned however, on the effebtiveness of close Provincial, co- operation with local' road activities will not be overlooked. The arrangement under the Highway Act •of 1901, by which the• Province pays a third of` the expenditure on coun- ty systems ande in return insists on certain standards of or- ganization and construction has been fruitful of permanent results. During the past year, over 240 miles of good road- way has been finished under this plan, Twenty counties are at work on this system and over 3,600 miles of highway king Gives Good Results. altogether have been drafted out"fror improvement. This is at least a fair beginning and whatever success has been achieved has sprung from an honest endeavor on the part of. everyone concerned to co-operate with the other on a ' com- mon plan of procedure. The systems assumed have been the choice of the county councils and the roads selected have been those Most calculated to serve the market requirements of the district. The actual construction' is in the hands of an engineer, but to advise and direct him, a committee of the council is usually selected. The plan of improvement outlinedimust be sanctioned by the Provincial Office, which also determines the standard of construction., In the new era of road building on which the Province is entering, the Government is getting ready to take a large part, but no matter how far it might be willing to go, it would be helpless without the co-operation of the individual ,municipalities. It rests with the local districts themselves to take the initiative and the sooner thecitizens of each municipality get together, analyze their road wants, deter- mine on a common plan of procedure, and get their ...case ready for presentation in a concrete form, the surer will be their chances of receiving official recognition and the sooner will their requirements be attended to.. It is up to each district to make known its own needs. No one will force good roads on it. The Wise City Man. The city mai said he was stuck , Upon the rural life, No longer wished to run amuck In noise and dust and strife. ' Said he; "I'd like to husk the eggs And dig the new mown hay, And monkey with the husking pegs, And 'milk the cows for whey. I'd like to pick the cream and cheese, And dig the apple crop, And drive a team of pure white geese, And feed the chickens slop. "It would be fun to groom the pigs, And carry off the cows, And hitch the roosters into rigs, And work the thrashing ploughs. `Twould be a treat to .shell the oats, And pick the buckwheat flour. And gather whiskers front the goats And sort them by the hour. "I'd like to cultivate the Bees, And pump the pale blue milk, And pick the pumpkins from the trees And do things of that ilk. "I'd like to pick the l gentle iambs And. shear the gentle hens. . And gather in the fresh Smoked hams And put the wasps in pens, "In fact, I think the ieountry life, Would be the thing for me ; I do not care for work and strife, I need the rest, you seek"