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IOWA ECONOMIC HISTORY SERIES 
 
 EDITED BY BENJAMIN F. SHAMBAUGH 
 
EOAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
IOWA ECONOMIC HISTORY SERIES 
 EDITED BY BENJAMIN F. SHAMBAUGH 
 
 HISTORY OF 
 
 ROAD LEGISLATION 
 
 IN IOWA 
 
 BY 
 JOHN E. BRINDLEY 
 
 PUBLISHED AT IOWA CITY IOWA IN 1912 BY 
 THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA 
 
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 There is a widespread feeling that highway ad- 
 ministration in Iowa is inefficient and that our road 
 legislation needs rewriting. Indeed, the demand for 
 adequate legislation as to roads is quite as general as 
 the demand for tax reform. Moreover, wise legislation 
 in the one case as well as in the other will seek to make 
 advance along the lines of experience. Thus, the his- 
 tory of road legislation must be made the starting point 
 in any well directed effort to inaugurate reform meas- 
 ures. To know what has been done and what is now 
 being done, here and elsewhere, as to highway admin- 
 istration is to know what were best to do in the future. 
 
 The history of road legislation in Iowa reveals at 
 every stage the supreme importance of local govern- 
 ment in the State's administration. It is evident that 
 the time has come when more attention must be given 
 to administration in the townships and counties ; for in 
 the political readjustments which are pending the most 
 extensive redefinition will be along lines of local admin- 
 istration. Moreover, in the redefinition of local insti- 
 tutions and methods of administration history will 
 serve as our most helpful guide. 
 
 BENJ. F. SHAMBAUGH 
 
 OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT AND EDITOR 
 
 THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA 
 
 IOWA CITY 1912 
 
 960357 
 
 vii 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 In the preparation of this volume on the History of Road 
 Legislation in Iowa the author has endeavored to make 
 that thorough and impartial study of the historical facts 
 and tendencies which is demanded not only for the Iowa 
 Economic History Series but for all other publications of 
 The State Historical Society of Iowa. Moreover, since it 
 is now proposed to use the materials of this volume as the 
 basis of a contribution to an applied history series, in which 
 the subject of highways will be discussed in reference to a 
 rational program of constructive legislation, exhaustive in- 
 vestigation and disinterested research are doubly impera- 
 tive. 
 
 In reference to the scope of the present volume, the 
 reader's attention is called to three important considera- 
 tions. First, the history of road legislation is so closely 
 connected with the history of township and county govern- 
 ment that some overlapping in the discussion of these 
 subjects is unavoidable. Second, this history of road legis- 
 lation in Iowa does not include a concrete or detailed 
 consideration of road and bridge administration for the 
 simple reason that under the forms of local government 
 which have prevailed in Iowa these problems belong pri- 
 marily to township and county government; and so their 
 detailed treatment may well be left for a county history 
 series. Third, an historical and comparative analysis of 
 the important facts and tendencies in relation to construc- 
 
 ix 
 
x AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 tive legislation and to administrative reform is not given 
 in this volume for the reason that a paper dealing specific- 
 ally with those phases of the subject will appear in the 
 Iowa Applied History Series. 
 
 Where the subject of the present volume touches the his- 
 tory of township and county government the author 's 
 researches covered little more than the general history of 
 local administration as recorded in the statutes. In this 
 connection, fortunately, access was had to the as yet un- 
 published History of Township Government in Iowa, by Dr. 
 Clarence E. Aurner, and to certain chapters of Dr. Frank 
 H. Garver's History of County Government in Iowa. To 
 both Dr. Aurner and Dr. Grarver the author is indebted for 
 valuable information and suggestions. Moreover, Dr. 
 Aurner 's History of Johnson County, and Mr. Crawford's 
 The County Judge System with Special Reference to its 
 Workings in Pottawattamie County are suggestive of the 
 possibilities and the importance of research in the field of 
 local administration in Iowa. Manifestly the history of 
 actual administration in the townships and counties is 
 essential to the proper understanding of problems con- 
 nected with highways and bridges, the control and super- 
 vision of which have always been primarily a function of 
 local administration. 
 
 The work of preparing this volume was greatly facili- 
 tated in many ways by that most excellent laboratory of 
 historical research, The State Historical Society of Iowa. 
 Under the pressure of numerous duties demanding his 
 attention, the author would have been unable to complete 
 the book for publication at this time had it not been for the 
 invaluable assistance of the Society. In this connection 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE xi 
 
 special acknowledgments are due to the Superintendent, 
 Dr. Benj. P. Shambaugh, and the Assistant Editor, Dr. 
 Dan E. Clark, for carefully editing the monograph and for 
 making some important additions to the text of several of 
 the chapters. The author is under obligation to Dr. Dan E. 
 Clark for the preparation of the index, to Miss Eliza L. 
 Johnson and Miss M. Florence Franzen for verifying the 
 references from the original sources, and to Professor L. B. 
 Schmidt for a careful reading of the proof sheets. Mention 
 should also be made of the courtesies extended by the 
 Burlington Public Library, the State Law Library, and the 
 Historical Department of Iowa. 
 
 JOHN E. BEINDLEY 
 
 THE IOWA STATE COLLEGE OF 
 
 AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS 
 
 AMES IOWA 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. EAKLY ROAD LEGISLATION IN THE TERRITORIES OF 
 
 MICHIGAN AND WISCONSIN 1833-1838 . . 1 
 
 II. THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 1838-1846 . . 29 
 
 III. THE GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 1846- 
 
 1851 57 
 
 IV. ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRALIZATION: THE COUNTY 
 
 ROAD SUPERVISOR 1851-1853 77 
 
 V. ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALIZATION: THE DIS- 
 TRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 1853-1860 ... 99 
 
 VI. THE COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 
 
 1860-1870 126 
 
 VII. PERIOD OF TRANSITION 1870-1884 .... 155 
 
 VIII. THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 1883-1904 . . 184 
 
 IX. THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 1904-1912 . 217 
 
 X. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION . . 265 
 
 APPENDIX DATA RELATIVE TO ROAD ADMINIS- 
 TRATION IN THE UNITED STATES .... 293 
 
 NOTES AND REFERENCES 353 
 
 INDEX , . . 403 
 
 Xlll 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION IN THE TERRITORIES 
 OF MICHIGAN AND WISCONSIN 
 
 1833-1838 // ! V r.; J 
 
 / * * *" 
 
 No sooner had the Sac and Fox Indians vacated the lands 
 which had been ceded to the United States by the treaty of 
 September 21, 1832, than settlers from all parts of the 
 Union began to pour into the Iowa country. Many came by 
 way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. But this was by no 
 means the only route by which the early emigrants reached 
 the newly acquired lands west of the Mississippi. Travers- 
 ing the main thoroughfares of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
 Kentucky, and Missouri in the years immediately following 
 the treaty of 1832 were countless emigrant wagons t ' slowly 
 wending their way over the broad prairies the cattle and 
 hogs, men and dogs, and frequently women and children, 
 forming the rear of the van often ten, twenty, and thirty 
 wagons in company". 1 They were ferried across the Mis- 
 sissippi on flat-boats which were propelled by means of 
 poles and oars or later by steam. 
 
 What determined the course of travel for these pioneer 
 settlers on their way to the new country ? Established 
 roads, of course, there were none. Indian trails, worn 
 down by the tread of herds of buffaloes, were sometimes 
 encountered ; and, although these narrow paths were better 
 adapted to the Indian's single-file mode of travel, the 
 pioneers followed them in not a few instances as the lines 
 of least resistance. The Indians and the buffaloes had 
 instinctively selected the most convenient routes along 
 river banks, upon the ridges, across prairies, and through 
 
2 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 timber-land to practicable fording-places in creeks and 
 rivers. 2 Where no trail of any sort pointed the way, or 
 where trees grew densely or fallen trunks blocked the path, 
 the pioneers selected their own routes. Eidges afforded the 
 best lines of travel for the ox and horse teams and heavy 
 wagons because they shed rain quickly and were swept 
 <^le%CQ of brush and leaves and snow by the wind. 
 ;*':.*.. Frorn 1833 until 1838 there was an almost total absence 
 ; **'".. of jpubUc roads and bridges in the Iowa country: thorough- 
 fares from place to place were but little more than what 
 nature and travel made them. An eminent visitor from 
 Europe after riding several miles across a newly settled 
 prairie region in Iowa declared: "Road is, to be honest, 
 mere euphemism here, a figurative expression, a sort of 
 poetic license; as for a highway, there was none or just a 
 trail." 3 As a matter of fact the first roadways in Iowa 
 were fairly well suited to travel at least in dry weather, 
 when streams were also easily fordable. But after a time 
 when wagon wheels had worn deep grooves in the prairie 
 sod, when heavy rains had filled these receptacles on level 
 stretches or had washed deep gullies on the hillsides, and 
 when sloughs and creeks and rivers were rendered danger- 
 ous or absolutely impassable in the absence of bridges and 
 proper drainage, the pioneers found themselves face to face 
 with the serious problem of adequate highways. Trans- 
 portation except by canoe or flat-boat on the larger streams 
 of eastern Iowa was rendered well-nigh impossible. 
 
 With hauling absolutely necessary and distances long, 
 whether to village or to mill, the farmers of the Iowa 
 country endured untold hardships. Moreover, transporta- 
 tion by means of slow-moving ox teams was much retarded 
 by the inconvenience of ice and snow in the winter and by 
 mud and rain in the spring. Becoming mired in some 
 mucky slough and thus being indefinitely delayed was no 
 uncommon occurrence. A well-known judge, when starting 
 
EARLY EOAD LEGISLATION 3 
 
 on a twelve-mile stage journey to Iowa City in 1840, in- 
 quired of the driver how long it would take to make the 
 journey. " About five hours, if we can find the bottom of 
 the road ' ', was the reply. This judge, who rode his circuit 
 several times a year, has preserved for posterity a picture 
 of the difficulties of travel in early Iowa in the following 
 words : 
 
 We can hardly realize the trials and hardships of law practice 
 forty years ago. . . . Think of the forded Iowa, the over- 
 flowing Cedar, the muddy Turkey, the deceitful English, the quag- 
 miry Fox Run, the Skunk and Coon, the Wapsy, and even for the 
 most part the beautiful, placid and gentle Des Moines; and think 
 of them as I have known them, without bridges, without boats, out 
 of their banks and without bottom. Think too of the muddy roads 
 and bottomless sloughs, of the mere blind paths from one village or 
 settlement to another. 4 
 
 The rapid settlement of the country west of the Missis- 
 sippi River, following the opening of the Black Hawk 
 Purchase, necessitated immediate provision for local gov- 
 ernment. Accordingly, the Iowa country, which had been 
 without a local constitutional status since the admission of 
 Missouri in 1821, was attached to and made a part of the 
 Territory of Michigan in June, 1834. In September of the 
 same year a system of local government was actually put 
 into operation by the creation of the counties of Dubuque 
 and Demoine, the establishment of the townships of Julien 
 and Flint Hill, and the appointment of a list of local officials 
 by the Governor. 5 Moreover, the demands for a more ade- 
 quate administration of local affairs led in 1836 to the 
 establishment of the original Territory of Wisconsin, and 
 in 1838 to the creation of the independent Territory of 
 Iowa. Thus the most logical course of historical develop- 
 ment for the local institutions of Iowa was from the Old 
 Northwest through the Territories of Michigan and Wis- 
 consin. 
 
4 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 It would, however, be somewhat misleading to assume 
 that the statutes of the Territory of Michigan as adopted 
 or amended by the Legislative Assembly of the original 
 Territory of Wisconsin were reenacted without important 
 changes by the pioneers of Iowa. The fact that Robert 
 Lucas, the first Governor of the Territory of Iowa, had 
 come from Ohio where he had not only served as Governor 
 but for years had occupied a seat in the legislature, would 
 naturally insure attention to the local institutions of that 
 State. 6 Moreover, when one considers the fact that the 
 early settlers of Iowa came from all parts of the Union 
 from the South as well as from New England and the 
 Middle "States it is logical to expect to find in the early 
 local government of this Commonwealth a somewhat com- 
 plex structure, the product of forces and influences of which 
 the origins are difficult to trace. 
 
 It is also obvious that any study of roads will of necessity 
 lead far into the history of township and county govern- 
 ment, since the care of roads and highways has always been 
 regarded as a function of local administration. Indeed, the 
 problem of the roads is a problem of local government. 
 Furthermore, a study of the history of road legislation in 
 this State must contain a review not only of the laws of 
 Iowa but of the statutes of the earlier jurisdictions of the 
 Old Northwest as well. 
 
 In his scholarly monograph on the History of Township 
 Government in Iowa Dr. C. R. Aurner compares the first 
 law relative to townships enacted by the Legislative As- 
 sembly of the Territory of Iowa with an early law of Ohio 
 dealing with the same subject. 7 In both of these laws it is 
 made the duty of the township clerk "to record in a book 
 to be provided by him for that purpose, all private roads 
 and cart-ways, by the trustees established " the compen- 
 sation for such service being fixed at nine cents per hundred 
 words in Ohio and at ten cents per hundred words in Iowa. 8 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 5 
 
 To the student of comparative legislation it will be instruc- 
 tive to note in this connection that "An Act to provide for 
 laying out and opening Territorial Roads", passed by the 
 First Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa, was 
 taken practically verbatim from the statutes of Michigan 
 and Wisconsin; 9 and that "An Act defining the duties of 
 supervisors of roads and highways" and "An Act for 
 opening and regulating roads and highways", passed by 
 the Second Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa, 
 were copied from the statutes of Ohio. 10 These laws, it is 
 evident, deserve a detailed consideration ; but before mak- 
 ing this analysis the road laws of the Territory of Michigan 
 and of the original Territory of Wisconsin will be examined. 
 
 In 1830 "An Act declaring the roads established by the 
 Government of the United States within the Territory of 
 Michigan public highways, and for other purposes", passed 
 by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, 
 provided that when such roads were completed and accepted 
 by the general government they should be placed under the 
 jurisdiction of the commissioners and overseers of high- 
 ways of the several districts and townships through which 
 they passed. 11 The commissioners and overseers were, 
 moreover, given the same authority over such roads as over 
 the other public highways of their respective districts or 
 townships. In order to form a clear understanding of the 
 legislation which followed the passage of this act, however, 
 it is necessary to make a brief study of the essential fea- 
 tures of the system of local government which prevailed at 
 that time. 
 
 By the provisions of a Michigan act approved on July 
 31, 1830, the township board was composed of the super- 
 visor, the township clerk, and the justices of the peace or a 
 majority of them, who were required to meet at the clerk 's 
 office on the first day of January. 12 Moreover, the powers 
 and duties of the township supervisor are outlined in the 
 
6 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 provisions of an act approved on April 17, 1833. Briefly 
 stated, he was obliged to receive and disburse all moneys 
 raised in the township for all township purposes, except 
 moneys raised for the support of the poor; and he was 
 required to render a true and complete account of receipts 
 and expenditures, which was to be audited by the justices 
 of the peace and the township clerk. 13 In fact, the township 
 board in their warrant to the collector of each respective 
 town (township) required him to pay the sums raised and 
 collected for town (township) purposes into the hands of 
 the supervisor of the town (township). 14 Thus it appears 
 that the supervisor from a legislative standpoint was an 
 important county official, while from a fiscal standpoint he 
 was a township official possessing large powers and respon- 
 sibilities. 
 
 From an examination of the statute laws it is apparent 
 that by 1834 a complete system of township organization 
 and government had been established in the Territory of 
 Michigan. The inhabitants of the several townships of the 
 Territory who were qualified to vote for Delegate to Con- 
 gress had the right to meet annually on the first Monday in 
 April and select the following township officers : one super- 
 visor, one town clerk, not less than three nor more than 
 five assessors, one collector, two directors of the poor, 
 three commissioners of highways, as many constables, 
 fence viewers, and pound-masters as might be necessary, 
 and a number of overseers of highways corresponding to 
 the number of road districts in each of the townships. 15 
 It is evident that the township had become a very important 
 unit of government with reference to the assessment of 
 property and the collection of taxes on the one hand; and 
 in the laying out, building, and maintaining of roads on the 
 other hand. The influence of New England and New York 
 is clearly seen in this legislation. In fact, the county board 
 of supervisors, composed as it was of representatives from 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 7 
 
 the civil townships, was modeled after the New York or 
 township-county system. Judged from the important 
 standpoint of representation it was in reality a township 
 rather than a county board. 
 
 Now the .significance of the legislation enacted by the 
 Territory of Michigan prior to September, 1834, is apparent 
 from the provisions of an act of the Legislative Council 
 approved on September 6, 1834, establishing the counties of 
 Dubuque and Demoine and creating the townships of Julien 
 and Flint Hill west of the Mississippi Eiver. Among other 
 things this act provides that "All laws now in force in the 
 county of Iowa, not locally inapplicable, shall be and hereby 
 are extended to the counties of Dubuque and Demoine, and 
 shall be in force therein". 16 In other words, the acts deal- 
 ing with the subject of roads passed prior to September, 
 1834, are directly connected with, indeed form a part of, 
 the early history of road legislation in the Territory of 
 Iowa which will be considered in Chapter II. 
 
 Turning now to the more important statutes enacted by 
 the Territory of Michigan on the subject of roads and road 
 administration it appears that "An Act to regulate High- 
 ways " approved on April 17, 1833, is very comprehensive 
 and gives a detailed outline of the methods employed in 
 building and maintaining roads and bridges. By the pro- 
 visions of this act it was made the duty of the commis- 
 sioners of highways to give directions relative to the 
 repairing of roads and bridges within their townships; to 
 regulate roads already laid out and alter such as a majority 
 of them might deem convenient and desirable; to see that 
 all roads were entered on record in the township clerk's 
 office; to keep in repair all highways and bridges; to see 
 that due and proper notice was given to persons assessed 
 to work on the highways ; and to have full power and lawful 
 authority within certain restrictions to lay out new roads, 
 when the same were deemed necessary and proper, and to 
 
8 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 discontinue old roads and highways. In other words, the 
 commissioners of highways, who were elected annually, 
 possessed extensive powers of supervision and control in 
 regard to the construction and maintenance of both high- 
 ways and bridges. 17 
 
 In order to carry out the actual work of road administra- 
 tion, the township commissioners of highways or a majority 
 of them were clothed with authority to divide the township 
 into a convenient number of road districts and to assign to 
 each district a resident overseer. This, of course, meant 
 further decentralization in the important work of road 
 supervision the township being broken up into sub- 
 districts for that purpose. 
 
 The general powers and duties of the overseers of high- 
 ways, as prescribed by the statute under consideration, are 
 defined in these words : 
 
 That it shall be the duty of overseers of highways to repair and 
 keep in order the highways within the several districts for which 
 they shall be elected; to warn all persons assessed to work on the 
 highways in their respective districts to come and work, when re- 
 quired to do so by the commissioners or any of them ; to collect all 
 commutation money, and to execute all such orders of the com- 
 missioners of the township to which they belong, as shall be given 
 them in conformity to law; and if any overseer shall be employed 
 more days in executing the several duties enjoined on him by this 
 act than he is assessed to work on the highways, he shall be paid for 
 the excess at the rate of seventy-five cents per day, and be allowed 
 to retain the same out of the monies which may come into his hands 
 for fines, in conformity to this act, but shall not be permitted to 
 commute for the days he is assessed. 18 
 
 All freeholders and every free male inhabitant between 
 the ages of twenty-one and fifty, except clergymen, were 
 required to work on the highways. The commissioners of 
 highways in each township were directed to hold an annual 
 meeting on the fifteenth day of May and to meet as often 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 9 
 
 thereafter as seemed necessary. At the meeting of the 
 commissioners the township clerk presented a complete list 
 of all the persons residing in the township liable for high- 
 way taxes which list had been received from the various 
 road overseers. On the basis of this list the township com- 
 missioners of highways were required to apportion the 
 necessary amount of highway labor among the persons re- 
 turned by the overseers of the various road districts. The 
 apportionment of work having been made, the township 
 clerk was required to prepare a copy of the lists and after 
 signing and attaching warrants thereto, to deliver the same 
 to the overseers, which lists served as a basis for actual 
 work in each road district. 19 It is thus apparent that the 
 road overseers, the township commissioners of highways, 
 and the township clerk formed a definite local organization 
 for the administration of roads and bridges. 
 
 The actual work of the overseers of highways in the sub- 
 districts of the township is clearly outlined in the statute. 
 Among other duties, they were given authority to make an 
 assessment for extra work to be apportioned as nearly as 
 possible on the same basis as regular work and not to ex- 
 ceed one-third of the number of days already assessed in 
 the same year. The overseer also allowed credit for teams 
 and tools as outlined in the statute and received payment 
 in cash when any taxpayer so desired, the money being 
 applied and expended for the improvement of roads and 
 bridges in the same district. Finally, it was the duty of 
 overseers of highways to give at least two days' notice to 
 all persons assessed to work on the highways and, in case 
 of refusal to work or to pay the amount in cash, the over- 
 seer was given power by virtue of his warrants to collect 
 the same, together with the penalty prescribed by law. 20 
 
 The commissioners of highways in the several townships 
 were given authority to assess upon all farms owned by 
 non-residents a due and equitable proportion of the high- 
 
10 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 way tax according to the valuation made by the assessor. 
 In case the non-resident failed to have the necessary labor 
 performed or to pay the commutation money in lieu thereof, 
 it was made the duty of the overseer to report the same to 
 the commissioners of highways, who in turn were required 
 to post in some public place an accurate description of the 
 land owned by the non-resident, which description was filed 
 with the treasurer of the county, and the lands thus taxed 
 were made liable in the same manner and under the same 
 penalties as in the case of failure to pay county taxes. The 
 commissioners also had the power to direct the overseer of 
 highways to purchase scrapers and other tools necessary 
 in working the roads. 
 
 After the actual work on the roads was completed, it was 
 made the duty of the overseers of highways to ' l render an 
 account to the commissioners of the township, or any two 
 of them, who shall meet together on that day for the pur- 
 pose of receiving such returns, of all persons assessed to 
 work on the highways in the district of which he is overseer ; 
 of all those who have actually worked on the road or high- 
 way, with the number of days they have so worked; of all 
 those who have commuted, of the manner in which the 
 monies arising from commutations have been expended; 
 and shall pay to the said commissioners all monies remain- 
 ing in his hands unexpended, to be applied in making and 
 improving the roads and bridges in said township, in such 
 manner as they shall direct; and if any overseer shall 
 neglect or refuse to render such account, or, having ren- 
 dered such account, shall refuse or neglect to pay any 
 balance which may then be payable by him, he shall forfeit 
 the sum of five dollars ; which said penalty and balance, so 
 unpaid, shall be recovered by the said commissioners, or 
 the survivor or survivors of them, in their or his name, by 
 action of debt, in any court having cognizance thereof, with 
 costs of suits ; and the forfeiture so recovered shall, by the 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 11 
 
 commissioners, or such survivor or survivors of them, be 
 applied in making and improving the roads and bridges in 
 such township." 21 
 
 Penalties were imposed upon all overseers of highways 
 who neglected or refused to carry out their duties as pre- 
 scribed by law. In case of any vacancy in the office of 
 overseer, by death or otherwise, the commissioners of the 
 township in which the vacancy occurred were clothed with 
 authority to appoint a successor possessing the same pow- 
 ers, subject to the same orders and liable to the same fines, 
 forfeitures, and penalties as the overseer elected or ap- 
 pointed in the first instance. 
 
 The method of laying out roads through improved or 
 orchard land is described in detail by the act, the commis- 
 sioners of highways being given authority to lay out such a 
 road on application of twelve freeholders of the township 
 certifying that the same was necessary and proper. In 
 case roads were actually laid out through cultivated, im- 
 proved, or orchard land, the owner was allowed the damages 
 which he had sustained, the same to be determined and 
 assessed by two justices of the peace and by the oath of 
 twelve freeholders not having an interest in the land to be 
 laid out as a road or highway, or by three commissioners 
 appointed by a judge of the circuit court of the county in 
 which the land was situated. 22 
 
 In case of a disagreement between the commissioners of 
 different townships in regard to the laying out of a new 
 road, or the alteration of an old road extending into both 
 townships, it was made the duty of the two boards of com- 
 missioners to meet together at the request of either board 
 and make their determination upon the subject of their 
 disagreement. It was further provided that roads located 
 upon the line between two townships should be laid out by 
 two or more of the commissioners of highways of each of 
 the townships, the same to be divided into two road dis- 
 
12 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 tricts, one to be located in each township. The method of 
 laying out and working private roads was also specifically 
 defined by the statute. 23 
 
 By the provisions of the act under consideration, public 
 roads laid out by the township commissioners of highways 
 were required to be not less than four rods wide, while 
 private roads were not to be less than two rods wide. 
 Public roads were to be opened within six years after the 
 passing of the act or within six years from the time the 
 same were laid out, otherwise such roads ceased to be public 
 highways for any purpose whatsoever. Moreover, all pub- 
 lic highways laid out according to law and of which a 
 record was kept in the office of the county clerk continued 
 to be public highways unless altered or changed in con- 
 formity with the provisions of law. 
 
 Penalties were prescribed for the obstructing of any 
 highways ; and the money thus obtained was to be paid into 
 the hands of the commissioners of highways and be applied 
 in improving the public roads and bridges of the township 
 where the penalty was imposed. The law also specified the 
 method of removing encroachments from highways, pro- 
 vided necessary penalties in case the same were not re- 
 moved, and further stipulated the exact method for fixing or 
 determining the penalties. 24 
 
 The extent to which the administration of roads and 
 bridges was at this time (1833) a township function is ap- 
 parent when one considers the large powers conferred upon 
 the commissioners of highways at every stage in the prog- 
 ress of the work. The section outlining the nature of the 
 report made by the commissioners of highways at the close 
 of the year for which they were elected reads as follows : 
 
 That the commissioners of highways in each of their respective 
 townships shall render to the supervisors, township clerks and 
 justices of the peace, or a majority of them, at their meetings on the 
 Tuesdays preceding the annual township meeting, an account of the 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 13 
 
 labor assessed and performed on the highways in their respective 
 townships, and of the sums received by them for fines and com- 
 mutations, and all other monies received under this act, and the 
 improvements which have been made on the roads and bridges in 
 their respective townships during the year immediately preceding 
 such report, together with an account of the state of such roads and 
 bridges, with a statement of the improvements necessary to be made 
 thereon, in any particular road district, and an estimate of the 
 probable expense of making such improvements, beyond what the 
 labor to be assessed in such district in that year will accomplish; 
 and the said supervisor, township clerk and justices, at their meet- 
 ing as aforesaid, shall examine said account and make out a cer- 
 tificate containing the substance thereof, and deliver the same 
 certificate to the township clerk of said township, to be by him kept 
 on file, for the inspection of any of the inhabitants of said township ; 
 and the commissioners shall, under their hands, declare to the 
 supervisor of such township a like statement of the improvements 
 necessary to be made in any particular road district, on the roads 
 or bridges, and that in their opinion the labor to be assessed in such 
 district, in such year, will not be sufficient to make such improve- 
 ment, but that the inhabitants would be overburthened, to be re- 
 quired to perform the same without aid from the township, and in 
 that statement set forth the sum they would recommend for that 
 object, and the said supervisor shall lay the same before the board 
 of supervisors at their next meeting ; and the said board of super- 
 visors are hereby required to cause the same to be assessed, levied, 
 and collected, in such township, in the same manner the other con- 
 tingent charges are by law directed to be levied and collected, and 
 which sums, when so collected, shall be paid over without delay, by 
 the collector of such township, out of the first monies coming into 
 his hands, except the money raised in such township for the support 
 of the poor thereof ; to be paid to the township clerk of such town- 
 ship, and by him to the overseer of the road district where the same 
 is to apply, on the order of one or more of the commissioners of 
 highways of such township : Provided, That the monies to be raised 
 as aforesaid, in any one township, and in any one year, for such 
 purpose, shall not exceed one hundred dollars. 25 
 
14 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The decentralization of the system providing for the ad- 
 ministration of roads and bridges is obvious from a careful 
 reading of the section just quoted. The work of supervision 
 and control was parcelled out among a large group of local 
 officials without any scientific plan or definite purpose. The 
 method, however, of dividing the expense between the town- 
 ship and the road districts concerned, in order that the 
 inhabitants of a certain road district might not be over- 
 burdened, is worthy of special mention since it has a direct 
 bearing upon the problem of properly distributing road and 
 bridge taxes between the various units of government 
 State, county, and local. 
 
 In order to prevent the taxpayers of any particular town- 
 ship from being unreasonably overburdened by erecting or 
 repairing any necessary bridge or bridges in such township, 
 the county board of supervisors was given authority to levy 
 a regular county tax to meet all or such part of the expense 
 as they might deem proper for that purpose. The money 
 thus collected was paid over to the commissioners of high- 
 ways of the township in which the same was to be expended 
 on the order of the supervisor. The purpose of this pro- 
 vision was obviously to bring about a more equitable dis- 
 tribution of road taxes as between county and townships. 
 In other words, the road law under consideration provided 
 a method of apportioning extraordinary burdens, first as 
 between the township and the road district, and second, as 
 between the county and the township. 
 
 After stipulating that the township commissioners of 
 highways should cause proper guideposts to be erected 26 
 and be allowed one dollar per day for every day they were 
 employed in carrying out their official duty, the act provides 
 an additional safeguard for the rights of the individual. 
 In case any persons were not satisfied with the determina- 
 tion of the commissioners of highways either in laying out, 
 altering, or discontinuing highways, or with any refusal to 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 15 
 
 lay out or alter or discontinue any road, they were given the 
 privilege within twenty days thereafter to appeal to the 
 judges of the circuit court, who were required to meet at 
 the earliest convenient date and determine whether the 
 grievance was well founded. It was further provided that 
 roads laid out in accordance with the decision of judges 
 could be changed only by order of the same judges or of 
 their successors in office. Briefly stated, this clause pro- 
 vided for a definite judicial administration of highways 
 under certain conditions, which might protect the rights of 
 the individual, but which did not necessarily insure the 
 efficient administration of law. This provision meant a 
 further decentralization in road administration. In other 
 words, it emphasized individualism at the sacrifice of 
 efficiency. 
 
 As a matter of fact, one of the most important character- 
 istics of the Michigan road law of 1833 was the extent to 
 which authority was carefully parcelled out among a group 
 of local officials. Thus it is that in the study of road legis- 
 lation one meets with the fundamental principle of our 
 constitutional and legal system that the rights of the in- 
 dividual may be best conserved by following to its logical 
 conclusion the so-called doctrine of the separation of 
 powers. Moreover, this principle, which underlies the 
 organization of both the Federal and State governments, 
 has in a large measure been adopted in the field of local 
 government. Thus in the law under consideration there is 
 evident a careful balancing of authority and power between 
 the county, the township, and the road district or sub- 
 division of the township. Not content with dividing up the 
 supervision of highways between the county board of 
 supervisors acting as a county legislative body (each super- 
 visor acting as the legislator of his township), the township 
 commissioners of highways, the sub-district overseers of 
 highways, the juries of freeholders appointed for various 
 
16 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 purposes, the township collector, and the township clerk, 
 the Michigan statute provides for an appeal to the judges 
 of the circuit court to guarantee still further the rights or 
 supposed rights of the individual. It should be especially 
 noted that the appeal was not made merely for a judicial 
 purpose, but that the administration of roads under such 
 conditions was actually placed in the hands of the court. 
 Considered from the standpoint of local government the 
 Michigan statute is an example of how the work of admin- 
 istration may be broken up, decentralized, and dismem- 
 bered so that practically nothing is left except a confused 
 mass of statutory provisions. 
 
 Moreover, it should be observed in this connection that 
 while there were laws on the statute books, very little in the 
 way of actual work was done on the roads in the sparsely 
 settled region west of the Mississippi during the years from 
 1834 to 1836 when the Iowa country was under the juris- 
 diction of the Territory of Michigan. The settlements for 
 the most part clung to the banks of rivers and creeks, and 
 waterways were the avenues most used for the marketing 
 of farm products. Furthermore, the pioneers were primari- 
 ly interested during the first years in building houses and 
 clearing the land. Hence it is probable that little effort, 
 official or unofficial, was made to improve the condition of 
 the old Indian trails, which were practically the only roads 
 of that day, except perhaps to throw a few new logs across 
 a muddy creek or to clear a new path through the forest. 
 
 The cumbersome and confused system of road adminis- 
 tration adopted in the Territory of Michigan was not, 
 however, required by the pioneer conditions which pre- 
 vailed in the original Territory of Wisconsin. The country 
 was sparsely settled, and for that reason, if for no other, a 
 larger unit of organization and administration seemed to 
 be desirable. And so an act was passed by the Council and 
 House of Representatives of the Territory of Wisconsin 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 17 
 
 and approved on December 7, 1836, amending a series of 
 Michigan acts, including the one regulating highways which 
 was approved on April 17, 1833. The Wisconsin statute 
 provided that "each county within this Territory now 
 organized or that may be hereafter organized, be and the 
 same is hereby declared one township, for all the purposes 
 of carrying into effect the above recited acts, and that there 
 shall be elected at the annual town meeting in each township 
 three supervisors, who shall perform, in addition to the 
 duties heretofore assigned them as a county board, the 
 duties heretofore performed by the township board. " 2T 
 The same statute stipulated that the township clerk elected 
 in each county should, in addition to the duties already 
 prescribed, perform the duties of clerk of the board of 
 supervisors. Finally, the sum required to commute for 
 work on the highways was increased to $1.25 per day. In 
 other words, the basis of local administration was in name 
 the township, but in fact it was the county : the duties here- 
 tofore performed by the township board were now placed 
 in the hands of three county supervisors. 
 
 By the time the original Territory of Wisconsin was 
 established in 1836 the settlements west of the Mississippi 
 had extended further into the interior, away from the 
 larger rivers and streams, and the need of more adequate 
 roads began to be keenly felt. Moreover, thriving towns 
 had sprung up from one end of the Black Hawk Purchase 
 to the other, and there arose the necessity of routes for 
 overland communication between these towns which would 
 be at least reasonably dependable during all seasons of the 
 year. The financial condition of the people and the fact 
 that the settlements were widely scattered seemed to re- 
 quire something more than laws providing for the laying 
 out and improvement of roads by local authorities. And 
 so the Legislative Assembly established the policy of pro- 
 viding by law for the laying out and opening of what were 
 
18 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 known as Territorial roads between the principal towns and 
 settlements of the Territory in order to facilitate trade 
 and travel and promote the settlement of the country, the 
 expense of laying out and caring for such roads being paid 
 by the counties through which they passed. 
 
 Thus was inaugurated the practice of establishing Terri- 
 torial roads in the Iowa country by special acts of the 
 legislature a custom which was not abandoned until the 
 State of Iowa adopted its second Constitution in 1857. 
 During the two years from 1836 to 1838 three Territorial 
 roads were established in that part of the original Terri- 
 tory of Wisconsin which lay west of the Mississippi Eiver, 
 while others were laid out in what is now the State of 
 Wisconsin. 28 
 
 The first road mentioned in connection with the Iowa 
 country was provided for by "An Act to locate and estab- 
 lish a territorial road west of the Mississippi", which may 
 be cited as typical of the acts establishing Territorial 
 roads passed during the Wisconsin period. Enacted by the 
 Council and House of Eepresentatives of the Territory of 
 Wisconsin in 1836 this statute provided that Abel Galland, 
 Solomon Perkins, Benjamin Clarke, Adam Sherrill, Wil- 
 liam Jones, and Henry F. Lander should act as commis- 
 sioners "to make and lay out a territorial road west of the 
 Mississippi, commencing at Farmington on the Des Moines 
 river, thence to Moffit 's mill, thence on the nearest and best 
 route to Burlington, in Des Moines county, thence to 
 Wapello, thence by the nearest and best route to Dubuque, 
 and thence by the nearest and best route to the ferry op- 
 posite Prairie du Chien." 29 The road thus surveyed and 
 layed out was to be marked "by stakes in the prairie at a 
 reasonable distance apart, and by blazing trees in the 
 timber ". 
 
 The act provided in detail as to the meeting place of the 
 commissioners, the appointment of competent surveyors 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 19 
 
 and chain carriers, and for the payment of the same. The 
 surveyor or surveyors were required to "make out, a true 
 and correct plat and field notes by him or them kept in 
 locating said road, within one month from the completion 
 of the survey thereof ". 30 One copy of the plat and field 
 notes was filed in the office of the clerk of each county 
 through which the contemplated road passed, and the clerks 
 of the various counties were required to record and pre- 
 serve the same, and the road when completed was to be 
 forever a highway. 31 Moreover, the road thus provided for 
 was to be kept in repair in the same manner as county 
 roads, but no part of the expenses incurred or damages 
 sustained by any person laying out the same was to be paid 
 out of the Territorial treasury. 
 
 The commissioners appointed to lay out this road were 
 required within three months after the completion of the 
 survey to make a report of the manner in which their duties 
 had been discharged, including the estimated cost of con- 
 structing the necessary bridges. One copy of this report 
 was to be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court 
 of each county through which the road passed. 32 
 
 It was not alone by special acts, however, that provision 
 was made for the laying out of Territorial roads, for on 
 January 3, 1838, there was approved "An Act to provide 
 for laying out and opening territorial roads", which was 
 general in character. In the first section of this act it was 
 stated that all Territorial roads established in the future 
 should "be viewed, surveyed and established, and returns 
 made thereof, agreeably to the provisions of this act, within 
 two years from the passage of the act by which said road 
 or roads may be granted, or authorized to be laid out 
 respectively. " The commissioners appointed to establish 
 the road were required to cause a correct survey to be made, 
 to mark the route by stakes or by the blazing of trees, and 
 to set mileposts which should be numbered in regular pro- 
 gression from the beginning to the termination of the road. 
 
20 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Furthermore, the commissioners and the surveyor were 
 required to file with the Secretary of the Territory i ' a cer- 
 tified return of the survey, and plat, of the whole length of 
 said road, specifying in said return the width, depth and 
 course of all streams, the position of all swamps and 
 marshes, and the face of the country generally, noting when 
 timber, and when prairie, and the distance said road shall 
 have been located in each county. " There was also to be 
 deposited with the clerk of the board of county commission- 
 ers of each county through which the road passed a similar 
 plat for that portion of the road which was located in the 
 county in question. All Territorial roads were to be sixty- 
 six feet in width, and all expenses incurred in their estab- 
 lishment and maintenance were to be borne by the counties 
 through which they passed on the basis of an equitable 
 apportionment. 33 
 
 Turning again to the general history of road legislation 
 it will be noted that in " An Act for opening and repairing or 
 vacating public roads and highways ", passed by the Coun- 
 cil and House of Representatives of the Territory of 
 Wisconsin and approved on January 15, 1838, there appears 
 a complete and radical change from the township to the 
 county system of road administration. 34 As a matter of 
 fact the act of December 7, 1836, by providing for three 
 county supervisors, who were required to perform the 
 duties that had previously been assigned to the township 
 board, paved the way for this important change in local 
 administration. Unfortunately no contemporary evidence 
 aside from the statutes themselves seems to exist in refer- 
 ence to the reasons which prompted this change to the 
 county system of road administration. 
 
 By the provisions of an act approved on December 20, 
 1837, entitled "An Act organizing a board of county com- 
 missioners in each county in this territory", county govern- 
 ment was placed in the hands of three commissioners who 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 21 
 
 were elected for a term of three years, one retiring each 
 year. 35 The old board of supervisors was required to de- 
 liver over all the books and other office records to the newly 
 constituted county commissioners at their first meeting. 
 The commissioners, moreover, were given extensive powers 
 and authority, including the general supervision of roads 
 and bridges. This meant, at least on paper, a large degree 
 of centralization in the work of actual road administration. 
 
 In the matter of highways the Wisconsin act of January 
 15, 1838, provides that "the board of county commissioners 
 shall have authority to make and enforce all orders neces- 
 sary, as well for establishing and opening new roads, as to 
 change or vacate any public road or part thereof, in their 
 respective counties. " 36 Applications for new roads were 
 to be made by petition signed by at least fifteen house- 
 holders of the township in which the road was desired, 
 specifying in detail its location. Notices were posted in 
 three or more public places and the petition was publicly 
 read. After the requirements of law as to petition and 
 notice had been complied with, the board of county com- 
 missioners, if they regarded the road necessary, appointed 
 three disinterested electors of the county to act as viewers 
 who were required to lay out the road and file a report of 
 the same. 37 
 
 After receiving the certified copy of the report submitted 
 by the viewers, the board of county commissioners was 
 clothed with authority to have the proposed road opened 
 and repaired a necessary width, not exceeding sixty-six 
 feet, after which it was considered a public highway. Thus 
 it is apparent that the real power in the matter of laying 
 out and opening roads under the Wisconsin statute was in 
 the hands of the county board the viewers merely acted 
 as agents of the board for carrying out certain detailed 
 work and filing a report. 
 
 While the law thus brought about a considerable measure 
 
22 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 of centralization in the work of highway administration, it 
 must not be supposed that the rights and privileges of the 
 individual taxpayer were not carefully safeguarded. As a 
 matter of fact the individual was protected in a great many 
 ways against possible injustice. First of all, if any person 
 " through whose land the said road may run" was not satis- 
 fied with the findings of the reviewers and the recommenda- 
 tions of the board, he had the privilege of setting forth his 
 grievances and of making remonstrance. In case such a 
 remonstrance was made it was provided that the board of 
 county commissioners " shall thereupon appoint three dis- 
 interested electors and assign a day and place for them to 
 meet." 38 The electors thus appointed acted as reviewers 
 of the road in dispute and, after due notice, were required 
 to examine carefully the road, assess the damages, if any, 
 and report the same at the ensuing session of the board. 
 In this way an individual might obtain redress in the case 
 of a road running through his land. 
 
 In addition to the right of the individual as such to obtain 
 damages by making a remonstrance to the board of county 
 commissioners, it was provided that if three electors of any 
 township objected to the proposed road as not being of 
 public utility, other reviewers should be appointed by the 
 county board and required to proceed to make a careful 
 examination of conditions, assess damages, and file a report 
 similar to the one already outlined. In other words, the 
 taxpayers were given double protection in regard to the 
 assessment of damages connected with the laying out and 
 opening of public highways. 
 
 The statute also carefully outlines the methods by which 
 any person or persons might have the course of a highway 
 changed, in case they desired to cultivate the land where 
 the road in question was located. Two methods of changing 
 the course of a road are specified ; but it is provided in the 
 case of Territorial roads that "the old road shall not be 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 23 
 
 vacated, until the person or persons applying for such 
 alteration shall cut open and repair the new fully equal to 
 the old road/' 39 In case the road proposed to be changed 
 extended into more than one county the exact method of 
 bringing about such change is outlined in the statute. In 
 short, the rights and privileges of individual taxpayers are 
 protected in the same minute detail both as to the laying 
 out and opening of roads and as to the changing of the same. 
 
 The method of vacating any road or highway which is 
 deemed useless is likewise worked out with the same regard 
 for the interests of individuals. A petition signed by 
 fifteen householders of a township asking that a road be 
 vacated must be publicly read on two different days of the 
 session of the county board at which the petition is pre- 
 sented. At the following session it is again publicly read, 
 and if no remonstrance is made the board may proceed to 
 vacate the road in question, the costs being defrayed by the 
 county. 40 In case remonstrance is made, however, the 
 board is required to appoint reviewers who shall be given 
 the same powers as are granted to the reviewers appointed 
 in the case of the opening and the laying out of new high- 
 ways. 
 
 By the provisions of the same statute a tax for building 
 and maintaining highways and bridges was levied on both 
 persons and property. Every male inhabitant between the 
 ages of twenty-one and fifty years, except those specially 
 exempted by law, were required to work on the roads two 
 days annually it being the duty of the supervisors to see 
 that this work was performed. The law provides that i l all 
 real estate, as well the property of non-residents as resi- 
 dents, shall be subject to be taxed annually, for the purpose 
 of opening and working the public highways, which tax 
 shall not exceed one per cent., and shall be levied by the 
 board of county commissioners, as other taxes are." 41 The 
 board of county commissioners was required to assess this 
 
24 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 tax, and copies of the assessment were to be delivered by 
 the sheriff to the supervisors of the various road districts. 
 The "taxpayer, however, was given the right to discharge 
 the tax thus imposed by actual labor upon the highways, 
 for which he was allowed the sum of two dollars per day. 
 The method of giving notice, the penalties inflicted, the 
 amount of compensation allowed for furnishing plows, 
 wagons, and horses, and a number of other details may be 
 found in the statute. 42 
 
 Moreover, the actual work of laying out, opening, and 
 supervising roads and of building and maintaining bridges 
 was placed in the hands of road supervisors appointed by 
 the board of county commissioners, and it was specifically 
 provided that "any householder or elector refusing to ac- 
 cept said appointment of supervisor, or to take the oath re- 
 quired, shall forfeit and pay the sum of six dollars to be 
 recovered by presentment or indictment' 7 . 43 No person, 
 however, was obliged to accept the appointment as super- 
 visor oftener than once in four years. The board of county 
 commissioners also assigned to each supervisor a definite 
 road district, setting forth the boundaries of the district 
 and alloting the number of hands to be employed. Each 
 supervisor was allowed one dollar and fifty cents per day 
 for all work performed over and above two days for his 
 personal liabilities and the amount required to pay his own 
 road tax. Penalties for neglect of duty were also pre- 
 scribed by law. 44 
 
 Two methods of bridge building are clearly defined in the 
 Wisconsin statute. The board of county commissioners 
 might direct the road supervisors to build bridges if they 
 considered it expedient; or they might appoint three resi- 
 dents of the proper township to act as superintendents of 
 the building of such bridges. The law further stipulates 
 that the superintendents shall advertise "in the most public 
 places in the county, the time and place they will contract 
 
EARLY ROAD LEGISLATION 25 
 
 with some fit person to build such bridge, which contract 
 shall be in writing signed by the parties contracting and 
 filed in the proper clerk's office." 45 
 
 A bond of surety from the bridge contractor was to be 
 approved by the county commissioners, who were also 
 given authority to receive subscriptions and donations from 
 individuals toward the building of such bridge. In special 
 cases where the tax to build a bridge would be unneces- 
 sarily burdensome to property holders, and donations and 
 subscriptions could not be obtained, the board of commis- 
 sioners was authorized to empower any individual or in- 
 dividuals to build the bridge with the understanding that 
 such person or persons should transfer the same to the 
 county at ten per cent on the original cost whenever the 
 board desired to make the purchase. The board was also 
 given the power to appropriate any money in the county 
 treasury belonging to the road funds for the purpose of 
 bridge building. 
 
 Finally, the statute specifies the manner in which the 
 supervisors shall direct the actual work on the roads, pro- 
 vides for the method of collecting fines, directs the super- 
 visor to purchase the necessary machinery, stipulates how 
 a road shall be vacated, and contains other additional de- 
 tails relative to the work of practical administration. 
 
 Regarding the question of delinquent road taxes, the act 
 contains the following provision: 
 
 That in all cases where a supervisor is unable to collect the road 
 tax from any person within his district, from the goods and chattels 
 of such person, or property assessed, agreeably to the foregoing 
 provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of such supervisors to 
 return a list of such delinquents to the board of commissioners of 
 the proper county, which list shall be certified under oath by said 
 supervisor to be correct. And the said commissioners at their next 
 session shall furnish the sheriff of the proper county, with a true 
 copy of the list of all such delinquents, who shall thereupon proceed 
 
26 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 to sell any property real or personal upon which such tax has been 
 assessed by said board of commissioners, or so much thereof as will 
 pay the tax and all costs accrued thereon, in the same manner, and 
 under the provisions, that the county revenue is collected in such 
 cases. And when such collection is made, the county commissioners 
 shall order the same to be paid to the supervisor in the district in 
 which such delinquent property has been returned, and said super- 
 visor shall appropriate the money so collected as hereinbefore 
 provided. 46 
 
 In conclusion it may be said that a general knowledge 
 of the system of local government, including the road leg- 
 islation of the Territory of Michigan and of the original 
 Territory of Wisconsin, is necessary for at least two 
 reasons: first, the Iowa country was for a time a part of 
 these jurisdictions; and second, certain features of the 
 early road laws of the Territory of Iowa were copied di- 
 rectly from the statutes of the Territory of Wisconsin, 
 which in turn were taken from the statute laws of Michi- 
 gan Territory. In a word, the Territory of Michigan and 
 the original Territory of Wisconsin supplied one of the 
 channels through which the pioneers of Iowa obtained their 
 institutions of local government. Another channel, as will 
 appear later, led directly to the statute books of the State 
 of Ohio. 
 
 Under the system of local government which prevailed 
 during the period from 1834 to 1836, when Iowa formed a 
 part of the Territory of Michigan, large powers and au- 
 thority were vested in the officers of the civil township. 
 In fact, as has been pointed out by Dr. Aurner, the organ- 
 ization of the township preceded that of the county in the 
 Territory of Michigan. Of the numerous local officials 
 clothed with authority in the administration of roads and 
 highways special mention should be made of (1) the town- 
 ship board, composed of the supervisor, the township clerk, 
 
EARLY EOAD LEGISLATION 27 
 
 and the justices of the peace, or a majority of them, who 
 acted primarily as a board of audit, (2) three township 
 road commissioners, having the same general powers with 
 reference to the laying out, opening, and maintaining of 
 highways as are now vested in the so-called township board 
 of trustees, (3) a number of road overseers, corresponding 
 to the number of road districts, appointed by the township 
 road commissioners, and (4) the county board of super- 
 visors, composed of one representative from each civil 
 township and vested with substantial authority both from 
 the standpoint of general supervision and finance. Thus it 
 will be seen that there was a somewhat elaborate system of 
 road administration which centered very largely about the 
 civil township, either directly through various township 
 officials or indirectly through representatives of the civil 
 townships who at the same time acted as a county board of 
 supervisors. 
 
 During the Wisconsin period of the Territorial history 
 of Iowa (1836-1838) there seems to have been a somewhat 
 marked tendency to make the county rather than the town- 
 ship the important unit in local administration. To what 
 extent this was the outcome, first, of a more or less uncon- 
 scious adaptation of statutes from older jurisdictions, 
 second, of an actual conflict between the two principles of 
 local government on the basis of concrete fact and argu- 
 ment, and finally, of the necessity from time to time of 
 creating political institutions to meet the demands of 
 pioneer conditions, can not be ascertained except by a thor- 
 ough comparative and historical study of the whole complex 
 system of local institutions. The pioneers, however, were 
 essentially practical men, thinking very little of broad gen- 
 eralization on the one hand or of a critical study of detailed 
 facts on the other. This being true, the drafting of Terri- 
 torial statutes was doubtless to a very large extent a matter 
 of more or less hasty adaptation of forms with which the 
 lawmakers themselves were most familiar. 
 
28 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 At least two important road laws were enacted by the 
 original Territory of Wisconsin. The first act, passed in 
 1836^ provided for the annual election of three township 
 supervisors who were to act at the same time as a county 
 board of supervisors. In other words, in name the town- 
 ship was the basis of local administration, but in fact the 
 county was to a very large extent the unit of real impor- 
 tance. The statute, however, was evidently a compromise 
 measure and it paved the way for the important act of 
 January 15, 1838, which actually did produce a complete and 
 radical change in the general system of road administra- 
 tion. The board of supervisors, which had been both a 
 township and county body, was superseded by a board of 
 county commissioners elected for a term of three years. 
 The new county board was vested with general supervision 
 over highways including the right to appoint road super- 
 visors and to assign to each supervisor a definite road 
 district. That is to say, the board of county commissioners 
 created in 1838 possessed powers and duties, which during 
 the Michigan period were parcelled out among a number of 
 local officials, including : first, the so-called township board ; 
 second, the township highway commissioners; and third, 
 the county board of supervisors, which was composed of 
 representatives from the civil townships. Under the first 
 Wisconsin law of 1836 these powers and duties were vested 
 very largely in the board of supervisors acting both as a 
 township and a county board. 
 
 It should be noted in this connection that the road super- 
 visor appointed by the board of county commissioners 
 under the Wisconsin act of 1838 was the logical successor 
 of the road overseer appointed by the township road com- 
 missioners during the Michigan period. Finally, the details 
 of actual road administration including the view and re- 
 view of proposed roads, the assessment of damages, changes 
 of location and the like have much in common under the 
 different systems of local supervision and control. 
 
II 
 
 THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 
 
 1838-1846 
 
 Upon its organization as a separate Territory in July, 
 1838, Iowa inherited its system of local government, in- 
 cluding the administration of roads and bridges, from the 
 original Territory of Wisconsin. This system, it will be 
 remembered, recognized the county rather than the town- 
 ship as the important unit in local administration, although 
 the township had been the dominating factor under the 
 earlier legislation of the Territory of Michigan. Notwith- 
 standing the comprehensive legislation of the original Ter- 
 ritory of Wisconsin, Governor Robert Lucas in his first 
 annual message made the following recommendation rela- 
 tive to road legislation : 
 
 I would also recommend to your consideration the propriety of 
 adopting a general road system, denning the manner of laying out 
 and establishing Territorial and county roads, and to provide for 
 opening and keeping them in repair. 47 
 
 The Council and House of Representatives of the Terri- 
 tory of Iowa acted with expedition in passing "An Act to 
 provide for laying out and opening Territorial Roads ", 
 which was approved on December 29, 1838. 48 Moreover, a 
 comparative examination reveals the fact that this act is 
 practically an exact copy of the act passed by the original 
 Territory of Wisconsin in January of the same year. In- 
 deed, the only difference is the requirement that under the 
 new measure Territorial roads must be viewed, surveyed, 
 and established within one year rather than two years from 
 the time of the passage of the act establishing the same. In 
 
30 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 other words, the method of laying out and opening Terri- 
 torial roads during the early history of the Territory of 
 Iowa' was the same as had prevailed in the original Terri- 
 tory of Wisconsin. Moreover, an examination of the stat- 
 utes of Ohio shows that a comprehensive law 49 providing 
 for the laying out and opening of State roads, approved on 
 March 14, 1831, was in a measure at least the basis of the 
 Michigan act of April 23, 1833, the Wisconsin act of Janu- 
 ary 3, 1838, and the Iowa act of December 29, 1838. 
 
 The subject of roads was touched upon in three other acts 
 passed by the First Legislative Assembly. In "An Act 
 concerning Costs and Fees" it was provided that the 
 county surveyor should receive three dollars per day for 
 his services in surveying Territorial and county roads. 50 
 The obstructing of public highways or bridges was made 
 punishable by the provisions of section eighty-seven of an 
 act defining crimes and punishments. 51 Finally, on January 
 24, 1839, there was approved an act which is unique in the 
 history of road legislation during the Territorial period. 
 
 This act provided that a number of men, whose names are 
 mentioned, "are hereby created a body politic and corpo- 
 rate, by the name and style of 'The Burlington and Iowa 
 Eiver Turnpike Company/ for the sole purpose of con- 
 structing a turnpike road, from Burlington, Des Moines 
 county, to the Iowa river, opposite the town of Black Hawk, 
 in Louisa county. ' ' The capital stock of the company was 
 to be one hundred thousand dollars and was to be divided 
 into shares of twenty-five dollars each. As soon as ten 
 thousand dollars had been subscribed to the stock of the 
 company a meeting of the stockholders might be called for 
 the purpose of electing five directors. A definite schedule 
 of toll rates was set forth in the act, and it was provided 
 that the company might charge toll on the basis of one-half 
 the rate prescribed as soon as ten miles of turnpike had 
 been completed. 52 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 31 
 
 It was evidently the intention of the legislature that this 
 act should be the precursor of a series of similar laws, for 
 in the last section it was declared that the act should be 
 "subject to any general law that may be passed hereafter 
 . . . . for the regulation of Turnpike companies." 
 But so far as has been discovered no other companies of 
 this character were created by law during the Territorial 
 period. Nevertheless, this act may in a sense be viewed as 
 the forerunner of the laws granting corporations the right 
 to construct plank roads which were enacted during the 
 early years of statehood. 
 
 At this point it may be noted that during the period under 
 consideration many special acts were passed providing for 
 the laying out and opening of Territorial roads. Indeed, a 
 very large number of roads were provided for in this man- 
 ner during the Territorial period and for a number of 
 years after Iowa had been admitted into the Union. 53 
 
 At each session of the Legislative Assembly laws were 
 enacted for the laying out of Territorial roads, so that by 
 the time Iowa was admitted into the Union in 1846 one 
 hundred and forty-eight such roads had been established 
 by law, and forty-six of them had been re-located. 54 Many 
 of these roads probably were never actually laid out ; while 
 others were no doubt merely opened and marked, and then 
 given but little further attention. In the absence of any 
 definite data on the subject it is safe to state that only a 
 very few of the Territorial roads were kept in such a con- 
 dition as to be readily traversed in all seasons of the year. 
 Nevertheless, they greatly facilitated intercourse between 
 different parts of the Territory. Seldom following section 
 lines, as do the roads of the present day, winding through 
 the woods and across the prairies, crossing streams at 
 places best adapted to fording or the building of rude 
 bridges, these roads served as adequate highways largely 
 in so far as they were laid out wisely and with attention 
 to the lay of the land. 
 
32 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The exact method of laying out and opening roads pro- 
 vided for by special acts is set forth in the statutes, which 
 make it the duty of the county commissioners "to order the 
 opening of all Territorial roads, without delay, that are now 
 laid out, or may hereafter be laid out, within this Terri- 
 tory. " 55 
 
 At the session of the Legislative Assembly in 1839-1840, 
 the advocates of township organization were able to secure 
 the adoption of a compromise system of local government 
 more favorable to the township which meant of course 
 that the township was given greater authority in the mat- 
 ter of road administration. In fact, by the legislation of 
 1839-1840 the establishment and organization of townships 
 was made optional, the board of county commissioners be- 
 ing clothed with authority to submit the question of adopt- 
 ing such government at a general election in the county. 
 Where the proposal to organize townships was adopted the 
 following officers were to be elected: one clerk, three trus- 
 tees, two overseers of the poor, two fence viewers, a suf- 
 ficient number of. supervisors of highways, two constables, 
 and one township treasurer. 56 
 
 Under the provisions of "An Act to provide for the 
 organization of townships ' ', approved on January 10, 1840, 
 it was made the duty of the township trustees to divide 
 their respective townships into road districts alloting to 
 each road supervisor one district and to settle the ac- 
 counts of the supervisors of highways in the same manner 
 as similar accounts were settled by the board of county 
 commissioners where the county system of road adminis- 
 tration prevailed. 57 The act further specified in detail 
 concerning the actual work of laying out, opening, and 
 maintaining highways under the supervision of the town- 
 ship trustees. Throughout this legislation there is evidence 
 of the same regard for the rights of the individual property 
 holder as existed under the previous acts of the Territory 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 33 
 
 of Iowa, the original Territory of Wisconsin, and the Terri- 
 tory of Michigan. 
 
 Cartways or township roads were established on applica- 
 tion made to the township trustees by at least six free- 
 holders of the township residing in the vicinity of the 
 proposed road. The petition being filed and proper notices 
 being given, the board of trustees appointed three disinter- 
 ested freeholders of the township to act as viewers of the 
 proposed road, and at their next meeting, if the report of 
 the viewers was favorable, the trustees issued an order 
 directing the road supervisors of the proper districts to 
 open the road. 58 In case of a remonstrance by any person 
 or persons through whose land the proposed cartway or 
 township road passed, however, the trustees were obliged 
 to appoint three disinterested freeholders to examine the 
 complaint, assess the damages, if any, and make a report to 
 the board. If the damages occasioned by the proposed road 
 were greater than the advantages obtained the petitioners 
 were required to pay the damages before the trustees 
 authorized the opening of the road. All the expenses of the 
 viewers and surveyors, both of the first and second view, 
 were required to be paid by the petitioners ; and in case they 
 refused to make such payment the treasurer was given 
 authority to commence suit on their bond and prosecute the 
 same to final judgment and execution. 
 
 The system of township administration of roads as out- 
 lined in the acts of the Second Legislative Assembly being 
 optional and not mandatory, it should be stated that "An 
 act defining the mode of laying out and establishing town- 
 ship roads " passed by the Ohio legislature on March 11, 
 1831, was not copied by the Iowa lawmakers. 59 Had the 
 Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa adopted the 
 township system without qualification the act would, no 
 doubt, have been taken literally from the Ohio statutes. In 
 many important points, however, the optional plan as 
 
 3 
 
34 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 adopted is substantially the same as the township system 
 which at that time prevailed in Ohio. For example, it ap- 
 pears that both the Iowa and the Ohio statutes provide: 
 first, that applications for township roads should be made 
 by petition to the township trustees ; second, that the peti- 
 tion should set forth the place of beginning, the intermedi- 
 ate points, and the place of termination of the proposed 
 road; third, that the trustees should appoint three dis- 
 interested persons and a surveyor to act as viewers of the 
 road ; and fourth, that the trustees should also be authorized 
 to divide the township into a convenient number of road 
 districts. Thus it is probable that the members of the 
 Second Legislative Assembly who drafted the various sec- 
 tions outlining the optional township system of road admin- 
 istration had before them the laws of Ohio and deliberately 
 copied the provisions as far as practicable in view of the 
 general system of county organization which then prevailed 
 in the Territory. 
 
 The influence of the Ohio system of local government be- 
 comes even more apparent upon an analysis of the two 
 important road laws passed at the session of 1839-1840. 
 Indeed, "An Act defining the duties of supervisors of roads 
 and highways ", approved on January 17, 1840, and "An 
 Act for opening and regulating roads and highways", ap- 
 proved on the same day, appear to have been copied almost 
 literally from the statutes of Ohio. 60 The only important 
 changes, as seen in the use of the terms "county", "county 
 commissioners", and the like, indicate the influence of the 
 county-township system of local government which pre- 
 vailed in Wisconsin at the time Iowa was made a separate 
 Territory in 1838, for it should be observed that the town- 
 ship idea prevailed with greater force in the original Ohio 
 statutes. The striking similarity between the Iowa law of 
 January 17, 1840, and the Ohio statute of March 7, 1831, is 
 very apparent when the two acts are placed side by side. 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 35 
 
 Such a comparison would make it very obvious that the 
 Iowa law was a literal copy of the Ohio statute, except to 
 the extent that it was necessary to take into account the 
 county system of local organization which had been inherit- 
 ed from the original Territory of Wisconsin. The Iowa act 
 of January 17, 1840, was, therefore, in a very real sense a 
 compromise measure. While the wording of the law was 
 taken directly from Ohio, the substance of its provisions, 
 viewed from the standpoint of county government, came 
 from Wisconsin. The simple fact that either the township 
 or the county system of local organization could be adopted 
 suggests the existence of both a New England and a South- 
 ern influence in our early legislation arising from the fact 
 that Iowa was settled by people from both sections. This 
 compromise, however, was perhaps not so much the result 
 of any real conflict between the two principles of local gov- 
 ernment and administration as it was the copying and 
 adaptation from time to time of earlier statutes or parts of 
 statutes to meet the needs of a rapidly developing pioneer 
 community. As has already been observed, the early set- 
 tlers were practical men who were quite willing to adopt a 
 plan that seemed suitable at the time without making any 
 very close study of detailed facts on the one hand or of 
 underlying principles on the other. 
 
 Thus the Iowa law provided for two distinct systems of 
 local organization. In counties without township govern- 
 ment the board of county commissioners was given 
 authority to appoint annually a suitable number of road 
 supervisors and to fill any vacancies that might occur from 
 time to time. But in counties which voted to adopt the 
 township system road supervisors were elected annually by 
 the people at the regular township election. The powers 
 and duties of district road supervisors whether appointed 
 by the county commissioners or elected by the people in 
 civil townships were, however, substantially the same. 
 
36 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 A reading of the statute will reveal the fact that the 
 powers and duties of the road supervisors were very ex- 
 tensive. Among other services, the supervisor was re- 
 quired to call out any person to work out either his personal 
 or property road tax, to impose and collect fines for failure 
 to perform duty, and to pay the same into the township or 
 county treasury depending upon the system of local 
 government which prevailed in that particular county. The 
 supervisor was also given authority to exempt persons 
 unable to perform road work, and to exercise all other 
 reasonable powers necessary for an efficient administration 
 of highways and bridges. The extent to which a dual sys- 
 tem of local road administration was established is espe- 
 cially noticeable in the sections dealing with the formation 
 of road districts and the collection of fines. 
 
 Briefly stated, it appears that where the township-county 
 system prevailed the board of township trustees was the 
 all important body first, as to the appointment of road 
 supervisors; second, as to the formation of road districts; 
 and third, as to the handling of finances. Thus, the adop- 
 tion of the township-county system meant that the sub- 
 stance of authority and power was transferred from the 
 county to the township, and decentralization in the work of 
 road administration was the result. It will be important as 
 well as interesting to observe the development of the two 
 principles of supervision from the standpoint of both legis- 
 lation and administration. 
 
 On the same day that the act defining the duties of super- 
 visors of roads and highways was approved, another law, 
 entitled "An Act for opening and regulating roads and 
 highways ", was signed by the Governor. This measure 
 seems also to have been copied from a law of Ohio bearing 
 the same title and approved on March 14, 1831, the general 
 outlines of which may be traced to an earlier statute of the 
 same State approved on February 17, 1804. 61 Now the 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 37 
 
 Iowa act provided "That all county and territorial roads 
 which have been or may hereafter be laid out and estab- 
 lished agreeably to law within this territory, shall be opened 
 and kept in repair in the manner hereinafter provided ; and 
 all county roads shall hereafter be laid out and established 
 agreeably to the provisions of this act, and all county roads 
 shall be sixty feet wide." 62 
 
 It was further provided that all applications for the lay- 
 ing out or altering of any county road should be made by 
 petition to the county commissioners, signed by at least 
 twelve householders of the county residing in the vicinity 
 of the proposed road. After due notice had been given, the 
 commissioners were required to appoint three disinterested 
 householders of the county to act as viewers of the road. 
 The duties of the viewers are substantially the same as 
 noted in earlier acts, except that they are perhaps outlined 
 in greater detail. With the assistance of surveyors the 
 viewers were required to make a complete survey of the 
 proposed road and file a copy of the plat and field notes 
 with the clerk of the board of county commissioners. 63 
 After the report was made and the legal notice given, no 
 application for a review of the road or a petition for dam- 
 ages being filed, it was made the duty of the commissioners 
 to direct the opening of the road which was thenceforth to 
 be considered a public highway. 
 
 In this statute, however, as in earlier legislation the 
 rights of the individual property-holder were carefully 
 safeguarded against possible injustice. 64 In the first place 
 any landholder of the county could apply to the commis- 
 sioners for a review of the road by petition signed by at 
 least twelve householders residing in that part of the county 
 in which the road was established. If satisfied that the 
 petition was just and reasonable, the board of county com- 
 missioners appointed five disinterested voters of the county 
 to view the road and make a report on the same. If the 
 
38 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 viewers reported in favor of the establishment of the road, 
 it was to be promptly opened by the commissioners, but in 
 case the report was against the establishment of the road it 
 was not opened, and the persons executing the first bond 
 were required to pay into the county treasury the amount 
 of the costs and expenses of the first view and survey and 
 also of the review of the road. 65 
 
 In the second place it is provided that "if any person or 
 persons through whose land any territorial or county road 
 may be laid out shall feel injured thereby, such person or 
 persons may make complaint thereof to the county commis- 
 sioners ", 66 Thereupon the board of commissioners pro- 
 ceeded to appoint three disinterested householders of the 
 county to examine the road, assess and determine the dam- 
 ages, if any, and file a report. In case damages were 
 allowed and the commissioners regarded the road of suf- 
 ficient importance to the public the damages were ordered 
 to be paid ; but if in their opinion the road was not of suf- 
 ficient importance to the public to compensate for the pay- 
 ment of the damages, the board of county commissioners 
 was given authority to refuse to establish the proposed 
 road as a public highway unless the damages and expenses 
 were paid by the petitioners. 
 
 The act further specifies the method of abolishing a road 
 when no longer needed. In such instances the viewers and 
 reviewers possessed substantially the same powers and 
 authority as noted in the case of the opening and the laying 
 out of roads. 67 Moreover, the method of determining the 
 true course of any Territorial or county road when the 
 same was a matter of dispute is also prescribed in the stat- 
 ute. Finally, in case any person or persons through whose 
 land any Territorial or county road was established desired 
 to change the course thereof, the method of doing so is de- 
 scribed in the same detail as in the case of the laying out 
 and opening of roads or the assessing of damages. If, how- 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 39 
 
 ever, the board of county commissioners changed the course 
 of the road, the person or persons desiring the alteration 
 were obliged to pay all the costs of the view and survey. 
 
 After providing penalties in case any viewer, reviewer, 
 or surveyor refused or neglected to perform the duties re- 
 quired by law, and outlining in detail the compensation 
 allowed in each case, the act further specifies the method of 
 establishing roads on county lines. The extent to which 
 even minute details of administration are provided for on 
 the one hand, and the complicated nature of the dual system 
 of township and county organization on the other, are ap- 
 parent from an examination of this portion of the statute. 
 It is provided that "when any road is located under the 
 provisions of the twelfth and thirteenth sections of this act, 
 it shall be the duty of the county commissioners or trustees 
 of townships adjoining such road to select one from their 
 number whose duty it shall be to meet at some convenient 
 place near the line of the same (the time and place to be ap- 
 pointed by the commissioners or trustees of the oldest 
 county or township interested) previous to the time ap- 
 pointed by law for apportioning labor to their respective 
 road districts, and shall assign a sufficient number of per- 
 sons, if practicable, to open such road and keep the same in 
 repair, dividing the road in such manner that the persons 
 so assigned may work under the orders of the supervisors 
 in the county or township to which they belong, and the 
 supervisors and persons so assigned shall be governed by 
 the provisions of the act entitled * An act defining the duties 
 of supervisors of roads and highways' ", 68 This section is 
 certainly a good illustration of the method of laying out 
 and opening highways by the mere enactment of law. 
 
 Finally, the statute under consideration provides that any 
 person making application for a view, review, alteration, or 
 vacation of any road, or the assessment of damages, shall 
 be required to deposit a bond with one or more sufficient 
 
40 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 securities, made payable to the county treasurer and ap- 
 proved by the county commissioners. The applicant, more- 
 over,' was required to pay all costs and expenses incurred 
 thereby in case his application was not granted and the pro- 
 posed road not established. On the whole, this Iowa act is 
 much more logical, definite, and systematic, both in general 
 arrangement and in statement of detail, than the statutes of 
 the Territory of Michigan and the original Territory of 
 Wisconsin which were considered above in Chapter I. 
 
 Two important tendencies are now manifest in the legis- 
 lation providing for road administration during the Terri- 
 torial period : first, the growth of the township principle of 
 local government ; and second, a more definite and concrete 
 statement of the law itself. At the same time a considerable 
 body of special legislation was being enacted. 69 For ex- 
 ample, an act was approved on July 29, 1840, providing for 
 the survey of a Territorial road from the city of Burlington 
 to the Indian boundary line, 70 according to the provisions of 
 which the Governor of the Territory was authorized to ap- 
 point a surveyor or engineer to survey the proposed road. 
 In January of the next year, however, an amendatory act 
 was passed by the Legislative Assembly providing "that 
 the duties incumbent upon said surveyor or engineer under 
 the act to which this is amendatory shall be performed and 
 executed by three disinterested commissioners, one of whom 
 shall act in the capacity of a surveyor and commissioner". 71 
 This law, which specifies the names of the commissioners, 
 is instructive, in the first place, as an example of special 
 road legislation, and in the second place, because it shows a 
 tendency to limit the appointive power of the Governor. 
 
 The growth of the township-county principle of organ- 
 ization at this time is indicated by an amendatory act ap- 
 proved on January 15, 1841, 72 by which it was provided that 
 the board of county commissioners in each county not yet 
 divided into townships, or in which there had been no elec- 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 41 
 
 tion authorizing the organization of townships, were re- 
 quired to divide the county into townships as soon as they 
 were of the opinion that the people of the county desired 
 that form of local government. While this law is not man- 
 datory, its provisions are certainly more explicit than those 
 of the earlier act regarding the desirability and necessity 
 of township organization. 
 
 It has already been noted that under a former act pro- 
 viding for the laying out, opening, and maintaining of 
 roads, a personal tax of three days' labor was required. 73 
 Moreover, up to this time the law regarding the exact 
 amount of property tax and the manner in which assess- 
 ments should be made had not been very clear and specific. 
 An examination of the limited source material available re- 
 veals the fact that there was a growing sentiment in favor 
 of property taxes for road purposes. On November 11, 1840, 
 a resolution was introduced in the House of Eepresent- 
 atives instructing the Committee on Eoads and Highways 
 to inquire into the expediency of so amending the road laws 
 ' i as to require persons to perform labor on the public high- 
 ways, in proportion to the valuation of their property." 74 
 At the same time an additional resolution was passed, in- 
 structing the same committee "to inquire into the expedi- 
 ency of revising or modifying such portions of the road law, 
 whereby it will be more effectual in its application to the 
 improvement of roads and highways, and report by bill or 
 otherwise. " 75 Nothing of importance, however, was done 
 along these lines during this session of the Legislative 
 Assembly. 
 
 At the following session, however, in addition to a large 
 amount of special road legislation at least three important 
 general acts were passed: (1) "An Act to provide for levy- 
 ing a tax on real and personal property for road purposes ", 
 approved on February 16, 1842 ; 76 (2) "An Act amending 
 an act defining the duties of Supervisors of roads and high- 
 
42 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 ways", approved on February 2, 1842 ; 77 and (3) "An Act 
 to amend an act entitled ' An Act for opening and regulating 
 roads and highways', approved January 17, 1840", ap- 
 proved on February 2, 1842. 78 In addition to this important 
 body of road legislation, a law was also passed strengthen- 
 ing the township principle of local government by requiring 
 the board of county commissioners to organize townships 
 when in their opinion a majority of the people so desired, 
 and providing further that townships should be formed 
 into bodies corporate, capable of suing and being sued. 79 
 Furthermore, on December 14, 1841, the House of Eepre- 
 sentatives passed a resolution requesting the Committee on 
 Eoads and Highways "to inquire into the expediency of so 
 amending the present Eoad Law that it may bear less un- 
 equally in its provisions, and also to inquire into the ex- 
 pediency of levying a tax on real and personal property, for 
 road purposes." 80 A few days later, on January 4th, Mr. 
 William Patterson from the Committee on Eoads and High- 
 ways reported a bill to provide for levying a tax on real and 
 personal property for road purposes. From the nature of 
 some of the amendments to this bill which were proposed 
 one would infer that there was considerable discussion re- 
 garding the comparative amount of personal and property 
 taxes for road purposes. For example, certain members of 
 the House desired to have the bill amended so as to require 
 only one day's work in the form of a personal road tax, 
 instead of two days. 81 While this amendment was lost, it is 
 instructive as showing the reaction against the earlier law 
 which had required three days' work as a personal road 
 tax. The fact that a number of members of the House of 
 Eepresentatives desired a heavier property tax is apparent 
 from another amendment requiring a maximum property 
 tax of fifty cents on every one hundred dollars of valuation. 
 The amendment, however, was lost and the maximum tax 
 was fixed at twenty-five cents on each one hundred dollars. 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 43 
 
 The act providing for levying a tax on real and personal 
 property for road purposes approved on February 16, 1842, 
 represents a substantial improvement on any previous 
 legislation dealing with road finances. 82 The board of 
 county commissioners, at the time of making the regular 
 levy of taxes for county purposes, was required to fix a per- 
 centum on real and personal property for road purposes of 
 not less than five cents nor more than twenty-five cents on 
 every one hundred dollars of assessed valuation. This tax 
 was imposed on all real and personal property made taxable 
 by the revenue laws of the Territory and was either to be 
 paid in cash to the supervisors or worked out on the roads. 
 When the bill was under consideration it appears that an 
 amendment was introduced to strike out the words "and 
 personal", the purpose of which was to place all of the road 
 tax on real estate. 83 While the amendment did not prevail, 
 it nevertheless represents a tendency to place the bulk of 
 taxes on real estate, thus favoring improvements and per- 
 haps discriminating in a measure against non-resident land- 
 holders. 84 
 
 By this statute of 1842 it was made the duty of each road 
 supervisor to furnish the board of county commissioners 
 with a complete list of individuals subject to taxation in his 
 road district "particularly specifying those who are the 
 owners of real estate ", 85 The list having been received, the 
 board of county commissioners furnished the road super- 
 visors with a statement of the road tax assessed, and the 
 supervisors in turn were required to collect the same in 
 cash or have it worked out on the roads, allowing one dollar 
 for each day's labor. Special provision was made for non- 
 residents in order to give them an opportunity to work out 
 their tax. 86 
 
 As already observed that portion of the law dealing with 
 the duty of road supervisors to call out persons to work on 
 the road and determining the amount of personal tax to be 
 
44 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 imposed was the subject of considerable debate in the Legis- 
 lative Assembly. The act as approved provides for a 
 personal or poll tax of two days' road work; and it further 
 specifies that "in all other duties said supervisors shall be 
 governed by the road laws now in force in this Territory. " 8T 
 In this connection it may be noted that a substitute had been 
 introduced by Mr. James K. Moss, prescribing heavy pen- 
 alties and giving the road supervisors the power, in case the 
 regular road tax proved insufficient, "to order out every 
 person in his district, subject to labor on roads, as many 
 days, as in his opinion, shall be necessary to put such road 
 or roads in good repair. ' ' The Legislative Assembly, how- 
 ever, was apparently not striving to bring about the actual 
 enforcement of law and so the substitute did not prevail. 88 
 
 Of the two additional road laws enacted by the Legis- 
 lative Assembly in 1841-1842, the one amending the law 
 defining the duties of road supervisors provided that "upon 
 the trial of any action against any person or persons liable 
 to work on the public roads, for the recovery of any penalty, 
 fine or forfeiture, for refusal or neglect to work on a public 
 road, or for any other delinquency' 1 , each supervisor "shall 
 be a competent witness to prove the warning or notice given 
 such person, and any other fact or facts necessary to estab- 
 lish such delinquency". 89 
 
 The other law, which was amendatory to an act entitled 
 "An Act for opening and regulating roads and high- 
 ways", 90 passed in 1840, is significant from two stand- 
 points: first, it is much briefer, but more definite and 
 systematic in outlining the method of laying out and open- 
 ing roads than were earlier acts ; and second, it places larger 
 powers in the hands of the board of county commissioners. 
 A petition for laying out or relocating any county road 
 must be "signed by at least twenty legal voters, residing 
 within three miles of where said road is to be laid out or re- 
 located". 91 In cases where it was not signed by twenty 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 45 
 
 legal voters the granting of the petition was optional with 
 the board. Moreover, the board of commissioners was 
 clothed with authority to order at their discretion the 
 establishment of a road or roads without an actual survey 
 in cases where it could be conveniently located on township 
 or section lines. 
 
 As a limitation upon the powers of the board the act 
 provides that "in no case shall the prayer of such petition- 
 ers be granted where there is a greater number remonstrat- 
 ing against the re-location or establishment of any such 
 road or roads. " In the matter of bridge building an addi- 
 tional example of the greater authority provided for in the 
 new act is to be found in the fact that county commissioners 
 were given under certain conditions the power at their dis- 
 cretion "to contract and agree for the building, keeping and 
 repairing of such bridge, and to pay for the same out of any 
 money in the county treasury not otherwise specially appro- 
 priated. " 92 
 
 A careful study of the law under consideration in com- 
 parison with earlier acts therefore reveals a tendency to 
 remove at least some of the purely statutory safeguards of 
 individual rights and place larger administrative responsi- 
 bilities in the hands of the county board. The pioneers of 
 Iowa, however, were not disposed to vest large powers even 
 in elected officials, and so it is no cause for surprise to note 
 evidence of a reaction from time to time against such 
 tendencies. 93 
 
 Aside from a number of special acts for the laying out 
 and opening of Territorial roads, 94 the next general law in 
 reference to highways is to be found in the Revised Statutes 
 of the Territory of Iowa, 1842-1843. 95 That the subject of 
 road administration was of some importance during the 
 legislative session of 1842-1843 is suggested by the follow- 
 ing editorial comment in the Iowa Standard: 
 
46 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 By our reports of proceedings, the reader will perceive that dur- 
 ing the last week but one bill of any great importance has been 
 passed' by the Legislature, viz: that conferring upon the Boards 
 [of] County Commissioners power over the location of Territorial 
 roads. 96 
 
 Moreover, the existence of a sentiment which demanded 
 a complete change in the road laws is clearly expressed by 
 an editorial entitled ' 'Revision of The Laws", which ap- 
 peared in the Iowa Capitol Reporter early in the session. 
 The editor says : 
 
 In connection with this subject, our legislators should be remind- 
 ed that some laws in the statute book most deplorably need a 
 revision and new modeling, The act creating the county com- 
 missioners and prescribing their duties is prominent among them 
 and should be wholly remodeled. This body has very great and 
 unwonted powers conferred upon them, while they have no ac- 
 countability to any tribunal, no checks, no return of their doings, 
 no bonds, no penalties, unless for such criminal misconduct as will 
 subject them individually to indictment. If we cannot have a 
 general revision of the statutes it is to be hoped at least, that the 
 legislature will take in hand a few of the most obnoxious laws and 
 put them into better shape. 97 
 
 In "An Act for opening and regulating Eoads and High- 
 ways ", approved on February 1, 1843, there are, however, 
 very few if any important changes in the regulation of road 
 administration. The boards of county commissioners are 
 left with substantially the same powers as under earlier 
 acts, except that they do not possess the authority previous- 
 ly granted to them to build bridges under certain conditions 
 and to lay out roads on township or section lines at their 
 own discretion. As has already been observed, the pioneers 
 of Iowa were very jealous of their individual rights and 
 hesitated to delegate them even to elected officials except 
 when absolutely necessary. 
 
 It could hardly be said that the Revised Statutes are re- 
 markable for clearness, brevity, and logical arrangement, 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 47 
 
 but many unnecessary details and a number of duplica- 
 tions of statement are eliminated which always indicates 
 progress in the profession of law-making. At the same time 
 the general machinery of administration remained essen- 
 tially the same under the provisions of the new law. The 
 methods of making application for laying out and opening 
 roads, changing the course of a road, vacating a road, pro- 
 viding for roads on county or township lines, or assessing 
 damages were not changed. Nor were the details of the 
 statute concerning viewing, reviewing, surveying, and the 
 making of plats and field notes modified in any important 
 way. The penalties prescribed for the neglect of duty and 
 the compensation allowed are also substantially the same as 
 under the provisions of the earlier statutes. 
 
 Furthermore, no important change was made in the pro- 
 visions regarding the organization and functions of town- 
 ship government. 98 The township trustees were given 
 practically the same supervision and control of cartways 
 and private roads as the board of county commissioners had 
 exercised over county and Territorial roads. Applications 
 for laying out any cartway or private road were made to the 
 board of township trustees, and the appointment of viewers 
 or reviewers for cartways or private roads was also placed 
 in their hands. In other words, there appears in the Revised 
 Statutes a fairly clear line of demarcation between cartways 
 or private roads, which were under the jurisdiction of the 
 township trustees, and county and Territorial roads, which 
 were under the supervision and control of the boards of 
 county commissioners. While this distinction existed in a 
 measure under earlier acts, it had not been marked with the 
 same clearness and precision as in the provisions of the 
 Revised Statutes." From the standpoint both of efficient 
 road administration and the necessity of maintaining at all 
 times the largest possible measure of local self-government, 
 it is an important distinction and one which has a direct 
 
48 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 bearing upon necessary reforms in road legislation at the 
 present time. 100 
 
 Af the following (1843-1844) session of the Legislative 
 Assembly no important legislation was enacted with refer- 
 ence to roads and road administration, aside from a number 
 of special acts laying out and opening Territorial roads. 101 
 The maximum amount of road tax to be levied was, however, 
 reduced from twenty-five cents to fifteen cents on each one 
 hundred dollars of valuation on all property made taxable 
 by the revenue laws of the Territory ; 102 and it was provided 
 that such tax might be worked out on the road at the rate 
 of one dollar per day. 
 
 At the special session of the legislature in 1844 an amend- 
 atory act was passed, providing that boards of county com- 
 missioners were not obliged to lay out and open a road 
 unless they were first satisfied that the public convenience 
 would be served thereby. 103 Two or three additional Terri- 
 torial roads were provided for by special acts of the As- 
 sembly. 104 
 
 At the regular session of the Legislative Assembly in 
 May, 1845, three laws were enacted having a direct and 
 important bearing on the subject of roads and highways: 
 (1) an act to amend the law providing for levying a tax on 
 real and personal property for road purposes, approved on 
 June 10, 1845 ; 105 (2) an act to prevent the obstruction of 
 roads and highways, approved on June 11, 1845 ; 106 and (3) 
 an amendment to the law providing for township organiza- 
 tion, approved on June 5, 1845. 107 The demand for a more 
 complete and definite system of township government with 
 special reference to the administration of roads is apparent 
 from the following resolution which was offered in the 
 House of Eepresentatives by Mr. Ebenezer W. Davis early 
 in the session : 
 
 Resolved, That the Committee on Roads and Highways, be in- 
 structed to inquire into the expediency of so amending the present 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 49 
 
 law of this Territory, prescribing the powers and duties of Town- 
 ship Trustees, as to authorize the Trustees of the different Town- 
 ships to lay out and establish Township Roads. Also, to enquire 
 into the expediency of so amending the present law of this Terri- 
 tory, prescribing the duties of Supervisors of roads, as to authorize 
 said Supervisors, to open and work Township roads. 108 
 
 Under the provisions of earlier acts the township trus- 
 tees were given authority over cartways and private 
 roads. 109 In the statute of June 5, 1845, it was enacted that 
 "the trustees of townships shall have power, and it is made 
 their duty to establish township roads of width not to ex- 
 ceed forty feet nor less than twenty feet, as in their judg- 
 ment shall be deemed convenient". 110 They were not, 
 however, permitted to locate any township road, except on 
 section and quarter section lines, without the consent of the 
 owner or owners of the land through which the road passed. 
 It was made the duty of the township clerk to record all 
 township roads established by the trustees ; while the meth- 
 od of viewing, reviewing, assessing damages, or changing 
 the course of a township road remained substantially the 
 same as had been previously provided. In short, the town- 
 ship trustees were given practically the same powers with 
 reference to township roads as the board of county commis- 
 sioners possessed in the case of county and Territorial 
 roads. Thus, for the first time there was provided the 
 necessary township machinery for the administration of 
 what were distinctly known as township roads. 
 
 The act of June 10, 1845, amending the law providing for 
 levying a tax on real and personal property for road pur- 
 poses, conferred upon road supervisors and county treas- 
 urers authority in the matter of collecting delinquent taxes. 
 It was made the duty of the supervisor to prepare a list of 
 delinquents, attach his certificate thereto, and deliver the 
 same to the county treasurer ; but in case no personal prop- 
 erty could be found, out of which to obtain the delinquent 
 
50 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 road tax, the treasurer was authorized to sell a portion of 
 the real estate for that purpose. 111 In some of its pro- 
 visions the statute is very drastic and there is some reason 
 for doubt as to its constitutionality. For instance, the 
 treasurer is given authority to make out a deed conveying 
 the real estate in fee simple to the purchaser, which deed so 
 executed shall be prima facie evidence of the regularity of 
 all proceedings, and "no person shall ever question the title 
 of the purchaser to the real estate so purchased, in any 
 Court of law or equity, either as plaintiff or defendant, or 
 complainant or defendant, unless he shall have paid or of- 
 fered to the purchaser of said real estate, or his assigns, 
 the sum so paid for said real estate, with fifty percentum 
 per annum, from the date of such sale and the costs of such 
 sale and deed." 112 To say the least, this is an unusual 
 provision, which was probably directed against non-resident 
 property holders, and which, it would seem, would logically 
 result in the taking of private property without due process 
 of law. 
 
 Finally, during this session of the Legislative Assembly, 
 in addition to a number of special acts of the kind already 
 noted, 113 the penalties for obstructing public roads and 
 highways were made somewhat more severe. The amount 
 of the penalties in the case of such obstructions and the 
 method of road supervision are prescribed in the statute. 
 It was made a duty of the sheriff to see that the law in this 
 respect was enforced. 114 
 
 At the last session of the Legislative Assembly of the 
 Territory of Iowa, which was held during the winter of 
 1845-1846, three brief acts were passed dealing with the 
 subject of roads : one, approved on January 19, 1846, had 
 to do with the relocation of Territorial and county roads ; 115 
 another, approved on January 2, 1846, was concerned with 
 legalizing Territorial and county roads; 116 and the third, 
 approved on January 1, 1846, amended the law prescribing 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 51 
 
 the punishment for obstructing roads and highways. 117 A 
 number of special acts were also passed at this session. 118 
 Of the three acts mentioned the one legalizing Territorial 
 and county roads is perhaps the most important. It pro- 
 vides among other things that "it shall be the duty of the 
 board of commissioners of the respective counties within 
 this Territory, to furnish their clerks with suitable record 
 books, to be kept for the purpose of recording all roads, and 
 alterations thereof, which may be made within their respec- 
 tive counties. " It is made the duty of the county clerks 
 upon the receipt of the record books "to record all the 
 surveyor's plats of roads on file in their offices, and which 
 roads have not been vacated ". 119 The act of January 2, 
 1846, therefore, provides for the keeping of definite records 
 and at the same time prescribes definite rules for deter- 
 mining the legality of Territorial and county roads. 
 
 Finally, any discussion of the road legislation of the Iowa 
 Territorial period would be incomplete without some men- 
 tion of an act of Congress appropriating money for the 
 laying out of what were termed "military roads " in the 
 Iowa country. This act, which was approved on March 3, 
 1839, appropriated the sum of twenty thousand dollars for 
 "the opening and construction of a road in Iowa Territory, 
 from Dubuque on Mississippi Eiver to such point on the 
 northern boundary of the State of Missouri as may be best 
 suited for its future extension by that State to the cities of 
 Jefferson and St. Louis". In laying out the road an effort 
 was to be made as far as practicable to accommodate the 
 seats of justice of the counties through which the road 
 would pass and to choose the best sites for bridges and 
 ferries over rivers and creeks. Furthermore, in the same 
 act an appropriation of five thousand dollars was made for 
 * l opening and constructing a road from Burlington through 
 the counties of Des Moines, Henry and Van Buren towards 
 the seat of Indian Agency on the Eiver Des Moines ' '. 12 
 
52 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 These roads were carefully surveyed and laid out by 
 government engineers, and later Congress made an addi- 
 tional appropriation for keeping them in repair and for 
 making improvements. 121 In contrast, therefore, to a ma- 
 jority of the other roads of the Territory, the two military 
 roads "were worked and graded and the most of the 
 streams were bridged. The bridges were built in a good, 
 substantial manner and greatly benefited the people in the 
 first occupation of the country. The facilities of travel, 
 therefore, were much improved, and it was only natural 
 that these two roads were, in comparison with others in the 
 Territory, extensively used." 122 
 
 The method employed in marking a portion of one of 
 these roads namely the one from Dubuque to the Mis- 
 souri line is especially interesting. When the road had 
 been surveyed as far south as Iowa City, Lyman Dillon was 
 employed to plow a furrow between the two towns, a dis- 
 tance of about one hundred miles, chiefly it seems, for the 
 guidance of contractors in building the road. "This is 
 believed to be the longest furrow on record ", says one 
 writer, "and served as a guide to travelers, and a well 
 beaten road was soon made along side of Dillon's fur- 
 row." 128 
 
 By way of summary, it should be borne in mind that the 
 road legislation enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the 
 Territory of Iowa should be judged from the standpoint of 
 pioneer conditions. The early settlers needed roads, just as 
 they required a system of public schools and a method of 
 raising public revenue. Little thought, however, was given 
 by them to establishing any of these fundamental institu- 
 tions along what are now understood to be scientific lines. 
 The pioneer had a wilderness to conquer in making a home 
 for himself and family. While he was obliged to lay out 
 and open some means of communication in order to market 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 53 
 
 his produce, attend church, and send his children to school, 
 in doing this he almost invariably followed the lines of least 
 resistance. The laying out and opening of a road in early 
 Iowa frequently consisted in plowing a furrow across the 
 open prairies. As a general rule, the viewers followed the 
 high ground, so as to avoid low, swampy places and running 
 streams. Where a road passed through the woods axemen 
 were employed to blaze the trees and cut away the under- 
 brush. Streams in many places were forded : bridges con- 
 structed with rough hewn logs were few. 
 
 In his History of Johnson County Dr. C. B. Aurner has 
 devoted considerable space to the subject of roads during 
 the Territorial period. In fact, the general field of road 
 administration viewed from a practical standpoint is pri- 
 marily a problem in the history of the workings of township 
 and county government. While it is possible to outline the 
 forms of local government and administration by an his- 
 torical and comparative study of the statutes, it is neverthe- 
 less true that the actual operation and workings of these 
 forms in practice can be understood only through the study 
 of local history. For example, the history of road adminis- 
 tration in a particular county, or to be more concrete, the 
 history of the expenditure of road and bridge funds in 
 typical counties or townships would form a valuable supple- 
 ment to the general history of road legislation. This is true 
 for the obvious reason that the actual administration of the 
 road laws has always been primarily a function of local 
 government, including the county, the township, and the 
 so-called road district. 
 
 Dr. Aurner suggests that the construction of roads was 
 one of the first problems that came before the county com- 
 missioners ; traces in detail the laying out and opening of a 
 number of highways that radiated from the Old Stone 
 Capitol ; refers to the division of the county into four road 
 districts in 1840 and into fifteen road districts in 1843 ; out- 
 
54 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 lines by concrete instances the methods of viewing, review- 
 ing, laying out, and constructing roads; discusses the 
 assessment of damages and the changes in the location of 
 highways; and in fact, writes a brief history of the actual 
 administration of the road laws. Moreover, Johnson County 
 affords an excellent opportunity for the study of the history 
 of specific highways, largely because the Old Capitol was 
 connected at an early date by thoroughfares with the prin- 
 cipal towns on the Mississippi Eiver, including Dubuque, 
 Muscatine, Davenport, and Burlington. The chapter deal- 
 ing with the history of these particular roads emphasizes 
 the fact that county histories when properly written are not 
 only worth while from the standpoint of general history, 
 but are especially valuable when dealing with the important 
 group of problems which belong almost entirely in the field 
 of local administration. 124 
 
 A careful examination of the road legislation enacted 
 during the Territorial period shows that the early laws were 
 more or less hastily adopted from the statutes of older 
 jurisdictions. The act to provide for the laying out and the 
 opening of Territorial roads passed in 1838 was evidently 
 copied from the laws of the original Territory of Wis- 
 consin. Wisconsin in turn appears to have copied the same 
 statute from the laws of the Territory of Michigan ; while 
 the lawmakers of Michigan had access to the codes of older 
 States, including Ohio. 
 
 During the second session of the Legislative Assembly of 
 the Territory of Iowa the statutes of Ohio were an im- 
 portant factor in shaping road legislation. Thus the Iowa 
 act providing for the organization of townships was mod- 
 eled very largely on the Ohio plan except that the system 
 was optional and not mandatory. The act for defining the 
 duties of supervisors of roads and highways and the act for 
 opening and regulating roads and highways were both taken 
 almost literally from the statutes of Ohio. In fact, the only 
 
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL PERIOD 55 
 
 important changes made in copying the statutes of Ohio 
 was in the use of such terms as " county " and " county com- 
 missioners", thus indicating the influence of the county- 
 township system of local government which had prevailed 
 in the original Territory of Wisconsin. Briefly stated, the 
 form of the road laws enacted during the second session of 
 the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa was 
 taken largely from Ohio ; but with only slight verbal changes 
 the substance was partly borrowed from Wisconsin. Con- 
 sequently the legislation of 1839-1840 provided for two 
 distinct systems of road administration : that of the county, 
 which was basic and was adopted from the Wisconsin laws ; 
 and that of the township which was optional and was adopt- 
 ed from the Ohio laws. 
 
 But in Iowa the township was destined to become a more 
 and more important unit of local government from the 
 standpoint of road supervision and control. This tendency 
 may be discerned even in the later legislation of the Terri- 
 torial period. Between 1840 and 1846 the township prin- 
 ciple was greatly strengthened in fact, had become firmly 
 established. At the same time the powers of the board of 
 county commissioners were increasing, especially with ref- 
 erence to the laying out and opening of roads and the 
 jurisdiction which was conferred upon them in the case of 
 so-called Territorial roads. In fact, objection from time to 
 time was made against the arbitrary powers exercised by 
 the county board, it being alleged, for example, that this 
 body had great and unwarranted powers conferred upon it 
 which ought to be parcelled out among smaller units of 
 government in order to bring the administration of the laws 
 closer to the people. 
 
 In this connection it has been well said that the ultimate 
 end of all government is to secure popular control plus 
 efficient administration. Democracy in general, and our 
 pioneer democracy in particular, has been concerned pri- 
 
56 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 marily with the question of obtaining popular control. The 
 chief argument against what was called arbitrary adminis- 
 tration on the part of boards of county commissioners, and 
 on the part of township trustees more than one-half a 
 century later, was the necessity of popular control that 
 is, the bringing of the government as close as possible to the 
 taxpayers. In 1840 the desire for popular control resulted 
 in the adoption of the principle of township organization, 
 while in our own time the same argument is repeatedly used 
 to retain the small sub-district system of local road ad- 
 ministration. 
 
 Other problems emphasized during the Territorial period 
 were the following: (1) the necessity, under both the town- 
 ship and county plans of organization, of protecting in- 
 dividual rights, which resulted in a division of authority 
 along the whole line of actual road administration and a 
 final appeal to the courts ; (2) the relative amounts of prop- 
 erty and personal taxes which should be levied for road 
 purposes ; (3) the question whether or not road taxes should 
 be paid in money or labor; and (4) the desirability of im- 
 posing relatively larger burdens on real estate, as com- 
 pared with improvements, for the benefit of actual settlers. 
 
Ill 
 
 THE GRADED AND PLANK EOAD SYSTEM 
 1846-1851 
 
 Between 1846 and 1851 little was added to the general 
 body of road legislation. The new State inherited the sys- 
 tem of local government, and with it the machinery of road 
 administration, which had been created during the Terri- 
 torial period. State roads continued to be authorized by 
 special acts of the General Assembly. 125 Indeed, the only 
 new feature of any real significance in the road legislation 
 of this period was a tendency on the part of the General 
 Assembly to grant to private corporations the privilege of 
 building plank and graded roads and charging for their use 
 tolls to be fixed by the boards of county commissioners. 
 The demand for better transportation facilities before the 
 coming of the railroad made this type of road a necessity. 
 
 The only general law of importance dealing with the sub- 
 ject of roads enacted at the regular session of the First 
 General Assembly was "An Act regulating State Roads", 
 approved on February 24, 1847. 126 In this act it was pro- 
 vided that before any petition asking for a State road 
 could be presented to the General Assembly, notice must be 
 given in each county and in two public places in each town- 
 ship through which the road passed, specifying the place of 
 beginning, the intermediate points, if any, and the termina- 
 tion of the road. After adequate proof of notice had been 
 obtained and the petition had been presented in due form, 
 the General Assembly, in case no remonstrance was made 
 within a certain time, might pass an act for the location and 
 establishment of the desired road and appoint commission- 
 
 57 
 
58 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 ers to lay out the same. Moreover, county commissioners 
 were, given power to alter or re-locate any Territorial or 
 State road. This law, however, did not remain long on the 
 statute books : for reasons which the writer has been unable 
 to discover, at the extra session of 1848 a law was enacted 
 which repealed all the provisions of the act of 1847. 127 
 
 At this point it may be well to note that, following the 
 practice inaugurated during the Territorial period, a large 
 number of State roads were established by special acts of 
 the legislature between 1846 and 1857, when special legisla- 
 tion of this character was prohibited by the new Consti- 
 tution. In fact, during this period two hundred and sixty- 
 four State roads were established, and twenty-eight of them 
 were re-located. 128 At the same time it should be borne in 
 mind that establishment by law did not in every case mean 
 the laying out of roads that were really serviceable. In- 
 deed, it would seem from the following description that 
 motives other than a desire to provide more and better 
 means of communication oftentimes prompted the enact- 
 ment of special acts establishing State roads. 
 
 These inchoate highways would seem legitimately to have had 
 but one purpose that of facilitating travel and intercourse be- 
 tween different portions of the Territory or State. But in time 
 their establishment became an abuse which the makers of our con- 
 stitution did well to suppress. Candidates for the legislature were 
 ready and even eager to promise to secure the establishment of 
 these roads, in order to obtain support in securing nominations, as 
 well as votes at the election. The carrying out of pledges was 
 generally easy, for as a rule these projects met with very little 
 opposition in the legislature. Then, these laws provided not a 
 little patronage in the appointment of commissioners to locate the 
 roads, who were also generally authorized to appoint one or more 
 practical engineers and surveyors. A team, a tent, and other camp 
 equipage, one or more common laborers, and subsistence for the 
 party, were also required. The location of some roads required 
 several weeks, and as the work was for the most part undertaken 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 59 
 
 as early in the season as animals could subsist on prairie grass, they 
 were real junketing, "picnicing" excursions. Nothing could be 
 pleasanter than going out to perform such official duties. The pay 
 was sufficient in those "days of small things " to make the position 
 of commissioner a very welcome appointment. The appointments 
 seldom went a-begging. 129 
 
 As already stated, it was during the period under consid- 
 eration that the General Assembly instituted the policy of 
 authorizing the construction of plank and graded toll roads. 
 Since all of the laws relative to such roads were substantial- 
 ly of the same character, an analysis of one or two typical 
 acts will be sufficient. Thus, the Second General Assembly 
 (1848-1849) granted to one James Weed and his associates 
 the right of way and the privilege of constructing a road 
 from Bloomington in Muscatine County via Tipton in Cedar 
 County to the county seat of Benton County. 130 The law 
 provided that the grade of the road should not be less than 
 thirty feet wide and that the company should commence the 
 work of construction within six months after the passage of 
 the act. Provision was also made that no person or persons 
 could, by refusing to give their consent to the location of the 
 road, prevent its construction. In cases where land owners 
 considered themselves aggrieved each party appointed a 
 disinterested resident freeholder ; and the two thus chosen, 
 after selecting a third person, were required to make a 
 personal survey of the premises, assess any damages that 
 might be sustained by the owner, and report in writing to 
 the clerk of the district court. The report thus submitted 
 was considered as a final adjudication between the parties ; 
 and in case James Weed and his associates paid the amount 
 of damages assessed within thirty days after the filing of 
 the report, they were to be given the complete right of con- 
 structing the proposed highway. Special provision was 
 made for the notification of non-resident land owners. 131 
 
 As soon as twenty-five miles of the graded road were con- 
 
60 HISTORY OF EOAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 structed the company might erect toll-houses and gates and 
 " exact such tolls as the County Commissioners of each 
 county through which said road may be located, may deter- 
 mine, for the length of said road in each county respective- 
 ly: Provided, That the said commissioners shall establish 
 reasonable rates of toll, and such as will render to the said 
 James Weed and his associates a reasonable interest on the 
 amount of funds invested in said road, and protect, mutual- 
 ly, the said James Weed and his associates, and the public 
 from imposition." 132 This provision is especially inter- 
 esting since it indicates a definite plan on the part of the 
 State to regulate toll charges through the boards of county 
 commissioners. That is to say, it was recognized to be the 
 duty of the State : first, to require efficient service and thus 
 protect the public from imposition, and second, to guarantee 
 a reasonable profit on honest investment for the purpose of 
 protecting the corporation from what might amount to a 
 confiscation of its property. It will be observed that in this 
 provision may be found a clear statement of the general 
 idea which prevails at the present time concerning the prop- 
 er method of regulating railroads and similar public service 
 corporations. If it was desirable and proper for the State 
 to authorize the construction of a plank and graded road 
 and regulate the toll charges for its use, by a similar course 
 of reasoning it would also be legitimate for the State to 
 authorize the construction of a railroad and provide for the 
 regulation of freight and passenger rates. 
 
 The purpose of the law, judged from the standpoint of 
 efficient service on the one hand and of legitimate property 
 rights on the other, is made especially clear in the following 
 provision : 
 
 It is hereby declared to be the intention of this act to establish a 
 graded road, between the points mentioned in the first section of 
 this act, for the convenience and interest of the public, and at the 
 same time to protect the said James Weed and his associates in the 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 61 
 
 construction of said road ; and for that purpose the right of way is 
 hereby granted to the said James Weed and his associates for the 
 term of twenty years. 133 
 
 As an additional protection to those who invested money 
 in the proposed graded road the law provided that if at the 
 expiration of the twenty year period "a joint convention of 
 the Boards of Commissioners of the several counties 
 through which the said road may pass shall be made satis- 
 fied that the tolls received on said road have not amounted 
 to a sum sufficient to cover the expenses of building and 
 keeping said road in repair, and the incidental expenses 
 thereto pertaining, and a reasonable interest on the amount 
 invested, then the said Boards of Commissioners may grant 
 to the said James Weed and his associates the right to exact 
 tolls upon said road for such further and longer term as 
 they may deem proper." The law further provided for the 
 posting of the rates of toll established by the boards of com- 
 missioners, the method of collecting toll in cases of refusal 
 to pay, and the punishment of any person or persons for 
 injuring or defacing the road or any property belonging 
 thereto. 
 
 This graded road company, which was required to be 
 organized under the provisions of the general incorporation 
 act, 134 was granted the privilege, when it should be deemed 
 necessary for the interest of the public, of constructing a 
 plank road not less than eight feet in width and of receiving 
 such additional toll as might be fixed by the boards of com- 
 missioners. Finally, in case no additional time was allowed 
 to the grantees by the county commissioners, the act pro- 
 vided that at the expiration of the twenty year period for 
 which the right of way was granted the road should be 
 "deemed a public highway, and under the immediate control 
 of the Boards of Commissioners of the several counties 
 through which the same may pass". 135 
 
 An example of the laws providing for plank roads is to be 
 
62 HISTORY OF EOAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 found in an act granting a right of way to the Burlington 
 and Toolsborough Plank Eoad Company. 136 The act stipu- 
 lated, among other things, that the land to be taken as a 
 roadway should not exceed sixty feet in width and that no 
 private property could be taken without making just com- 
 pensation to the owner. Moreover, the method of determin- 
 ing the amount of damages sustained by the owners of land 
 through which the road passed was fully set forth in the 
 statute. For the purpose of assessing such damages pro- 
 vision was made for the selection of a jury of three persons, 
 who were required to examine the ground, and decide upon 
 the amount of damages, if any, that should be paid by the 
 company. Upon the payment of the damages thus ascer- 
 tained, the company was entitled to a deed for the right of 
 way with the proviso that an appeal might still be taken 
 to the district court. 
 
 In the event of such an appeal, however, the company, 
 after paying or offering to pay the amount determined upon 
 by the jury, could commence work upon the proposed road. 
 But it was provided that "in no case shall the company be 
 liable for costs on an appeal, unless the appellant recover a 
 greater amount of damages than first awarded. m37 It 
 should also be noted in this connection that the right of way 
 thus acquired could not be used except for the purposes 
 contemplated in the articles of incorporation of the com- 
 pany. Thus the law under consideration represents a def- 
 inite plan and purpose to safeguard the rights both of the 
 stockholders and of the public. 
 
 During the period from 1846 to 1851 rights of way were 
 granted for the construction of thirteen graded or plank 
 roads by special acts of the General Assembly similar to 
 those above outlined. 138 Unfortunately, however, owing to 
 the absence of any definite data on the subject, it is not 
 possible to state how many of these roads were actually 
 constructed and put into operation. It seems quite certain 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 63 
 
 that a plank road was completed between Burlington and 
 Mt. Pleasant, 139 and that a similar road was constructed 
 from Keokuk a distance of twelve or fifteen miles up the 
 valley of the Des Moines Eiver. 140 But aside from these 
 two instances it is doubtful whether any of the plank roads 
 provided for by law were actually built; although it is 
 probable that several graded toll roads were laid out and 
 operated by the corporations to whom rights of way were 
 granted. The laws, in nearly every case, authorized the 
 companies to construct graded roads and gave them the 
 privilege of changing to the plank road system at any time 
 if such a change seemed desirable. But it is probable that 
 the high cost of construction tended to discourage the com- 
 panies from undertaking the building of plank roads. 
 
 The period from 1846 to 1851 was, therefore, one of 
 special legislation from two standpoints: first, with refer- 
 ence to the laying out and opening of ordinary State roads ; 
 and second, in the authority granted to private individuals 
 or corporations for building graded and plank toll roads. 141 
 Better transportation facilities were being constantly de- 
 manded by the people especially by the inhabitants of 
 the larger cities who were competing for the trade of the 
 rural districts. Before the coming of railways it was neces- 
 sary to have some kind of permanent wagon roads which 
 would be open for traffic during all seasons of the year; 
 and so the plank road seemed to be especially adapted to 
 the conditions and needs of pioneer Iowa. 
 
 Nor was the plank road looked upon as a competitor of 
 the railroad, but rather as a supplementary means of trans- 
 portation. Many people declared that such roads would 
 tend greatly to increase both the wealth and population of 
 every county through which they passed, because the sur- 
 plus produce of the rural districts "instead of rotting in 
 the fields, or bringing half the farmers in debt at the end of 
 the year, would thus find its way to a convenient and profit- 
 
64 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 able market. " 142 And it was pointed out that such roads 
 were in reality "farmers' railroads ", which could be built 
 without resorting to Congress for donations, and that if the 
 population and business along the road continued to in- 
 crease so as to demand the greater facilities afforded by 
 railroads "it will be but a small job to tear up the planks 
 and lay down the rails. " 143 
 
 In other words, the plank road was regarded by the 
 pioneers of Iowa in the first place, as necessary in itself to 
 the full development of the population and wealth of the 
 State; in the second place, as a method of transportation 
 supplementary to the railroad ; and in the third place, as a 
 connecting link between the old type of bottomless wagon 
 roads and the railroad. The people were, in fact, very 
 enthusiastic for the development of all means and methods 
 of transportation, because transportation was rightly con- 
 sidered absolutely essential to real economic progress. The 
 current newspapers contain many references to the enthusi- 
 asm of the early settlers along this line. The following 
 extract from a communication in the Burlington Tri- 
 Weeldy Telegraph, signed "Anti-Corduroy", is character- 
 istic of the period and shows at least one phase of what has 
 been so frequently termed the West in the growth of Amer- 
 ican democracy : 
 
 This is a progressive age Rail roads, Plank roads, and Steam 
 boats have taken the place of the more staid and sober method of 
 traveling pursued by our forefathers, and although there are many 
 more lives lost now than at any former period, yet this is an age of 
 improvement we are born in a hurry educated in a hurry 
 get rich and poor in a hurry live in a hurry die in a hurry 
 and get our reward in a hurry. ... In the good old days of 
 the primitive fathers, a journey of an hundred miles was a much 
 greater undertaking than a trip to England or California now. 144 
 
 It is interesting to speculate as to what "Anti-Corduroy" 
 would think of the present system of railway transporta- 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 65 
 
 tion, which represents vastly more than a fulfillment of Ms 
 enthusiastic dreams. 
 
 The demand for plank roads soon became so urgent that 
 many taxpayers considered it advisable to enact a general 
 plank road law to take the place of the special acts. The 
 whole system of constructing plank roads was, however, 
 still new having been first introduced into Canada and 
 later into the State of New York, where the first plank road 
 was opened to the public on the twenty- sixth day of July, 
 1846. 145 Between 1846 and 1850 it appears that under the 
 general plank road law of New York twenty-six hundred 
 miles of plank roads had been constructed, representing an 
 investment of approximately $4,500,000. 146 In the absence 
 of a general law on the subject, the legislature of Ohio had 
 during the session of 1849-1850 granted charters to forty- 
 eight companies to construct plank roads ; and in addition 
 several other charters were granted for the construction of 
 turnpike roads with the permission to use planks if found 
 desirable. In short, there was an important movement in 
 many States for the building of plank and turnpike roads 
 under special acts ; but following the example of New York, 
 there was also a growing public sentiment in favor of a 
 general law on the subject. 
 
 Moreover, it was repeatedly insisted in this connection 
 that the system of building plank roads should become gen- 
 eral because the whole economic progress and prosperity of 
 the State depended upon adequate transportation facilities. 
 "Here we have all the elements of national prosperity 
 remunerating employment supplied; profit-bringing busi- 
 ness called into existence; forest lands reclaimed; real 
 estate made valuable; the productions of the earth in- 
 creased, both in quantity and value. " 147 Many concrete 
 estimates made at that time regarding the value of such 
 roads to farmers by enabling them to market their produce 
 with greater economy and efficiency might be enumerated. 148 
 
66 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 It was claimed by the friends of the plank road system 
 that "what is now but the part of a single road, will soon 
 become common throughout the State as a general system, 
 traversing every county and connecting every section. " 149 
 Accordingly many progressive citizens urged the General 
 Assembly to adopt a law on the subject, "carefully guarding 
 individual rights but giving such powers and privileges as 
 will encourage the construction of such roads, and insure 
 protection after their completion. ' ' Thus it is evident that 
 the pioneer legislators of Iowa clearly understood the prob- 
 lem of regulating public service corporations: on the one 
 hand private property was not to be taken for public con- 
 venience or use without just compensation to the owner; 
 while on the other hand, the rights both of the public and of 
 individuals investing their money in such enterprises were 
 to be alike carefully safeguarded. 
 
 It was of course recognized that a private corporation 
 engaged in strictly private business could not take the prop- 
 erty of others even by paying a reasonable price. In order 
 to comply with the constitutional provision which requires 
 that "private property shall not be taken for public use 
 without just compensation", 150 the argument was advanced 
 that the proposed roads should be considered as public 
 property from the standpoint of use, that is, the companies 
 constructing these roads should be regarded as public ser- 
 vice or quasi-public corporations. The advocates of the 
 plank road system suggested that if the State itself had the 
 power to collect tolls on any public improvement it logically 
 followed that this right might be granted to any company 
 incorporated under general law to construct a public road. 
 
 The statement was frequently made that public service 
 corporations of this kind would tend to become monopolies, 
 but the friends of the plank road system held that a monop- 
 oly would be impossible "so long as there are so many 
 public highways ' '. In this connection the following pointed 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 67 
 
 statement appeared in the Burlington Tri-Weeldy Tele- 
 graph: 
 
 It is too frequently the case that objections, such as we have been 
 considering, spring from ignorance, from long seated and blind 
 prejudice, from envy, and sometimes from a most despicable spirit 
 of demagogueism. It is the province of wisdom to sift the chaff 
 from the wheat and it is the duty of honest legislators to pursue 
 an enlightened policy and follow the light of sound reason. 151 
 
 In connection with the agitation for the plank road sys- 
 tem at least three important points should be noted: first, 
 the fact that companies building and maintaining such 
 roads were public service corporations and therefore should 
 be entitled to take private property for their use (which 
 meant, in reality, for public use), by paying just compen- 
 sation; second, that individuals investing their money in 
 this class of corporations should be guaranteed a reasonable 
 return on their investment ; and third, that the public itself 
 should be protected against possible injustice or fraud. 
 
 A method of assessing damages in the case of plank 
 roads was suggested in an editorial entitled ' i General Plank 
 Eoad Law", which appeared in the Burlington Tri-Weekly 
 Telegraph on December 21, 1858. Among other things the 
 writer urged that the amount of such damages ought to be 
 determined by a jury selected for the purpose, and that in 
 assessing damages the jury should be sworn to take into 
 consideration any inconvenience sustained by the owner, 
 including the building of additional fences, as well as the 
 benefits to be derived by the owner from the proposed road, 
 including the " increased value of Ms land and greater 
 facilities in getting to market." 152 
 
 No general law, however, was enacted by the General 
 Assembly. In lieu thereof a number of special acts were 
 again passed providing for the building of plank roads. 
 
 In promoting the agitation for plank roads there were 
 several important factors. In the first place there was the 
 
68 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 desire of the farmers of the interior counties to obtain a 
 market for their produce. Then there was the competition 
 of leading cities, especially along the Mississippi, to secure 
 this market. Just as New York, Philadelphia, and Balti- 
 more were each striving at this time to obtain the lion's 
 share of the extensive trade of the Upper Mississippi Val- 
 ley, so Burlington, Keokuk, Muscatine, and other cities of 
 Iowa were endeavoring on a less extensive scale to win the 
 trade of the interior counties. This fact becomes ap- 
 parent when one examines the record of any one of the 
 important road companies of the time. For example, it is 
 urged in the Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph that unless 
 the citizens of Burlington make liberal subscriptions to the 
 stock of this class of companies, the excellent market along 
 the Iowa Eiver will fall into the hands of the city of Mus- 
 catine. An editorial in the same paper entitled, "Burling- 
 ton and Louisa County Plank Road", contains the following 
 instructive suggestion : 
 
 In view therefore, of the importance of not only retaining the 
 trade we now have, but of opening up channels of communication 
 with the interior, by which it may be greatly augmented, we think 
 it behooves the people of Burlington to be up and doing, lest ere 
 while they wake up and find the surplus products of a large and 
 growing scope of country flowing into other channels, to increase 
 the wealth and population of other and rival towns. 153 
 
 Again it was claimed for the proposed plank road extend- 
 ing from Burlington westward that it would have the same 
 influence in enhancing the value of land and of other prop- 
 erty and in the building up of towns as railroads would 
 have and at about one-fourth of the expense. Indeed, 
 one notes the same arguments in favor of plank roads as 
 were made later to promote the building of railroads, and 
 the same tendency both on the part of cities and rural dis- 
 tricts to invest liberally in the stock of such enterprises. 154 
 
 On the one hand the plank road system was recognized to 
 
GEADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 69 
 
 be a necessity from the standpoint of securing business for 
 a particular city, and on the other hand plank roads were 
 considered of even greater value to the farming community. 
 If the farmers depended on the old type of roads they were 
 frequently compelled to hold their surplus product until 
 midsummer when navigation was partially, if not wholly, 
 suspended, freight rates high, the markets glutted, and 
 prices low. Plank roads, on the contrary, afforded a dry, 
 smooth, and easy means of access to the river at those sea- 
 sons of the year when the navigation was good, freight rates 
 low, and prices at their highest point. The amount which 
 the farmer invariably lost on account of high freights and 
 low prices represented the substantial economic basis of 
 the so-called plank road system. Under the conditions of 
 poor transportation the farmers as a class lost heavily in 
 two respects : first, by being compelled to accept low prices 
 for their own produce ; and second, by being forced to pay 
 high prices for all manufactured articles required on the 
 farm. It was alleged repeatedly that " Plank roads would 
 relieve them of both these heavy and discouraging draw- 
 backs upon their industry, and afford them such facilities 
 and advantages as to secure them ample fortunes where 
 they now derived but a scanty living." 155 
 
 It is apparent that the importance of efficient transporta- 
 tion which included or was soon to include railroads, 
 rivers and canals, graded and plank roads, and ordinary 
 wagon roads was coming more and more to be realized 
 by the pioneers of Iowa. Plank roads, canals, and railways 
 were regarded as "the three great inscriptions graven on 
 the earth by the hand of modern science, never to be obliter- 
 ated, but to grow deeper and deeper, as channels of comfort 
 and prosperity." The fact that these methods of trans- 
 portation were looked upon as supplementary and not as 
 antagonistic to each other is apparent from even a super- 
 ficial examination of contemporary sources. On this point 
 the following comment is suggestive : 
 
70 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Railways, with all their value, and they are of priceless worth to 
 man, are yet the thoroughfare for the citizen away from his home 
 for the journey, the travel, the tour ; but the plank road is for the 
 home use for the transit which is begun and ended in a day, or 
 its fraction which gives to him who uses it a double value or 
 occupation for the hours of the day which increases the happi- 
 ness and comfort and profit of the farm, that foundation of all the 
 institutions of society. 156 
 
 A discussion of the subject of graded and plank roads 
 would, however, be incomplete without some reference to 
 the rigid constitutional provisions dealing with the general 
 subject of corporations and the reaction which was taking 
 place in favor of more liberal laws along this line. At that 
 time, for example, the Constitution of Iowa absolutely pro- 
 hibited the establishment of banks with power to issue notes 
 to circulate as money. The prohibition is stated in the 
 following terms : 
 
 No corporate body shall hereafter be created, renewed, or ex- 
 tended, with the privilege of making, issuing, or putting in circu- 
 lation, any bill, check, ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other 
 paper, or the paper of any bank, to circulate as money. The 
 General Assembly of this State shall prohibit, by law, any person 
 or persons, association, company or corporation, from exercising 
 the privileges of banking, or creating paper to circulate as money. 157 
 
 The same instrument also prohibited the establishment of 
 corporations by special laws, "except for political or 
 municipal purposes", the General Assembly being author- 
 ized to provide by general laws for the organization of all 
 corporations except those with banking privileges. Finally, 
 the Constitution stipulated that "the stock holders shall be 
 subject to such liabilities and restrictions as shall be pro- 
 vided by law. The State shall not directly or indirectly, 
 become a stockholder in any corporation. " 158 
 
 The early part of the period under consideration was 
 characterized by a rigid construction of constitutional pro- 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 71 
 
 visions in matters pertaining to the general subject of cor- 
 porations which meant that there was a tendency on the 
 part of the General Assembly to keep a large amount of 
 authority directly in their own hands, granting charters by 
 special acts rather than permitting them to be issued under 
 a general law. It appears that there had not only been a 
 marked tendency to enact special laws along many lines, 
 including the laying out and opening of State roads ; but the 
 General Assembly had also been so rigid and strict in the 
 application of the general laws of incorporation that in the 
 judgment of many well informed men the legitimate and 
 normal development of business enterprises had been dis- 
 couraged. Very soon, however, there appeared a marked 
 reaction against both of these tendencies a reaction which 
 was partially responsible for the drafting of a new State 
 Constitution in 1857. When the provisions of the Code of 
 1851 dealing with the subject of private corporations were 
 under consideration, this reaction in favor of such corpo- 
 rations had already become a very positive force. 
 
 In regard to the question of individual liability, some peo- 
 ple held that persons forming a corporation should be liable 
 only to the extent of the amount of capital stock subscribed. 
 This was the liberal view of men who believed in encour- 
 aging the growth of capitalism in Iowa. Others, however, 
 felt that individuals organizing corporations should be 
 liable to the full extent of all their property. This was the 
 rigid view of the constitutional provision which a consider- 
 able group of thinking men considered detrimental to the 
 general welfare of the State it being alleged by the op- 
 ponents of the individual liability principle that a man 
 worth a thousand dollars might be quite willing to commit 
 fifty dollars worth of stock to the judicious control and 
 management of a board of directors in order to aid in the 
 construction of some necessary improvement, when that 
 same person would not give over the management of all 
 
72 HISTORY OP ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Ms property to any man or set of men however great might 
 be the necessity of a given improvement. 159 For this reason 
 it Was claimed that the enactment of more liberal laws re- 
 garding the formation of companies "for the construction 
 of rail roads, plank roads, bridges, turnpikes, &c., and for 
 insurance purposes ", 160 would tend to foster and promote 
 the economic development of the Commonwealth. 
 
 An examination of the newspaper files for the first decade 
 following the admission of Iowa into the Union reveals the 
 fact that the people generally did not appear to understand 
 the real nature of corporations. What was meant or ought 
 to be understood by individual liability! In what respect 
 should a corporation be considered a legal person with 
 power to sue and be sued in the courts ? What was the real 
 difference between a corporation and a partnership, and in 
 what respect did the business conducted by a corporation 
 differ from that carried on by individuals? If charters 
 were to be granted giving certain special privileges to cor- 
 porations what regulations and restrictions should be made 
 to protect the interests of the stockholders on the one hand 
 and the public on the other? These were some of the ques- 
 tions about which the people generally including many 
 leading men knew but very little in 1850. There was a 
 general feeling, however, that in order to encourage the 
 introduction of foreign capital and develop the State, more 
 liberal constitutional provisions and more liberal laws were 
 necessary. Now the chartering of companies for the build- 
 ing of graded and plank roads was a phase of the general 
 subject of corporate organization, regulation, and control. 161 
 
 As time went on the feeling became stronger and stronger 
 that the Constitution of 1846, which prohibited the State 
 from entering into a system of internal improvements, 
 should either be redrafted or interpreted according to more 
 liberal principles. While it was conceded that the State 
 should not engage directly in a system of internal improve- 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 73 
 
 ments or become a stockholder in general corporations, 
 many persons held that the General Assembly should pro- 
 vide by law for the formation of companies to carry on this 
 important work. Plank roads, railroads, and turnpike 
 roads were all needed; but it was difficult to induce capital 
 to seek investment in these enterprises when the companies 
 were granted no protection. In 1851, as at the present time, 
 some people believed in liberal and others in rigid legisla- 
 tion on the subject of private corporations. Regarding the 
 very timely question as to whether the government shall 
 regulate the corporations or the corporations control the 
 government, the following statement is both interesting and 
 instructive : 
 
 Whenever it becomes a question whether the capitalists shall use 
 the public, or the public the capitalists, we think all discerning men 
 will be found to take ground on the side of the public. 162 
 
 The reaction against special legislation by the General 
 Assembly and against the rigid constitutional and statutory 
 provisions relating to private corporations led to important 
 changes in the State Constitution. Among other things, the 
 fundamental law as redrafted in 1857 prohibited the Gen- 
 eral Assembly from passing local or special laws "for the 
 assessment and collection of taxes for State, County, or 
 road purposes/' 163 Thus it would no longer be possible to 
 lay out and open State roads under special acts of the 
 General Assembly as was the practice prior to 1857. The 
 new Constitution also provided for the creation of banking 
 associations, authorized the establishment of a State bank 
 with branches, provided rules and regulations regarding 
 the enactment of a general banking law, stipulated the re- 
 sponsibility of stockholders, and prohibited the suspension 
 of specie payments. While private corporations could no 
 longer be created by special laws, the General Assembly 
 was clothed with large authority to provide for their estab- 
 lishment by the enactment of general laws. 164 
 
74 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The period which intervened between the admission of 
 Iowa into the Union in 1846 and the enactment of the Code 
 of 1861 was not characterized by any important change in 
 the general system of road administration. The relative 
 powers vested in the township and county remained sub- 
 stantially the same as outlined during the Territorial 
 period. But other important movements and problems had 
 appeared. These included : first, the building of plank and 
 graded toll roads, which served as connecting links between 
 the ordinary wagon road on the one hand, and the railroad 
 of a later time on the other ; second, the question of whether 
 a liberal or a rigid application should be made of the 
 constitutional provisions and the statute laws governing the 
 organization of corporations; and finally, the problem of 
 regulating what even at that early date were clearly under- 
 stood to be public service corporations. 
 
 Iowa had but few navigable rivers, and these were useful 
 as agencies of transportation only during certain months 
 of the year. The pioneers in pushing on into the interior 
 and western counties found it more and more difficult to 
 market their produce. Eoads were impassable during those 
 seasons of the year when navigation was possible and thus 
 it was very difficult for the farmer to get his produce to 
 market in time to secure the advantage of high prices. As 
 a logical result of economic conditions, therefore, the de- 
 mand for a more permanent system of highways connecting 
 the Mississippi Eiver with the principal market centers and 
 farms of the interior counties became imperative. The set- 
 tlers early recognized that without efficient means of trans- 
 portation the economic progress of the new Commonwealth 
 would be greatly retarded. 
 
 The plank and graded toll roads were, therefore, a neces- 
 sity during the period immediately preceding the intro- 
 duction of railroads. Such roads would enable the farmer 
 not only to haul much heavier loads, but also to take his 
 
GRADED AND PLANK ROAD SYSTEM 75 
 
 produce to market at the proper time from the standpoint 
 of navigation and high prices. The graded toll roads, to- 
 gether with one or two plank roads, constituted the prin- 
 cipal channels of transportation and were the logical 
 precursors of the railroads, serving much the same purpose 
 during the decade immediately following the admission of 
 Iowa into the Union that roads of steel served at a later 
 period. 
 
 Moreover, largely as a result of economic necessity, these 
 permanent roads were very generally constructed by pri- 
 vate corporations and operated as private enterprises: it 
 was not practicable for the early settlers to undertake their 
 construction as a function of either State or local govern- 
 ment. This being true, the private ownership and operation 
 of transportation agencies, which were recognized to be 
 public in character judged from the standpoint of service 
 rendered, called up for the first time in Iowa history the 
 important question of State regulation and State control. 
 Furthermore, in reference to this important problem the 
 pioneers of Iowa clearly recognized the following facts: 
 first, that the right to charter corporations of this class 
 logically carried with it the right of supervision and con- 
 trol; second, that private property could not under any 
 circumstances be taken for private use even by paying a 
 just compensation, and when taken for public use, not only 
 a reasonable price should be paid but the right of super- 
 vision and control on the part of the public ought to be 
 made secure ; and third, that a corporation might be private 
 from the standpoint of ownership and management, and 
 public from the equally important standpoint of the service 
 rendered. 
 
 Under the pioneer conditions of early Iowa and in the 
 face of the considerations above outlined, it logically fol- 
 lowed that some men would adopt what were generally 
 understood to be liberal views, while others would hold 
 
76 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 more rigid ideas as to the extent of regulation and control 
 which should be exercised by the State. Largely as a result 
 of the " wild-cat " banking schemes of the period immedi- 
 ately preceding the admission of Iowa into the Union, the 
 Constitution of 1846 was very rigid in its provisions rela- 
 tive to the chartering of private corporations. This being 
 true, graded and plank road companies, and other similar 
 corporations were chartered by special acts rather than 
 under a general law. It was "believed, however, by many 
 well informed men that the absence of liberal constitutional 
 provisions and liberal legislation along this line was greatly 
 retarding the economic progress of the new State. The 
 period from 1846 to 1851 marked the beginnings of an agita- 
 tion for State regulation and control of public service cor- 
 porations which, continuing to the present day, has come to 
 include the whole field not only of so-called public service 
 corporations, but of certain great producing corporations 
 as well. Indeed, the demand of the early settlers of Iowa 
 for State regulation and control of plank and graded toll 
 roads is based on the same fundamental principles as is 
 the demand which is frequently made at the present time 
 for the regulation of the Standard Oil Company, the United 
 States Steel Corporation, and the American Tobacco Trust. 
 
IV 
 
 ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRALIZATION: THE 
 
 COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 
 
 1851-1853 
 
 It is generally conceded that the Code of 1851 is from 
 many standpoints the most important compilation of laws 
 ever adopted by the General Assembly of Iowa. The three 
 commissioners who drafted the revision were all men of the 
 highest order of ability, possessing special knowledge along 
 political, legal, and constitutional lines. 165 It was assumed 
 that they would not change the substance of the statutes 
 then in force, but would merely reduce the laws of the State 
 to a logical and orderly system. At the same time it ap- 
 pears that the statutes which had been handed down by the 
 Legislative Assembly of the Territory and later amended 
 by the General Assembly of the State were productive of 
 so much confusion and were so disconnected that thorough 
 and systematic revision meant a more or less complete re- 
 drafting of the whole body of the law. Accordingly the 
 Code Commission went beyond the original purpose of the 
 General Assembly and prepared a new and vastly more 
 logical compilation of the laws of the Commonwealth. 
 
 Anyone who makes a careful study of the history of tax- 
 ation in Iowa must necessarily be impressed with the 
 progress along fiscal lines which was made in the provisions 
 of the Code of 1851. 1QQ And the same improvement is ap- 
 parent in the case of road legislation and administration. 
 In fact the whole machinery of township and county govern- 
 ment was simplified and made more efficient especially 
 from the standpoint of actual administration by the pro- 
 
 77 
 
78 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 visions of the new code. What had been a complicated net- 
 work of disconnected laws was reduced to a logical system. 
 What had been a hopelessly decentralized and inefficient 
 system of local administration was made more centralized 
 and therefore more economical and efficient. The number 
 of local officers was somewhat reduced; the authority of 
 the county as a unit of local government was greatly en- 
 larged, and the powers heretofore exercised by the board 
 of county commissioners were placed in the hands of the 
 county judge. In the assessment of property and the equal- 
 ization, levy, and collection of taxes, in the administration 
 and control of roads and bridges in fact, along all the 
 important lines of local activity the county was not only 
 vested with additional power and authority, but such power 
 and authority was placed in the hands of fewer officials who 
 were made more directly responsible for their acts. In 
 other words, the Code of 1851 stood for at least three 
 things: first, simplicity and therefore economy; second, 
 logical and systematic arrangement; and finally, more di- 
 rect and efficient administration of law. 
 
 Before making an analysis of the road legislation con- 
 tained in the Code of 1851 it may be well to examine with 
 some care the forces which brought about such radical 
 changes. Why, for example, was the board of county com- 
 missioners abolished and its powers vested in the county 
 judge ! Why was the former decentralized local organiza- 
 tion for the administration of roads abolished and a county 
 road supervisor provided? What were the motives which 
 caused so large an amount of fiscal authority along prac- 
 tically all lines to be transferred from the township to the 
 county? Unfortunately the available source materials for 
 the history of the period do not contain sufficient informa- 
 tion to warrant absolutely positive conclusions. At the 
 same time by making a careful intrinsic study of the road 
 legislation of the Code of 1851 in comparison with earlier 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 79 
 
 laws, both Territorial and State, and by supplementing this 
 study with such documentary and newspaper materials as 
 are available it is possible to give at least partially satis- 
 factory answers to these questions. 
 
 Moreover, in this connection, and also from the stand- 
 point of scientific reform along the line of road legislation 
 and administration, it is especially desirable to consider the 
 arguments which were made for and against the system of 
 administrative centralization which characterizes the local 
 government provisions of the Code of 1851. Indeed, it is 
 true that in a large measure the arguments which were used 
 against the county road supervisor, and in fact against the 
 whole plan of a more central administrative control at that 
 time, are substantially the same as continue to be advanced 
 against similar reforms which from time to time have been 
 brought before the General Assembly. Furthermore, it 
 may safely be alleged that the considerations which in 1851 
 were urged in favor of a larger measure of administrative 
 centralization in local government and administration ap- 
 ply with greater force under present economic conditions. 
 And so, an analysis of the arguments and motives which 
 resulted in the legislation of 1851 may have a direct and 
 most important bearing upon reforms which are now being 
 proposed for the more economical and efficient administra- 
 tion of roads and bridges. The Code of 1851 was far in 
 advance of anything which preceded it or which has been 
 adopted since that time along the lines of simplicity, econ- 
 omy, and efficiency; and so desirable reforms for ex- 
 ample, provision for a county road engineer may be 
 secured by practically reenacting certain parts of that 
 earlier law. This is only another way of saying that during 
 the last sixty years there has been a backward movement in 
 the administration of roads as well as in the assessment 
 and collection of taxes. 167 
 
 As has already been pointed out, the administration of 
 
80 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 roads and bridges is a function of township and county 
 government. 168 This being true, it is quite impossible, or 
 at least very difficult, to understand the new methods of 
 road administration without knowing, at least in a general 
 way, the fundamental changes made in the system of local 
 government and the reasons which brought about these 
 changes. For example, it is difficult for one fully to appre- 
 ciate why the decentralized system of local road supervision 
 was abolished and the office of county road supervisor cre- 
 ated unless he understands why the board of county com- 
 missioners was at the same time abolished and its powers 
 given to the county judge. Nor is it possible to grasp fully 
 the meaning of the radical changes made in the system of 
 road administration unless one understands the modifica- 
 tions which were made in the powers and authority of 
 township trustees and other local township officials. And 
 in this connection it should always be borne in mind that 
 local government is like an organism all of the parts of 
 which are so closely inter-related that any important change 
 made in one part thereof necessarily affects the whole. 
 
 The columns of the Burlington Tri-Weeldy Telegraph 
 and of one or two other contemporary newspapers contain 
 instructive materials bearing upon the Code of 1851. 1Q9 An 
 analysis of these materials in connection with an internal 
 study of the code itself, as has been pointed out, may have 
 a direct bearing upon the present good roads movement, 
 simply because the success of any good roads movement 
 depends in so large a measure upon the character of local 
 administration and control. 
 
 In a contribution entitled "The New County Organiza- 
 tion ", signed "J. W. G." there appears a very clear state- 
 ment of some of the arguments advanced in favor of 
 reducing the number of local offices and establishing a more 
 efficient, economical, and centralized plan of local govern- 
 ment. The writer states that the business of his county 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 81 
 
 was being conducted by eight officers a judge of probate, 
 a district clerk, a school fund commissioner, three county 
 commissioners, a recorder of deeds who was also treasurer 
 and collector, and a county commissioner's clerk while 
 the code under consideration proposed to reduce this num- 
 ber to three a county judge, a county clerk, and a record- 
 er who at the same time was to act as ex officio county 
 treasurer, thus saving his county $1,530, which in addi- 
 tion to probate fees paid into the county treasury would 
 amount to a total annual saving of $2,250. 170 Thus the 
 argument of greater economy was a favorite one. At the 
 same time it was pointed out that the inducement to charge 
 exorbitant or illegal fees was removed by providing that 
 such fees should be paid into the county treasury. 
 
 To the objection that the powers conferred upon the 
 county judge were too great to be vested in any one man, it 
 was pointed out that he had no greater authority than was 
 then possessed by the county commissioners, fund commis- 
 sioner, and probate judge. "Instead of having three men 
 from remote parts of the county meeting once in three 
 months, and holding a session of three days", it is urged 
 that "we will have an officer who will devote his whole time 
 and attention to county business. He will become familiar 
 with the county finances. The same accounts will not be 
 likely to be audited and paid a second time." 171 A strong 
 point was also made of the fact that the county court would 
 be a permanent organization, in session all the time attend- 
 ing to the wants and needs of the people. 
 
 In reply to the argument that the plan of greater central- 
 ization was undemocratic, it was suggested that from the 
 standpoint of true democratic government, economy and 
 efficiency were quite as essential as a multiplicity of local 
 officials. The argument was frequently advanced with 
 much force that to elect but few officials, pay them fairly 
 well, and hold them directly responsible for an honest, 
 
 6 
 
82 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 economical administration was in itself the very essence of 
 real democracy. These statements are mentioned for the 
 special reason that they are quite as applicable under exist- 
 ing conditions as during the period under consideration. 
 
 In a communication signed "A County Officer " an at- 
 tempt was made to reply to the arguments of "J. W. G." 
 The accuracy of the estimated saving under the new system 
 was questioned, and it was suggested with no little sarcasm 
 that "this is not the first time economy has been preached 
 from the closets of lawyers, and figures have been dogmat- 
 ically given, without the slightest foundation in truth, in 
 favor of changes, which, when made, have universally been 
 disastrous to the tax paying public. " 172 Objection was em- 
 phatically made to the centralization of power in the hands 
 of only two or three county officers, as provided in the pro- 
 posed new code. The fact that three officers were to per- 
 form the duties exercised by eight under the old system 
 irritated the democratic sensibilities of "A County Officer ". 
 And so he says : "Why not make His Eminence, the County 
 JUDGE, perform them all, and ring the Town Bell into the 
 bargain?" In this way a much greater saving would be 
 realized. Moreover, it was alleged that the new system 
 proposed to farm out the county offices by paying a regular 
 salary and then appropriating the fees for the benefit of the 
 public. If the public officers could do this, the county might 
 also ' i sell goods, buy pork, build plank roads, and go into a 
 general system of making money." 173 
 
 Criticism was also lodged against the anti-democratic 
 features of the new system especially the office of county 
 judge. Among other statements "A County Officer" con- 
 tends that "the principle that representation and taxation 
 should go together, is one which has been fought for cen- 
 turies ago, and to which all parties now give a willing as- 
 sent. If one officer can supplant three in administering 
 county matters, why can it not be done in legislatures. . . . 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 83 
 
 Why should not ' North of Flint' and * South' too have a 
 voice in county business, as well as the town?" 174 
 
 It therefore appears that some people contended that the 
 different parts of the county should be represented in order 
 that justice might be done to all sections and especially that 
 the interests of the rural districts as distinguished from the 
 towns and cities might better be conserved. While the spirit 
 in which this argument was brought forward is no doubt 
 open to criticism, the argument itself possesses real merit 
 and has exerted an important influence in determining the 
 character of the organization of county government. 
 
 The two communications of which an analysis has just 
 been made are typical of the arguments used for and against 
 the system of county government proposed by the commis- 
 sioners who drafted the Code of 1851. Those who favored 
 the county judge system argued that it would be more 
 economical and efficient than the old system and that it was 
 equally democratic. In fact, the question of democracy was 
 the main point of contention between the supporters and 
 opponents of the proposed plan of local government. The 
 advocates of the plan declared that the board of county 
 commissioners under the old system was primarily an ex- 
 ecutive rather than a legislative body, and that there was 
 no more reason for selecting three commissioners than for 
 choosing five or six Governors or as many sheriffs. They 
 also argued that after all, representative government does 
 not depend upon the election of numerous officers, but rath- 
 er upon giving the people the right to vote for their own 
 representatives who are held responsible for their acts. 
 That is to say, county government with three officials would 
 be just as representative, or perhaps more so, than county 
 government with six or seven or perhaps a dozen officials. 175 
 For instance, one writer declared : 
 
 I understand everyone is represented within the meaning of the 
 phrase which your correspondent so grossly misunderstands, when 
 
84 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 he has the opportunity of voting for those who are to make or ad- 
 minister the laws under which he lives, whether the number of such 
 persons be few or many, and the town or county have an equal right 
 to vote for the County Judge, Clerk, or Recorder. 
 
 I do not understand that there is anything in the democratic 
 principle which requires offices to be created for the benefit of the 
 officer, which requires seven men to be kept in pay to perform the 
 labor that three men would perform better and cheaper. Economy 
 is the handmaiden of democracy, and efficiency is not its antagonist. 
 . . . . If the labor is more than one man can perform, give the 
 supervision to one, give him the means necessary to go through with 
 it, and make him responsible for its performance. 176 
 
 On the other hand, the opponents of the proposed system 
 insisted that altogether too much power was conferred upon 
 the county judge. It was declared that he might draw 
 money out of the treasury for his own private purposes 
 without any "possibility of detection"; and that the "po- 
 litical party that has the hardihood to father such a bill of 
 abominations, will soon be beyond the aid of either doctors 
 or lawyers." 177 Another writer, who signed himself "T", 
 called attention to the fact that the machinery of local gov- 
 ernment had been changed at least three times during the 
 last few years, and that when these changes were made the 
 people were "tantalized with profound calculations of the 
 great economy", which had never been realized in practice. 
 In fact, the main arguments against the county judge sys- 
 tem were summed up by this writer as follows : 
 
 1. It gives to one county officer unheard of authority and power, 
 not only over his brother officers, but over the people, and elects him 
 for an unprecedented length of time. 
 
 2. It places all the other officers entirely under the control of 
 this officer, and renders everybody and everything subservient to his 
 beck and nod. 
 
 3. It deprives two-thirds of the people of their rightful repre- 
 sentation and voice in administering their own internal and local 
 affairs. 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 85 
 
 4. By a system of speculation, by the county, upon the fees of 
 the officers, it renders the county more than liable to the ordinary 
 results of speculation of private individuals, to lose more than it will 
 gain. 
 
 5. By this system, it threatens to make every county office a di- 
 rect burden upon the county treasury, to be supported only by 
 increased taxation of the people. 
 
 6. By this system, based upon the false estimate of population 
 instead of work, the county officers will be crowded with more work 
 than they can possibly perform, and the people will be hampered at 
 every step in the transaction of public business. 
 
 7. That the figures given to you as [to] the proposed extent of 
 saving to each county and to each tax payer, are void of any founda- 
 tion in truth, and that there cannot possibly be any saving effected 
 under it, but on the contrary an increased expenditure. 1 78 
 
 In this connection it may not be altogether irrelevant to 
 observe that American democracy does not yet seem to fully 
 understand the fact that real representative government 
 does not consist in creating offices for the benefit of office- 
 holders. Nor is there an adequate appreciation of the im- 
 portance of efficiency in administration which frequently 
 means more centralization in the administration of the af- 
 fairs of government, national, State, and local. It is the old 
 question of individualism and the pursuit of individual gain 
 for its own sake as contrasted with the higher civic ideal of 
 public service which after all is the real basis of just and 
 efficient government. 
 
 Pioneer democracy in Iowa, as well as in other jurisdic- 
 tions, tended to over-emphasize the importance, first, of the 
 elective principle, and second, of the multiplicity of offices 
 filled by men supposed to be directly responsible to the 
 wishes of the people. The contention that if it is impossible 
 for one man to direct the work (for example, to look after 
 all the roads in a certain county) he should be given general 
 supervision over the men who do the actual work, in the 
 interests of uniformity, economy, and efficiency, is a well 
 
86 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 recognized principle of political science ; and at the present 
 time there is some recognition of the importance of this 
 principle in the movement for good roads. It is interesting 
 to observe that this is exactly the point made in the com- 
 munication above referred to and which aroused such 
 strenuous objection on the part of the opponents of the 
 proposed system. Indeed, as has already been said, the 
 arguments presented both for and against the Code of 1851, 
 because it provided for a more central type of administra- 
 tion, are almost exactly the same as those advanced at the 
 present time in favor of or in opposition to the good roads 
 movement. 
 
 It would be repetitious to review other newspaper sources 
 dealing with the code, since they consist in the main of a re- 
 statement of the facts, suggestions, and arguments already 
 outlined. It is only necessary to add that the temptation 
 on the part of the legislators to make slight amendments to 
 practically every section of the code, provided it could be 
 accomplished " without doing too much damage ", did not 
 pass unnoticed. This frailty of the average legislator is 
 well characterized in an editorial in the Muscatine Jour- 
 nal 179 
 
 The code as adopted by the General Assembly in 1851 
 provided for the following county officers : a county judge, 
 a clerk of the district court, a county attorney, a recorder, 
 a sheriff, a surveyor, a coroner, and a supervisor of roads, 
 all elected for a term of two years except the county judge 
 who was elected for four years. It will be observed that 
 after all the debate and discussions about abolishing offices 
 the number was left substantially the same as before 
 except that a county judge was provided, in lieu of the board 
 of county commissioners, and was made the " accounting 
 officer and general agent of the county. " 18 Thus the 
 county judge was given essentially the same power and 
 authority with reference to the administration of roads and 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 87 
 
 bridges as had formerly been exercised by the board of 
 county commissioners. 
 
 Among other provisions the code stipulates that "the 
 county court has the general supervision over the highways 
 in the county with power to establish and change them as 
 herein provided and to see that the laws in relation to them 
 are carried into effect." 181 It is further provided that 
 county and State roads should be sixty-six feet in width 
 but for good reasons the court is given authority to fix a 
 different width, not less than thirty-three feet. Among the 
 additional powers conferred upon the county court in the 
 matter of roads mention may be made of the authority of 
 prohibiting any person from riding or driving faster than a 
 walk across certain bridges, and of acting as the fiscal and 
 accounting agent of the county in the administration of 
 highways. 
 
 The road law of the Code of 1851, which is much more log- 
 ical and systematic than any preceding statute, is arranged 
 under the following headings: (1) general provisions, (2) 
 manner of establishing county roads, (3) establishment and 
 alteration of State roads, (4) road taxes, (5) making and 
 repairing roads, and (6) manner of conducting the fiscal 
 operations connected with the road tax. The subject mat- 
 ter under each title or heading is placed in consecutive form, 
 and all unnecessary details are eliminated. Indeed, from 
 the standpoint of brevity, logical form, and systematic ar- 
 rangement, as well as in the matter of centralized respon- 
 sible administration, the Code of 1851 in general, and the 
 road provisions in particular, represent the high water 
 mark of constructive legislation in Iowa a fact which is 
 largely, perhaps almost entirely, due to the high character 
 and ability of the three Code Commissioners. 
 
 The provisions of the new code dealing with the manner 
 of establishing county roads are in a large measure a con- 
 densed statement of the requirements found in the earlier 
 
88 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 \ 
 
 statutes. Thus, four weeks notice at the court house and in 
 three public places in each township through which the 
 proposed road is to pass is required before the petition ask- 
 ing for its establishment is presented to the county court. 
 It is further specified that such notice must state the prin- 
 cipal points through which the road is to pass and the time 
 at which application will be made to the county court for 
 the appointing of a commissioner to examine and report 
 upon the desirability of establishing the road. 182 The se- 
 curity required is much the same as in former acts, but it 
 is provided that if the proposed road is less than five miles 
 in length security must be given for the absolute pay- 
 ment of all necessary expenses. 
 
 After the notice is posted and the necessary security has 
 been given, the court, that is the county judge, ' l shall pro- 
 ceed to the consideration of the case, and if satisfied that 
 the above mentioned prerequisites have been complied with 
 shall appoint some suitable and disinterested inhabitant of 
 the county a commissioner to examine into the expediency 
 of the proposed road and to report accordingly." 183 It is 
 made the duty of this commissioner to view the road ; but in 
 doing so he is not " confined to the precise matter of the 
 petition but may inquire and determine whether that or any 
 road in the vicinity answering the same purpose and in 
 substance the same be required", 184 taking into considera- 
 tion both the public and the private convenience and in- 
 convenience and at the same time making a careful estimate 
 of the expense of the proposed highway. In case his report 
 is adverse, there are no further proceedings ; but in case it 
 is favorable, the county judge is clothed with authority to 
 receive claims for damages and appoint appraisers to ad- 
 judicate the same prior to the actual laying out and opening 
 of the road. If the circumstances are favorable, the com- 
 missioner may proceed at once to lay out the road; but if 
 the precise location of the road can not be readily ascer- 
 
THE COUNTY EOAD SUPERVISOR 89 
 
 tained "he must call to his aid a competent surveyor and 
 the necessary assistants and cause the line of the road to be 
 accurately surveyed and plainly marked out." Other de- 
 tails concerning the duties of the special commissioner, 
 including his per diem allowance, are contained in the law. 185 
 
 After the filing of the special commissioner's report in 
 favor of the road, it is made the duty of the court to appoint 
 a day for acting upon the same, which shall not be less than 
 sixty nor more than ninety days from the time of receiving 
 the report. All claims for damages must be in writing and 
 filed in the county office within a certain specified time. The 
 appointment and duties of appraisers are thus explained: 
 "Upon the filing of such claim the court must appoint three 
 suitable and disinterested voters of the county as appraisers 
 to view the ground on a day fixed by the court and report 
 upon the amount of damages sustained by the claimant after 
 deducting therefrom the benefit he will receive from said 
 road." 186 
 
 The large amount of power and discretion vested in the 
 county judge is apparent from a careful examination of the 
 section dealing with the hearing of testimony and the actual 
 establishment or rejection of the proposed road. First of 
 all, it matters not whether an application for damages has 
 actually been made, for in any event "the court may hear 
 testimony and receive petitions for and against the estab- 
 lishment of such road." That is to say, the county judge 
 may appoint appraisers, and later on other appraisers, if 
 necessary; but in the end he may receive evidence himself 
 and perform all the duties required to be performed by ap- 
 praisers. In order to make the law still more elastic and 
 clothe the county judge with additional authority and dis- 
 cretion, it is provided that the court "may establish or 
 reject the road absolutely or it may make such establish- 
 ment conditional upon the payment in whole or in part of 
 the damages awarded or the expenses incurred in relation 
 
90 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 thereto, as the public good may seem to require." 187 In 
 other words, the question as to whether a road shall be 
 established or not established, and all matters incident 
 thereto, are in the last analysis placed in the hands of the 
 county court. 
 
 It would seem, however, that the code provides certain 
 definite safeguards against the possible abuse of the large 
 and somewhat arbitrary powers of the county court. In 
 case money is advanced for the opening of a road a memo- 
 randum of the same must be made, and the clerk is required 
 to issue a certificate to the person making such payment. 
 If the road is discontinued at any time thereafter, the money 
 thus paid is refunded to him or his legal representatives. 
 Finally, when damages have been paid by the county or by 
 an individual, the amount of such damages must be re- 
 funded in case the road is discontinued. Claims of this 
 character are made liens upon the land which may be sold 
 to liquidate the debt. 
 
 Some other minor facts concerning the establishment of 
 county roads are instructive. After the road is established 
 the plat and field notes are filed by the clerk, and then it is 
 the duty of the county supervisor of roads to open and work 
 the new highway according to law. In case all of the owners 
 of the land to be used in opening a certain road give their 
 written consent the proposed highway may be established 
 without the appointment of a commissioner. Finally, when 
 roads are laid out either along or across a county line con- 
 current action of the respective county courts is necessary 
 and the commissioners must take action together. In all 
 such cases the proposed road will not be considered as 
 established in one county until it has been established in 
 both. 
 
 That portion of the Code of 1851 dealing with the admin- 
 istration of roads also provides certain general rules for 
 the laying out and opening of State roads, which are much 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 91 
 
 the same as those observed in the laying out and opening of 
 county roads. Thus, it is provided that the report of the 
 commissioners named in the special acts of the General 
 Assembly should be filed in the office of the Secretary of 
 State within six months from the time of the passage of the 
 law authorizing the road. A plat of the proposed road 
 together with a copy of the field notes must be attached to 
 the report ; and the Secretary of State is required to trans- 
 mit copies of the plat and field notes of the portion of the 
 road located in each county to the proper county authori- 
 ties, where they are filed and recorded as in the case of 
 county roads. In fact, State roads after being established 
 are treated in all respects the same as county roads, except 
 that they can not be discontinued or in any way changed by 
 order of the county court. Indeed, it would seem that the 
 principal difference between State and county roads under 
 the Code of 1851 was that the former were authorized by 
 special acts of the General Assembly, while the latter were 
 established by order of the county court. After being once 
 established, State and county roads were on essentially the 
 same basis so far as their practical administration was 
 concerned. 
 
 Eegarding the important matter of road taxes the code 
 provisions stipulate that every person "liable to pay a 
 county poll tax must pay a road tax of such an amount as is 
 fixed by the county court, which shall not be less than one 
 nor more than two dollars annually. " This again allows 
 a considerable amount of discretion to the county judge. 
 While fixing the rate of poll tax, which may be worked out 
 on the road at the rate of one dollar a day, the county court 
 is also required to determine upon the property tax for 
 roads and bridges, "which shall not be less than one nor 
 more than three mills on the dollar on the amount of the 
 county assessment ", 188 A higher rate may, however, be 
 levied by vote of the people of the county upon the question 
 
92 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 being submitted according to law. In addition, a special 
 property tax of not more than one mill on the dollar in any 
 one* year may be levied for the building of a bridge too ex- 
 pensive to be constructed out of the ordinary road fund. 
 Unless otherwise provided road taxes are to be considered 
 a part of the county tax and collected in the same manner, 
 except that ordinary county warrants are not receivable 
 for that purpose. 
 
 Those provisions of the road law dealing with the making 
 and repairing of roads are especially instructive because 
 they reveal to what degree the administration of roads was 
 actually placed in the hands of the county supervisor and 
 county court. The simplicity, the clearness, and the direct 
 logical arrangement of these sections are apparent to the 
 critical reader. The powers and authority of the county 
 road supervisor and his relations to the county court were 
 carefully set forth. The township was regarded as a minor 
 administrative division, the deputy in each township being 
 appointed by the county road supervisor and subject at all 
 times to his orders. In other words, the county, by virtue 
 of the extensive powers vested in the county road super- 
 visor and the county judge, was the important unit of local 
 government from the standpoint of road administration. 
 In fact, it is believed that the General Assembly in dealing 
 with present conditions might obtain from this system of 
 responsible, efficient, centralized supervision and control of 
 roads and bridges valuable suggestions for the solution of 
 current problems in road administration. 
 
 Among the specific provisions for road supervision it is, 
 first of all, made the duty of the county road supervisor to 
 "provide himself with a map of his county on a scale of not 
 less than one inch and a half to the mile, which shall be care- 
 fully kept and transmitted to his successor in office. " 189 
 This map must show all of the roads established in the 
 county, and any new roads that are laid out must be added 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 93 
 
 from time to time. In case a road is established along a 
 county line, it is made the duty of the supervisors of the 
 respective counties to apportion that part of the road upon 
 the county line either by agreement or by lot ; and after the 
 same has been apportioned, the road which falls to either 
 county l ' shall belong to and be kept in repair by it. ' ' With 
 the approval of the county court the supervisor is granted 
 the additional authority to hire or purchase the necessary 
 implements required to keep the roads of his county in 
 proper condition. Eegarding the expenditure of funds by 
 the supervisor it is provided that "he must annually 
 expend within each surveyed township or fractional town- 
 ship containing any portion of an established road at least 
 one half of the ordinary road tax levied on real estate within 
 such township. " With the approval of the county court 
 the remaining one-half might be expended in the construc- 
 tion of bridges or in the making of other necessary im- 
 provements in any part of the county a provision which 
 again shows to what extent the supervision of roads was 
 considered a county function and furnishes at the same time 
 additional evidence of the power and discretion vested in 
 the county court. 
 
 The provision, however, which reveals most clearly the 
 true character of the system of local administration pro- 
 vided in the code is that which makes it the duty of the 
 county road supervisor to appoint one deputy in each organ- 
 ized township of his county. The deputy thus appointed is 
 made directly responsible to the principal and may be re- 
 moved from office at the pleasure of the principal. The 
 compensation of the deputy must, however, be approved by 
 the county judge which indicates to what extent the pow- 
 ers of the county road supervisor and county judge were 
 woven into a complete system of county road adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 In this connection it should be borne in mind that the ex- 
 
94 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 tensive powers of the road supervisor were not granted 
 without at the same time providing for a reasonably clear 
 and definite account of all work done and money expended. 
 Thus he was required to "keep an accurate account of the 
 amount of labor expended and the amount of money paid, 
 showing how much has been paid to each individual and for 
 what services or other consideration, how much on each 
 road or bridge and how much within each township, which 
 account must be verified by his oath and returned annually 
 to the county court on the first Monday in July." 190 
 
 The manner of conducting the fiscal operations connected 
 with the road tax is the last, but by no means the least 
 important, portion of the road law as set forth in the Code 
 of 1851. Here again space will not permit a consideration 
 of minute details, which may best be obtained by consulting 
 the provisions of the law itself. 191 In this connection it is 
 perhaps sufficient to observe that two classes of road cer- 
 tificates were issued by the county supervisor : first, general 
 certificates given to persons entitled to payment from the 
 county for labor or materials furnished at the request of 
 the supervisor or growing out of contracts with him, which 
 were receivable generally at the treasury in payment of 
 road taxes and redeemable out of any money belonging to 
 the road fund ; and second, special certificates issued to per- 
 sons for voluntary labor or labor in payment of their poll 
 or personal road tax and receivable at the treasury on that 
 basis. The treasurer was required to open a distinct ac- 
 count with the whole road tax fund, charging that fund with 
 the amount of warrants paid in and cancelled. Moreover, 
 the books of the treasurer and the county road supervisor 
 must correspond and, as already noted, the county judge 
 was made the general accounting officer of the county. 
 
 As additional proof of the administrative centralization 
 inaugurated by the Code of 1851 it may be noted that the 
 Census Board, which corresponds to the present Executive 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 95 
 
 Council, was clothed with authority to make "any supple- 
 mental regulations .... which may be found neces- 
 sary to carry out the full spirit and intent of this chapter, 
 and which regulations shall be obligatory throughout the 
 state. " 192 Finally, the county court might also make cer- 
 tain additional regulations, "subject to any regulation made 
 by the statute or by the census board as above provided." 
 
 In conclusion it may be stated that the period under con- 
 sideration, judged from an administrative standpoint, was 
 unique in the history of Iowa road legislation. From July 
 1, 1851, when the Code of 1851 went into effect, until Febru- 
 ary 2, 1853, when the system of district road supervisors 
 was established, the administration of roads and bridges 
 was under the joint supervision and control of a county 
 road supervisor elected by the people for a term of two 
 years and the county judge elected by the people for a term 
 of four years. The county road supervisor had jurisdiction 
 over all the roads of his county, but was made responsible 
 to the county judge who had inherited the powers and 
 authority previously vested in the board of county com- 
 missioners and was at the same time the auditing officer of 
 the county. From the standpoint of finance, responsibility 
 was vested chiefly in the county judge ; but from the stand- 
 point of field work and actual supervision of the laying out, 
 opening, and maintenance of roads, the county road super- 
 visor was clothed with extensive power and authority. 
 
 For the first (and perhaps the last) time in the history of 
 Iowa since its admission into the Union, the township as a 
 unit of local government having substantial supervision of 
 highways was practically blotted out. Indeed, in road 
 administration the civil township was reduced to the status 
 of a minor administrative division in charge of a deputy 
 appointed by and directly responsible to the county road 
 supervisor who, as has already been suggested, was himself 
 
96 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 responsible to the county judge. The degree of adminis- 
 trative centralization represented by this system, which 
 made the county the one unit of local administration in 
 road and bridge matters, will be understood by the critical 
 reader when contrasted with the reforms now being urged 
 by the advocates of the good roads movement. 
 
 At the present time it is quite generally admitted that 
 township trustees should have the right to appoint the 
 township road superintendent and have practically com- 
 plete jurisdiction over the dragging of public highways. 
 Under existing conditions no one would seriously advocate 
 the appointment of township road superintendents and 
 township superintendents of dragging by the county board 
 of supervisors, for the obvious reason that such a plan 
 would justly be regarded as an unwarranted usurpation of 
 powers and duties which may wisely be vested in the civil 
 township. While authorities on road legislation and admin- 
 istration agree that the supervision and control of roads 
 and bridges should rest partly with the State and partly 
 with the county, the fact that a substantial amount of power 
 may at the same time be wisely exercised by the duly elected 
 representatives of the township rests upon an equally se- 
 cure foundation. 
 
 If, however, the Code of 1851 viewed from the standpoint 
 of township government, represented a degree of adminis- 
 trative centralization which was not absolutely necessary 
 and which would probably not be tolerated at the present 
 time, its provisions relative to the office of county road 
 supervisor are suggestive when considered in connection 
 with the present movement for the creation of the office of 
 county road engineer. Indeed, according to the proposed 
 plan the county road engineer is to be given jurisdiction 
 over the highways of his county similar to that possessed 
 by the county road supervisor in 1851, and he is also to be 
 made responsible to the county board of supervisors in 
 much the same way that the county road supervisor was 
 
THE COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR 97 
 
 made responsible to the county judge. By way of contrast, 
 however, the following differences should be noted: first, 
 the proposed county engineer would be appointed by the 
 county board of supervisors and not elected by the people, 
 as was the case with the county road supervisor in 1851; 
 second, he would be an expert civil engineer and a practical 
 road builder, requirements which for obvious reasons did 
 not appear in the Code of 1851; and finally, he would not be 
 clothed with authority to appoint township road superin- 
 tendents, since the granting of such authority would be an 
 invasion of the legitimate and proper sphere of township 
 government. In short, the county road supervisor of 1851 
 possessed certain powers and authority which are now wise- 
 ly placed under the jurisdiction of the township trustees 
 and which therefore need not and should not be vested in 
 the proposed county road engineer. 
 
 When the Code of 1851 was pending before the General 
 Assembly the following arguments were frequently ad- 
 vanced against the county judge system, including the pro- 
 vision for a county road supervisor: first, the contention 
 that the whole general plan was arbitrary, undemocratic, 
 and un-American, vesting unwarranted powers in the hands 
 of certain officers without making them directly responsible 
 to the wishes of the people ; second, it was alleged that the 
 proposed scheme of county government was not based on 
 the representative principle for the reason that the county 
 judge and the county road supervisor, coming from one 
 section of the county might ignore the interests of other 
 parts of the county; and third, it was declared to be highly 
 dangerous to clothe any one official with such large financial 
 responsibility without providing greater checks and safe- 
 guards to prevent the waste and misuse of the public funds. 
 
 In reply to these criticisms, the Code Commissioners and 
 other friends of the more centralized plan of administration 
 contended, in the first place, that public offices were created 
 
98 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 for the purpose of rendering public service and not for the 
 special benefit of any army of office seekers ; in the second 
 place, that representative government in the last analysis 
 does not consist in the needless multiplication of official 
 positions, but rather in clothing the people of a given unit of 
 government, be it township, county, or State, with the right 
 to elect and control their representatives ; in the third place, 
 that the simplified plan provided in the code would be more 
 economical and efficient ; and finally, that financial responsi- 
 bility could be obtained quite as well through a few as 
 through many public officials. 
 
 The actual success or failure of the so-called " County 
 Judge System" is a problem in political science on the one 
 hand and of the history of county government on the other. 
 In this connection it may be observed that Mr. Nelson 
 Antrim Crawford, Jr., of Council Bluffs has published a 
 very scholarly article entitled The County Judge System of 
 Iowa with Special Reference to Its Workings in Pottawat- 
 tamie County. His conclusions regarding the practical 
 workings and efficiency of the system are as follows : 
 
 The reason that first comes to mind for the relative difference in 
 the successful operation of the two systems is naturally the same 
 argument that was used by Iowa newspapers opposed to the county 
 judge system, namely, that it employed the autocratic and unrepub- 
 lican method of one-man rule. To be added to this reason, however, 
 is the fact that Iowa had no wealthy men to elect to office. The 
 salary of a County Judge was exceedingly small, and the duties 
 were exceedingly numerous. This would readily tend to one of two 
 results : the duties of the office would be neglected ; or graft would 
 occur. And these, While not present in all counties of the State, 
 were the two chief evil results of the system. Again, in Iowa, in 
 contrast to Virginia, there was strong political rivalry, and an office 
 like that of County Judge could easily be prostituted for political 
 purposes. It is these underlying circumstances, the writer believes, 
 which led to the extraordinary condition of affairs in Pottawattamie 
 County, and which made the county judge system intolerable to the 
 mass of the people of Iowa. 193 
 
ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALIZATION: THE 
 
 DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 
 
 1853-1860 
 
 The system of centralization established by the provi- 
 sions of the Code of 1851, so far as it was related directly to 
 the administration of roads, remained in force less than two 
 years. It is true that the county judge system was not 
 abolished until July 4, 1860 ; but the office of county super- 
 visor of roads was discontinued on February 1, 1853, and 
 the powers which that officer had exercised were trans- 
 ferred to district road supervisors. Moreover, a large 
 amount of authority over roads which under the Code of 
 1851 had been possessed by the county judge was trans- 
 ferred to the township trustees. Thus the general super- 
 vision of roads became in a large measure a township rather 
 than a county function. At the same time the actual di- 
 rection of road work became a district function, each town- 
 ship being divided into a number of road districts. 
 
 From the very beginning there seems to have been serious 
 objection to the county road supervisor. It was felt that 
 he represented too much centralized control and that the 
 supervision of roads could be made more successful by em- 
 ploying local officers more closely in touch with actual 
 conditions. Petitions were addressed to the General As- 
 sembly asking that the office of county road supervisor be 
 abolished because it was "injurious to the prosperity of the 
 State. " One of these petitions, signed by twenty-three 
 citizens of Davenport, reads in part as follows : 
 
 We therefore pray that the law creating a County Supervisor be 
 repealed and that the County Judge be authorized to district the 
 
 99 
 
100 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 County into road districts, by Congressional Township lines, or by 
 such boundaries as he may think most convenient and proper; and 
 the citizens of each Congressional Township or road District be 
 authorized to elect one of their number to act as supervisor. 194 
 
 The forces tending toward administrative decentraliza- 
 tion appear to have been in control in the General Assem- 
 bly; and so "An Act providing for the election of 
 supervisors and defining their duties ", was approved on 
 January 22, 1853. 195 According to the provisions of this 
 act it was made the duty of the township trustees in all of 
 the counties of the State to meet on the first Monday in 
 March, 1853, for the purpose of dividing their respective 
 townships into such number of road districts as might be 
 deemed necessary for the public good. One resident super- 
 visor was to be elected annually for each district. 
 
 The actual direction of highway work, which under the 
 Code of 1851 had been a township function in the hands of 
 a deputy appointed by the county road supervisor, was now 
 made a road district function, the officers being elected by 
 the people. In other words, two important changes were 
 made in the immediate supervision and control of road 
 work : in the first place, the size of the district was reduced ; 
 and in the second place, the appointive principle gave way 
 to the method of election. In both respects this was a 
 decided movement away from a system of administrative 
 efficiency. This, in addition to the fact that under the new 
 act the township trustees possessed the authority formerly 
 exercised by the county road supervisor and at the same 
 time absorbed a large part of the power and authority 
 originally given to the county judge under the provisions of 
 the Code of 1851, makes the changes appear revolutionary 
 from the standpoint of administration. 
 
 Moreover, the township clerk now became a local official 
 with substantial authority, being authorized to give notice 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 101 
 
 of their election to the various road supervisors in his 
 township, who must appear before him, give bond, and be 
 sworn into office. The amount of the bond and the security 
 required was in each case determined by the township trus- 
 tees and not by the county judge, as had been the rule under 
 the former system. 196 In case of vacancies in the office of 
 road supervisor, it was the duty of the township trustees 
 to fill the vacancies by appointment. 197 
 
 As an index of the authority which the county yv.dgQ still 
 possessed in the supervision and control of roads, it may be 
 noted that the act of 1853 required the township cle?fc'<$ 
 each township to give bond to be approved by the judge in 
 the sum of twice the amount of the road tax in his township. 
 Subject to the supervision of the county judge, the financial 
 responsibilities of the township clerk are outlined by the 
 statute in the following words : 
 
 The county judge shall give an order to said clerk on the county 
 treasurer for all moneys collected by him as road tax upon all prop- 
 erty and polls within and for his township, upon the payment of 
 which, by the treasurer, he shall take from said township clerk 
 duplicate receipts for the sum thus paid him, one of which receipts 
 said treasurer shall deliver over to the county judge, to be filed by 
 him among the papers of his office, and said judge shall charge the 
 same to the account of the said clerk upon the "road book". 198 
 
 That the real substance of fiscal authority in the admin- 
 istration of roads and bridges had been transferred from 
 the county to the township is, however, apparent from a 
 careful examination of the powers and duties of the town- 
 ship trustees. After the money on the order of the county 
 judge had been paid over by the county treasurer to the 
 various township clerks, thus forming a township road 
 fund, the township trustees distributed the same on a basis 
 deemed expedient for the public interest. The township 
 clerk in turn was required, at least once in each year, to 
 make a statement to the county judge accompanied with 
 
102 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 vouchers specifying in detail the things for which money 
 was^ paid out. Briefly stated, the county court gave the 
 order transferring road taxes from the county treasury to 
 the various road funds and at the same time examined the 
 expenditures of the township clerks ; but the actual paying 
 out of money from the township road fund and the actual 
 distribution of money among the various road districts of 
 the township functions vastly more vital and important 
 were exercised by the township trustees. Indeed, it ap- 
 pears that the act of 1853 was in fact a compromise between 
 the -county-township and the township-county systems of 
 local government in which the substance of power passed 
 to the township, while the form of authority remained with 
 the county. 
 
 The character of the annual report submitted by the dis- 
 trict road supervisor to the township trustees which also 
 represents an important township function is outlined in 
 the statute as follows : 
 
 The supervisor shall be required to report to the township trus- 
 tees between the first and fifteenth day of October, which report 
 shall embrace the amount of labor performed, the amount of money 
 expended, and in what way expended, and the number of days he 
 was employed in the faithful discharge of his duties, as well as the 
 condition of the roads in his district, which report shall be signed 
 and sworn to by said supervisor. 199 
 
 Other details regarding the method of directing road 
 work, the removal of fences, the planting of hedges, the 
 erection of guideboards, and the like, may be ascertained by 
 consulting the statute. 200 Mention may be made, however, 
 of the fact that the county treasurer was required to make 
 out a list of the names of all persons liable to pay road 
 taxes, together with the amount of personal, real, and poll 
 tax assessed against each person, and deliver the same to 
 the clerks of the various townships in his county. 
 
 Finally, the new law made it necessary to repeal a great 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 103 
 
 many sections of the road legislation contained in the Code 
 of 1851. The office of county road supervisor being abol- 
 ished, the outgoing officer was required to "make a settle- 
 ment with the county judge of his county, before the first 
 day of April next, and deliver to him all books, papers and 
 implements in his hands or under his control; and the 
 county judge shall apportion the same between the several 
 townships, as equally as practicable." 201 
 
 At the same session of the General Assembly (1852-1853), 
 a long list of State roads was provided for by "An Act in 
 relation to certain State roads therein named " the three 
 commissioners to review and establish each road being 
 named in the act. 202 The commissioners appointed in each 
 case were to meet on the first Monday in April, 1853, or 
 within nine months thereafter, and taking with them a sur- 
 veyor and other necessary assistants were to proceed to 
 discharge their duties according to law. No part of the 
 expense for the laying out and opening of State roads, how- 
 ever, was paid by the State, but such cost was distributed 
 among the counties through which the road passed. 
 
 In his second biennial message, Governor Stephen Hemp- 
 stead, under date of December 8, 1854, wrote as follows in 
 regard to the subject of road legislation and administration : 
 
 In this connection permit me to speak of the common roads of 
 our State, and to urge upon you the necessity of again reinstating 
 the law which required the election of a County Supervisor. That 
 officer had the charge and supervision of all the roads in the county. 
 Then there was uniformity in the opening and work done upon them 
 now in some townships the roads are kept in order, and in others 
 nothing is done ; and the consequence is, that there is no system or 
 regularity upon a subject which is of the greatest importance and 
 interest to every inhabitant of the State. 203 
 
 Thus the question of the proper method of road adminis- 
 tration was again brought before the General Assembly. 
 Should the township and road district be given a larger 
 
104 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 measure of supervision and control of roads and bridges, 
 and if so, what authority should be vested in the county? 
 The, sentiment among the people, in spite of the recommen- 
 dations of Governor Hempstead, seemed to be in favor of 
 the township rather than the county system. In other 
 words, there was a marked tendency toward still greater 
 administrative decentralization a fact which is apparent 
 from an examination of the journals of the Senate and the 
 House of Eepresentatives. Thus, when a number of road 
 bills were up for consideration, Senator George W. Lucas 
 from the Committee on Eoads introduced a substitute bill 
 and recommended its passage. Senator A. C. Fulton of the 
 same committee presented the following minority report: 
 
 Having had under consideration, in committee, an act to provide 
 for the election of township Supervisors, and defining their duties, 
 I report against said bill as uncalled for, and recommend its in- 
 definite postponement. 204 
 
 A motion by Senator Nathan Udell to indefinitely post- 
 pone the bill and also the substitute was lost, after which 
 the Senator moved to amend the first section by striking 
 out the word " township " and inserting the words "road 
 district ". This seems to indicate that he was in favor of 
 enlarging the functions of the road district as a unit of 
 road administration a plan which of course represents 
 extreme decentralized supervision and control. On the 
 other hand, in order to increase the sphere of county juris- 
 diction, Senator J. D. Test moved to amend the amendment 
 by inserting the word " county ". This motion suggests a 
 deliberate effort to distribute authority over roads between 
 the road district, the township, and the county the 
 amount of power to be vested in each depending upon the 
 attitude of the legislator toward the general problem of 
 local government. 
 
 The amendment presented by Senator Test was lost by a 
 very decisive vote, only two members voting in the affirma- 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 105 
 
 tive a fact which indicates that there was at that time but 
 very little sentiment in the General Assembly favorable to 
 the system of centralization in the control and administra- 
 tion of highways which had been created by the Code of 
 1851. Moreover, the amendment by Senator Udell to strike 
 out the word " township " and insert the words "road dis- 
 trict " was adopted, there being only nine dissenting votes. 
 
 That the majority of the members were determined to 
 retain the substance of authority over highways in the local 
 district is even more apparent from certain minor amend- 
 ments that were introduced. For example, the second 
 section of the bill was amended by striking out the words 
 "County Judge " and inserting "Township Clerk in each 
 township ", 205 Another section was amended by striking 
 out the words "County Judge " and inserting "Trustees, 
 to be approved by the Clerk", and by striking out "County 
 Judge " and inserting "Township Clerk". The fourth sec- 
 tion was amended by striking out the word "township" and 
 inserting the word ' ' district ' '. Finally, the seventh section 
 was amended by striking out the words "county judge" and 
 inserting "trustees of the township". 206 It is therefore 
 obvious from a careful reading of the Senate Journal that 
 a deliberate effort was made to transfer powers from the 
 county judge, first, to the township trustees ; second, to the 
 township clerk ; and finally, to the district road supervisors. 
 After some additional debate, the bill under consideration 
 was indefinitely postponed, and nothing of importance was 
 accomplished in the line of road legislation during the ses- 
 sion of 1854-1855. 207 
 
 Another bill which indicates the temper of the General 
 Assembly regarding the subject of local administration was 
 introduced for the purpose of clothing the county judge 
 with authority to appropriate county funds toward repair- 
 ing roads and building bridges without a vote of the people. 
 As a reason for granting this large amount of discretionary 
 
106 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 power, it was stated that in many cases the expense of 
 taking a vote amounted to more than the total cost of re- 
 pairing the road or building the bridge. In fact, there were 
 many townships and road districts throughout the State 
 where the road tax was insufficient to construct works of 
 even moderate expense. The bill was defeated largely 
 for the reason that "a majority of the House, however, 
 were fearful of the fidelity of their County Judges, and so 
 expressed themselves, stating that this law would give the 
 Judges too much power, and that it would be a dangerous 
 act." 208 
 
 Aside from a long list of special acts laying out State 
 roads, 209 but two brief laws relating to public highways 
 were enacted by the Fifth General Assembly. The first was 
 an act supplemental to the earlier law providing for the 
 election of supervisors and defining their duties. By its 
 provisions the local road supervisor was given the addition- 
 al power of bringing suits before any justice of the peace 
 against any person failing to work out his road taxes or 
 pay the necessary commutation money. 210 The second act 
 made both general and special road certificates receivable 
 in payment of county taxes the same as county warrants, 
 whereas up to this time only general certificates had been 
 accepted in payment of county taxes. 
 
 At the following session of the General Assembly (1856- 
 1857) a law was passed authorizing the resurvey of roads. 211 
 Where the field notes of the original survey were lost or 
 destroyed, or if the survey had been defective, it was made 
 the duty of the county judge to cause the road to be resur- 
 veyed, platted, and recorded in the manner provided by 
 law. Notices were posted by the county judge, who also 
 possessed authority to hear and determine appeals on ac- 
 count of any injury or damage caused by the resurvey 
 after which the road was declared established on the basis 
 of the new survey and the plat and field notes were filed 
 according to law. 
 
THE DISTRICT KOAD SUPERVISOR 107 
 
 At this session of the legislature an unusually large num- 
 ber of State roads (eighty in all) were provided for by 
 special acts, a practice which was prohibited by the new 
 Constitution adopted in August, 1857. In fact, judging 
 from the following statement, it would seem that a desire to 
 meet the needs of a growing and expanding community was 
 not the sole motive of the General Assembly of 1856-1857 
 in establishing so many State roads : 
 
 It not only became apparent that this work [the laying out of 
 State roads] had too often degenerated into mere schemes of pol- 
 iticians, either to acquire influence and votes, or to pay off debts 
 already incurred, but that railroads then rapidly extending west- 
 ward, would largely obviate the necessity for even genuine State 
 roads. So the convention of 1857, in Article III, Section 30, of the 
 present constitution, prohibited the general assembly from "laying 
 out, opening, and working roads or highways." The summer of 
 that year saw the last parties engaged in laying out State Roads. 
 The legislature of 1856, however, had been so industrious in the 
 establishment of State roads, that it takes almost three pages in the 
 index merely to name the various laws or sections in which they 
 were decreed. The commissioners in the summer of that year were 
 very active and "made hay while the sun shone," well knowing 
 that the laws would provide for no more such roads. And so this 
 usage so pleasant to its beneficiaries came to an end. 212 
 
 As has already been indicated, the provisions of the Con- 
 stitution of 1857 were more liberal in the matter of charter- 
 ing private corporations than were the provisions of the 
 Constitution of 1846. At the same time many forms of 
 special legislation were prohibited 213 a subject to which 
 Governor Grimes referred in his second biennial message 
 as follows : 
 
 All the general laws of the State require some modifications to 
 adapt them to the provisions of the New Constitution. Several new 
 acts of a general character will also be necessary. Special legisla- 
 tion is opposed to the true theory of a Republican government, and 
 is the source of great corruption. The New Constitution inculcates 
 
108 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 most strongly the duty of general legislation, and declares that "in 
 all cases where a general law can be made applicable, all laws shall 
 be general, and of uniform operation throughout the States. 214 
 
 As a matter of fact, special legislation for the assessment 
 and collection of taxes for State, county, or road purposes ; 
 and for the laying out, opening, and working of roads and 
 highways was prohibited in express terms by the new 
 Constitution. 215 It was also provided that "No corpora- 
 tions shall be created by special laws"; but corporations 
 including banks with the privilege of note issue might be 
 established by general laws. 216 Thus the new instrument 
 was made more elastic and therefore more responsive to the 
 rapidly developing economic life of the Commonwealth. 
 
 In the same message Governor Grimes also called the at- 
 tention of the General Assembly to the act of Congress 
 admitting Iowa into the Union, which act declared "that 
 five per cent, of the net proceeds of sales of all public lands 
 lying within the said State, which have been or shall be sold 
 by Congress from and after the admission of said State, 
 after deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall 
 be appropriated for making public roads and canals within 
 the said State, as the Legislature may direct." 217 This act 
 had been accepted by the State, according to the Governor, 
 with the understanding, however, that five per cent of the 
 net proceeds of the sales of all public lands within the State 
 should be used to support the common schools. 218 
 
 Governor Grimes explained that at the time this contract 
 was made between the State and the United States, Con- 
 gress disposed of the public lands in no other way than by 
 bona fide sales for money; and this obligation was based 
 upon a similar obligation on the part of the State that lands 
 owned by the general government should not be taxed and 
 that the lands of non-residents should not be taxed higher 
 than the lands of residents. The policy on the part of the 
 United States of selling public lands for cash, however, had 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 109 
 
 not been continued; but large tracts of land had been en- 
 tered by holders of military land warrants, thus destroying 
 the trust the Federal government held for the State in the 
 matter of supporting common schools and making public 
 roads and canals. Governor Grimes estimated that on 
 June 30, 1856, military land warrants located in the State 
 covered 10,929,692.3 acres the amount due the State being 
 $682,980.20. "I recommend ", said the Governor, "that 
 Congress be again memorialized on this subject, and that 
 suit be authorized to be instituted against the United States 
 for the recovery of the amount due, in the Court of 
 Claims. " 219 
 
 The agitation against the county judge system and in 
 favor of a more decentralized plan of local government re- 
 sulted in a number of bills being brought before the General 
 Assembly in 1858. Moreover, while there appears to have 
 been general opposition to any plan of centralized adminis- 
 tration, specific objections were made to the conferring of 
 so much power on the county judge. To be sure, much of 
 the authority possessed by that official according to the pro- 
 visions of the Code of 1851 had already been transferred to 
 various township officers especially to the township clerk 
 and board of trustees. These changes, however, were not 
 sufficient and a large number of taxpayers insisted upon 
 more sweeping measures. 
 
 Since it is not possible to understand the administration 
 of highways and bridges without having a general knowl- 
 edge of the whole system of local government, the necessity 
 from time to time of making a brief presentation of im- 
 portant changes in township and county organization will 
 be apparent to the critical reader. Thus, if the abolition of 
 the county judge system would change both the spirit and 
 form of the administration of highways in Iowa, it is ob- 
 vious that the reasons and motives producing such a change 
 ought to be clearly understood. In the last analysis the 
 
110 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 same forces which oppose efficient, centralized administra- 
 tion in one department of local government will be found to 
 operate throughout the system as a whole; for as already 
 suggested the system of local government is like an organ- 
 ism with its various parts and functions closely related. 220 
 The objections urged with so much force against the 
 county judge system of local government are clearly stated 
 in a petition presented to the General Assembly in 1858, 
 which reads in part as follows : 
 
 1st, The powers now conferred upon that officer are almost un- 
 limited in extent. Against their improper use no checks or safe- 
 guards have been provided, that are adequate to prevent or speedily 
 correct official peculation, oppression or fraud. They constitute 
 their possessor a petty Autocrat, by whom they may be, and too 
 frequently are wielded in a tyrannical manner, and in direct oppo- 
 sition to the wishes and interests of the people whose servant he 
 should be. 
 
 2nd, The centralization of such unlimited powers in the hands of 
 a single individual, particularly the power of levying taxes at will, 
 without the expressed or implied consent of the payers of binding 
 them, as their financial agent, in contracts of which they are ig- 
 norant or do not approve and of arbitrarily expending the public 
 revenue as his personal interest or caprice may direct is a policy 
 inconsistent with the fundamental principles of republican govern- 
 ment, at all times dangerous, and never expedient. 
 
 3rd, The will of the majority can be better carried out, and the 
 public business more faithfully transacted under a system of gov- 
 ernment based on representation from different parts of a county, 
 than any other that can be adopted, while at the same time it 
 creates among the people an interest in the management of their 
 public affairs that tends to prevent extortion, embezzlement and 
 mal-administration in office. 
 
 Your petitioners therefore pray your Honorable bodies to abolish 
 entirely said office of County Judge, and to substitute therefor 
 
 1st. The office of Probate Judge in name and effect, the duties 
 of which shall be of a probate character only, with appellate juris- 
 diction of criminal actions within the jurisdiction of a Justice of the 
 Peace, and 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 111 
 
 2nd, A Board of Supervisors, similar to that elected under the 
 Township organization of New York, Wisconsin or Illinois; or a 
 Board of Commissioners and County Auditor, such as obtain in 
 Ohio, Pennsylvania or Indiana. 221 
 
 People, however, were by no means of one opinion as to 
 the proper system of county and township government. 
 There were some who desired to return to the county road 
 supervisor as provided for in the Code of 1851. On the 
 other hand, a considerable number believed that the town- 
 ship should be made an even more important unit of local 
 administration. Between these extreme views almost every 
 shade of opinion could be found in the General Assembly of 
 1858. 
 
 It was on January 19th that Mr. Dennis A. Mahoney pre- 
 sented a resolution in the House of Eepresentatives which, 
 among other things, provided that a system of township and 
 county organization should be adopted which should include 
 "the abrogation of the office of County Judge; the creation 
 of the office of County Supervisor of roads who shall have 
 jurisdiction of road matters, or, by law may be provided 
 the creation of a fiscal agent in each county under whose 
 authority county funds shall be disbursed ", 222 In other 
 words, Mr. Mahoney, while objecting very seriously to the 
 county judge system, nevertheless believed in the necessity 
 of a county supervisor of roads. 
 
 A few days later Senator Jonathan W. Cattell of the 
 Committee on Township and County Organization intro- 
 duced in the Senate a series of resolutions which provided 
 for the abrogation of the office of county judge and the 
 establishment of a board of county commissioners or town- 
 ship supervisors, and which at the same time made pro- 
 vision for the levy, collection, and disbursement of taxes for 
 road and township purposes by the proper township of- 
 ficers. 223 Among the instructive features of this resolution 
 was the proposal to establish the office of county assessor 
 
112 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 to assess real property once in four years, leaving to town- 
 ship assessors the annual assessment of personal property. 
 The resolution by the committee thus represented a strange 
 mixture of the township and county principles of local ad- 
 ministration. The majority favored abolishing the office of 
 county judge ; but there appears to have been no agreement 
 regarding a desirable substitute some preferring the 
 commissioner system and others a county board of township 
 supervisors. On being put to a vote, however, the county 
 judge was retained by a small majority, indicating that the 
 modified system of centralization still enjoyed considerable 
 support in the General Assembly. 224 At the same time it is 
 evident that while no definite general plan of action was 
 perfected in 1858, forces existed which were to produce sub- 
 stantial changes at the succeeding session of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 A few days after the defeat of Senator CattelPs resolu- 
 tion Mr. Lincoln Clark of Dubuque offered a resolution in 
 the House of Eepresentatives for the appointment of a 
 commission of three persons learned in the law for the 
 purpose of revising the laws then in force, and drafting a 
 new system of laws to embrace the following features : 
 
 1st. A township organization for the assessment of property and 
 the collection of revenue. 
 
 2d. The separation of the offices of County Recorder and Treas- 
 urer, and that they be held by different persons. 
 
 3d. The retention of the office of County Judge, with juris- 
 diction in orphans, administrative and probate matters. 
 
 4th. The establishment of a Commissioners Court, to be com- 
 posed of the County Judge and two or more persons, which court 
 shall have jurisdiction of roads, public buildings and revenue, so 
 far as the latter shall not come within the scope of the powers of the 
 township officers. 
 
 5th. The establishment of a Court to be denominated the Court 
 of Common Pleas, which shall have jurisdiction co-extensive with 
 the District Court, except in capital cases. This system to embrace 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 113 
 
 every county in the State which has a population of over 
 
 thousand. Said Court to be of the character of a Circuit Court, 
 and to embrace not less than four counties in one circuit, and to 
 have one Judge for each circuit, whose salary shall be fixed by law, 
 but shall in no case exceed that of a Judge of the District Court. 
 
 6th. The creation of the office of County Auditor, a fiscal agent 
 for the county. 
 
 7th. The office of Supervisor of roads, whose duty it shall be to 
 open and keep in repair all roads in the county in such manner as 
 shall be provided by law. 225 
 
 A careful reading of this resolution in connection with 
 the earlier one referred to suggests to the critical reader 
 that at that time, the General Assembly was simply groping 
 in the dark as to the proper steps which should be taken in 
 reorganizing the system of local government. The Clark 
 resolution seems to accentuate the importance of the county 
 principle ; but it is evident that its author believed that the 
 county judge acting alone should not be intrusted with such 
 large powers in other words that two or more persons 
 should be associated with him as a commissioners court to 
 have jurisdiction over roads, public buildings, and revenue. 
 Again it is obvious that there was a compromise between 
 those who believed that the county judge system should be 
 abolished entirely and those who felt that it ought to be re- 
 tained without any substantial change. 
 
 In this connection the following brief statement in The 
 Daily Gate City (Keokuk) regarding proposed changes in 
 the system of local government with special reference to the 
 subject of county finances is suggestive: 
 
 Different plans are suggested for the management of county 
 finances. One wishes a county auditor vested with all the financial 
 powers now in the hands of the County Judge another would 
 have a board of three commissioners, and yet another suggests a 
 board of supervisors composed of one from each township, after the 
 New York plan. Several radical changes will be made in the organ- 
 ization of counties. 226 
 
 8 
 
114 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The, House was decidedly in favor of abolishing the office 
 of county judge, but the Senate by a small majority held the 
 opposite view. And so no important change was accom- 
 plished by the Seventh General Assembly in the matter of 
 reorganizing the system of county and township govern- 
 ment. Indeed, the period was one of agitation and dis- 
 cussion a work which must always precede the task of 
 constructive statesmanship. 
 
 Road legislation in 1858 consisted of two acts : one pro- 
 viding for making and repairing public highways and pre- 
 scribing the duties of township officers; and the other 
 defining the mode of laying out, establishing, changing, and 
 vacating State roads. 227 The first provided nothing essen- 
 tially different from the organization of local administra- 
 tion already described; but the second provided a general 
 plan or system of laying out and opening State roads in 
 lieu of the numerous special acts which had been passed 
 prior to the formation of the new State Constitution in 
 1857. 
 
 "An Act to provide for the making and repairing of 
 public highways, and prescribing the duties of township 
 officers in certain cases ", approved on March 23, 1858, 
 continued the system of annually elected district road 
 supervisors the boundaries of the road districts being 
 determined by the township trustees. 228 It was made the 
 duty of the township clerk to notify the district supervisor 
 of his election, penalties were prescribed for refusing to 
 qualify, and the road supervisor was required to give bond 
 "in such sum and with such security as the township Clerk 
 may deem requisite, conditioned that he will faithfully and 
 impartially perform all the duties devolving upon him, and 
 appropriate all moneys that may come into his hands by 
 virtue of his office according to law". 229 Able-bodied men 
 between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five were obliged 
 to perform two days labor on the public roads between the 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 115 
 
 first day of April and the first day of July. The district 
 road supervisor had general supervision over the actual 
 road work, gave notices as required by law, and saw that all 
 necessary tools were provided, allowing due credit for the 
 same. 
 
 An illustration of the compromise system of district, 
 township, and county road administration is to be found in 
 the interesting fact that in order to enable the road super- 
 visors to determine the precise location of the various roads 
 in their districts, it was made the duty of the county judge 
 of each county to furnish the township clerks with a map of 
 their respective townships, "on which map shall be plainly 
 marked all roads which are at the time of making such map 
 legal roads, which map shall be carefully preserved among 
 the papers of his office. ' ' 
 
 Immediately after the establishing of any new road the 
 county judge was required to notify the township clerks of 
 the townships in which the road was located, furnishing 
 also a copy of the field notes the clerk being required to 
 record the road on his map. In like manner it was the duty 
 of the township clerk to furnish each road supervisor of his 
 township with a map of his particular district, showing all 
 the legal roads in such district, "and when any new road 
 shall have been established, it shall be the duty of the town- 
 ship Clerk to notify each of the Supervisors whose district 
 is affected by said new road, and also to furnish a copy of 
 the field notes of the same, which new road shall be immedi- 
 ately marked on the map of said district in his possession." 
 Thus it appears that the responsibility of providing ade- 
 quate and satisfactory road maps was parcelled out among 
 the following officers: the county judges, the township 
 clerks, and the district road supervisors. 230 
 
 The actual levy of taxes for roads, bridges, plows, and 
 scrapers was vested in the township trustees, subject to the 
 statutory limitation that such levy "shall not be less than 
 
116 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 one nor more than three mills on the dollar on the amount 
 of the township assessment of that year." 231 This limita- 
 tion, however, did not apply to cities forming separate road 
 districts in which case the tax levy was made by the city 
 council. The making out of the tax list for road purposes 
 on the basis of the assessment as returned by the local 
 assessor was placed in the hands of the township clerk, who 
 was required to make entry "upon such tax list showing 
 what it is, for what road district and for what year, and 
 shall attach to the list his warrant under his hand, in gen- 
 eral terms requiring the Supervisor of such district to 
 collect the taxes therein charged". 232 The tax lists, after 
 being made out, were given to the supervisor who was re- 
 quired to collect the tax either in labor or in money. 233 
 
 The extent to which administrative decentralization pre- 
 vailed in the actual supervision of road work while the 
 county judge system was still in force will be apparent to 
 the reader when he examines the report that district road 
 supervisors were required to submit to the township clerk. 
 This report embraced the following items : 
 
 1st. The names of all persons in his district required by section 
 six of this act to perform labor on the public highway, and the 
 amount performed by each. 
 
 2d. The names of all persons against whom suits have been 
 brought, as required by section eight of this act, and the amount 
 collected of each. 
 
 3d. The names of all persons who have paid their property road 
 tax in labor, and the amount paid by each. 
 
 4th. The names of all persons against whom suits have been 
 brought for the collection of road taxes, and the amount collected 
 from each. 
 
 5th. The names of all persons who have paid their road tax in 
 money, and the amount paid by each. 
 
 6th. A correct list of all non-resident lands and town lots on 
 which the road tax has been paid, and the amount paid on each. 
 
 7th. A correct list of all non-resident lands and town lots on 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 117 
 
 which the road tax has not been paid, and the amount of tax on 
 each piece. 
 
 8th. The amount of all moneys coming into his hands by virtue 
 of his office, and from what sources. 
 
 9th. The manner in which the moneys coming into his hands by 
 virtue of his office has been expended, and the amount, if any, in his 
 possession. 
 
 10th. The number of days he has been faithfully employed in 
 the discharge of his duty. 
 
 llth. The condition of the roads in his district, and such other 
 items and suggestions as said Supervisor may wish to make, which 
 report shall be signed and sworn to by said Supervisor and filed by 
 the Township Clerk among the papers of his office. 234 
 
 It is apparent that this report was much more logical, 
 complete, and systematic than that provided under earlier 
 acts. One especially instructive feature of the report is the 
 provision for listing the land and town lots of non-residents 
 information which was particularly important in order 
 to prevent evasion of road taxes. After the reports of the 
 various district road supervisors were filed, the township 
 clerk proceeded to make out a correct list of all non-resident 
 lands and town lots on which the road taxes had not been 
 paid. A certified copy of this list of non-resident taxpayers 
 was transmitted to the county judge and by him was imme- 
 diately placed in the hands of the county treasurer, who was 
 required to collect such delinquent tax in the same manner 
 in which ordinary taxes were collected. 
 
 Other miscellaneous provisions of the act under consider- 
 ation refer to penalties, the time of working roads, the 
 neglect of road supervisors to perform their duties, timber 
 and shade trees, damages in the case of unsafe bridges, the 
 growing of hedges, and the removal of obstructions. 235 The 
 district road supervisor was obliged to keep the roads in the 
 best condition that the funds at his disposal would permit 
 and make an annual settlement with the township trustees, 
 who in turn distributed the road fund remaining in the 
 
118 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 hands'of the township clerk as they might deem expedient. 
 It should be noted, however, that the township clerk was 
 financially responsible not only to the township trustees 
 but also to the county judge, being required to pay out 
 money as ordered by the trustees and at the same time "to 
 make settlement with the County Judge, producing vouch- 
 ers for all moneys paid out by him, specifying for what, and 
 to whom paid. " 236 
 
 Thus the financial responsibilities of the township clerk 
 represent in a very unique manner the real nature of the 
 compromise between the township and county principles of 
 road administration. While the act under consideration 
 vested the substance of authority for the most part in town- 
 ship officials, the county judge, nevertheless, retained a 
 small measure of supervision even in the management of 
 finances. The great power and authority which that official 
 had exercised under the Code of 1851 had, however, been 
 gradually taken away and was to disappear entirely two 
 years later in the Revision of 1860. 
 
 As has already been noted, the Constitution of 1857 pro- 
 hibited special legislation for the laying out, opening, and 
 maintaining of roads. This being true, it was necessary 
 for the General Assembly to pass general legislation for 
 this purpose. And so "An Act defining the mode of laying 
 out, establishing, changing and vacating State roads ", ap- 
 proved on March 23, 1858, took the place of the numerous 
 special laws which had been passed up to that time for the 
 same purpose. 237 
 
 The county court, after receiving a petition signed by at 
 least twenty freeholders of the county asking for the estab- 
 lishment of a State road, was clothed with authority to 
 appoint a commissioner to view and survey the proposed 
 route. Prior to the granting of such an order, however, it 
 was necessary to file a bond satisfactory to the county court, 
 "payable to the State of Iowa, and conditioned for the pay- 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 119 
 
 ment of all expenses which may accrue in the location of 
 said road, in case the same shall not be established a public 
 highway". 238 
 
 In the matter of the laying out and opening of State roads 
 a substantial amount of authority was given to the county 
 judge. In fact, he possessed much more power along this 
 line than in the making and repairing of ordinary public 
 highways. The commissioners appointed in each county to 
 survey a given State road were required to meet in ac- 
 cordance with the order of the county court of each county, 
 employ a competent surveyor, chain carriers, and other 
 assistants, if necessary, and proceed to discharge all the 
 duties outlined by law. Moreover, it is further stipulated 
 that "each State road shall be laid out from the place of 
 beginning to the place of termination on the most prac- 
 ticable route, always having regard to suitable ground, im- 
 provements already existing, section lines and intermediate 
 points, if any, and all State roads that shall hereafter be 
 established, agreeable to the provisions of this act shall be 
 opened and considered public highways, sixty-six feet 
 wide." 239 
 
 The report of the commissioner or commissioners, after 
 being completed and properly signed, was deposited in the 
 office of the county judge of each county in which any part 
 of the proposed road was situated. In case the commis- 
 sioner or commissioners reported in favor of establishing 
 the road, the county court of the counties concerned, gave 
 due notice either by publication or by the posting of written 
 notices as to the time and place of a meeting held for the 
 purpose of hearing parties in favor of or against the laying 
 out and opening of the proposed highway. Any person or 
 persons considering themselves aggrieved by the opening 
 of a State road through his or their lands, were granted the 
 privilege of filing with the county judge a petition in writ- 
 ing, setting forth their claims for damages. After the filing 
 
120 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 of the* petition the judge appointed a jury of three disinter- 
 ested freeholders who were required to view the road for the 
 entire distance and make a complete report thereon. 
 
 If the county court considered the amount determined 
 upon by the jury to be just and equitable, and that the road 
 was of sufficient importance to cause the damages to be paid 
 out of the county treasury, the county might pay the same ; 
 but if the court believed that the road was not of sufficient 
 importance to have the damages paid by the public, it 
 might refuse to establish the highway, unless the damages 
 and expenses were paid by the petitioners desiring the 
 establishment of the road; or in case no application for 
 damages had been filed, the court proceeded to establish the 
 road as a regular public highway. 
 
 It should be stated, however, that the rights of individuals 
 were still further protected by the act under consideration 
 and that the county court was not the final arbiter in award- 
 ing damages. Within a certain specified time and under 
 certain conditions an appeal might be made to the district 
 court. But in such cases of appeal from the decision of the 
 county court, the appellant was required to pay all costs of 
 the same, " unless the judgment in the District Court shall 
 exceed in amount the award rendered by the jury appointed 
 by the County Court. " 24 
 
 The county court, however, was given still further discre- 
 tion in the matter of laying out and opening State roads. 
 If the district court granted more damages than had been 
 allowed by the jury originally appointed by the county 
 court, the county judge might still refuse to establish the 
 road " unless the parties interested in the location of said 
 road shall pay or cause to be paid before the opening of said 
 road, to the satisfaction of the County Court in case said 
 road is established as a highway, all expenses incurred and 
 damages assessed." Finally, the county court was given 
 authority to record and establish a certain part of the pro- 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 121 
 
 posed road when deemed of public utility and at the same 
 time refuse to establish the remainder. 
 
 Other minor details are provided for in the statute. The 
 amount of fees allowed, the method of reducing the width of 
 roads, and the appointment of road viewers in certain cases 
 may be mentioned in this connection. After the establish- 
 ment of a State road as provided by law, the act finally 
 stipulates that the portion of the road lying in any par- 
 ticular county should be regarded in all respects as a county 
 road, to be changed or altered in the same manner as other 
 county roads. In other words, the local administration of 
 State roads after being once established was exactly the 
 same as the local administration of county roads. 241 
 
 At this point, at least three decisions of the Supreme 
 Court should be mentioned because of their direct and im- 
 portant bearing upon the subject of road legislation and 
 administration. In McCrory v. Griswold, et al 242 it was 
 held that in case appraisers appointed to assess damages 
 returned too small an amount or failed to award damages 
 and the county court refused to set aside the report, the 
 petitioner might take an appeal to the district court and 
 have his damages assessed by a jury. This appeal, however, 
 could not be taken except in due, legal form and for just 
 cause, as the county court was clothed with a large amount 
 of authority and discretion in the matter of establishing a 
 road when the public convenience and necessity seemed to 
 require its establishment. In fact, the county court might 
 establish a road without any reference to the question of 
 compensation to the owners of property taken for that 
 purpose. 
 
 The Supreme Court thus recognized the force of that pro- 
 vision of the Bill of Eights, which declares that "Private 
 property shall not be taken for public use without just com- 
 pensation first being made, or secured to be made to the 
 owner thereof, as soon as the damages shall be assessed by 
 
122 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 a jury, who shall not take into consideration any advantages 
 that may result to said owner on account of the improve- 
 ment for which it is taken." 243 At the same time it was 
 also held that before damages could be paid they must be 
 assessed in the regular form prescribed by law. The case 
 under consideration is, however, somewhat vague and in- 
 definite and indicates that the court was not clear in its own 
 mind regarding the proper method of allowing damages to 
 petitioners in connection with the laying out and opening of 
 public roads. 
 
 In the State of Iowa v . Beneke and White v. Road District 
 No. I 244 the opinion of the lower court was reversed, it 
 being held that according to the provisions of Chapter 48 
 of the Laws of Iowa, 1853, a road district was not a regular 
 corporation, which could sue and be sued in the courts. 
 Among other observations, Justice Wright declared : 
 
 Nor is there any provision as to how they are to be made respon- 
 sible for the damages sustained in consequence of defects in roads 
 and bridges. Under such circumstances, we are of the opinion that 
 a road district cannot become a party in a court of justice in this 
 State. 245 
 
 In the City of Dubuque v. Maloney 246 the question of the 
 exact legal status of land used for the purpose of roads, 
 streets, and alleys came up for adjudication. In this case it 
 was held that the acts of Congress, approved on July 2, 
 1836, and March 3, 1837, 247 laying off the land where the 
 city of Dubuque is located into lots, streets, avenues, and 
 public squares for the public use, provided that the legal 
 title to the soil subject to the public easement was vested in 
 the owners of the lots on each side of the street, and that 
 when lots were sold to purchasers such purchaser accepted 
 every easement, privilege, and advantage represented by 
 the official plat as belonging to the lots. An easement was 
 defined by the court to be "An advantage or privilege in 
 lands, without profit, existing distinct from an ownership in 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 123 
 
 the soil". 248 In other words, a street or highway was con- 
 sidered to be merely an easement, the actual fee simple 
 remaining in the hands of the owners of adjacent lots. The 
 city as such could simply regulate the public use of streets, 
 alleys, and squares. The court maintained that "neither 
 the ownership of the soil nor of the easement is in the cor- 
 poration. " 249 
 
 The county judge system established by the Code of 1851 
 became operative on July 1st of that year and remained in 
 force until July 4, 1860. It should not be assumed, however, 
 that the county judge continued to possess the very exten- 
 sive and somewhat arbitrary powers originally granted by 
 the provisions of the code. It is a well known maxim of 
 political science that forms of government frequently per- 
 sist long after the substance of authority has disappeared 
 or has been transferred. This was in a large measure true 
 of the office of the county judge during the period under 
 consideration. Beginning with February 2, 1853, when the 
 law creating district road supervisors went into effect, the 
 county judge was rapidly shorn of much of the unusual 
 power which had been granted to him in 1851. Indeed, fol- 
 lowing the session of 1858 the office became but a shadow of 
 its former self. For example, the jurisdiction which the 
 county judge originally possessed over roads and highways 
 was for the most part gradually transferred to the town- 
 ship clerk, the township trustees, and the district road 
 supervisors. 
 
 Partly as a reaction against the arbitrary authority of 
 the county judge, but more largely as the result of the char- 
 acter, training, and temperament of the early settlers, one 
 of the most distinctive tendencies of the period from 1851 
 to 1853 was the rapid growth of sentiment in favor of the 
 township-county principle of local government. In the 
 matter of roads and bridges the township trustees and 
 
124 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 township clerk were gradually clothed with authority that 
 had been vested in the county judge or county road super- 
 visor. Indeed, the return to the township system of assess- 
 ment in 1858, together with the large powers granted to the 
 township trustees in matters of taxation and road adminis- 
 tration, gave the civil township a dignified and worthy 
 position in the realm of local government. In the realm of 
 local finance, its authority had come to be practically su- 
 preme. Aside from a levy of not more than one mill by the 
 county for the making and repairing of bridges after the 
 same had been approved by a vote of the people, the town- 
 ship possessed the exclusive right to make the actual levy of 
 taxes for roads, bridges, plows, and scrapers subject, how- 
 ever, to the statutory limitation that the levy must not be 
 less than one nor more than three mills on the dollar. In a 
 word, the substance of financial power was now placed in 
 the hands of township trustees and was therefore brought 
 into closer touch with the people. 
 
 The transfer of authority from the county to the town- 
 ship, however, was by no means the only instance of admin- 
 istrative decentralization during the period from 1851 to 
 1860. While the general supervision of roads and bridges, 
 together with the power to levy taxes for their support, 
 became almost wholly a township rather than a county 
 function, the actual direction of road work was placed in 
 the hands of district road supervisors. Each township was 
 divided into road districts by the township trustees and a 
 road supervisor elected by the people in each district. In 
 other words, authority which from July 1, 1851, to February 
 2, 1853, had been vested in a township deputy, appointed by 
 the county road supervisor, was now placed in the hands of 
 officials elected in road districts which represented sub- 
 divisions of the township. Briefly stated, the size of the 
 district was reduced and the appointive principle was super- 
 seded by that of election. 
 
THE DISTRICT ROAD SUPERVISOR 125 
 
 It is evident that the period under review witnessed im- 
 portant changes in the character of our local institutions : 
 it was a period of transition and compromise, in which 
 authority was divided between the county, the township, 
 and the road district which was a sub-division of the town- 
 ship; and at the same time powers of administration were 
 parcelled out among a long list of officials, including the 
 county judge, the township trustees, the township clerk, the 
 district road supervisor, and the district court. The town- 
 ship clerk represented a sort of connecting link between the 
 district road supervisors and township trustees on the one 
 hand, and between the county judge and the township trus- 
 tees on the other. He did, indeed, represent the cementing 
 principle of the local administrative organization, composed 
 of the road district, the township, and the county, in much 
 the same way that a county engineer under present con- 
 ditions would form a bond of union for township, county, 
 and State authority giving vitality, elasticity, and pur- 
 pose to the whole system of administration. 
 
VI 
 
 THE COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP 
 
 SUPERVISORS 
 
 1860-1870 
 
 The opposition to the county judge system assumed a 
 more definite form and purpose after the session of 1858. 
 As a matter of fact, the powers of the county court, espe- 
 cially in road administration and in the supervision of 
 finances, had been gradually decreasing until the county 
 judge possessed nothing like the authority which was given 
 him in 1851. Moreover, it will be recalled that this power or 
 a large part of it had been transferred to the district road 
 supervisors, the township clerk, and the township board of 
 trustees. But even with the office divested of the greater 
 portion of its real authority, the people still objected to 
 what was termed arbitrary, one-man power. And so the 
 demand for the abolition of the county judge system except 
 from a judicial standpoint became more and more urgent. 
 
 For reasons already suggested, it is necessary to make a 
 brief analysis of the causes which resulted in the overthrow 
 of the one-man system and the establishment in its place of 
 a county board of township supervisors modeled upon the 
 Wisconsin and New York plans of local government. 250 
 Again let it be observed that the administration of high- 
 ways and bridges is so closely woven into the very substance 
 of township and county organization that it is quite im- 
 possible to understand the road question except as a part, 
 and indeed a very important part, of the larger problem of 
 State and local administration more especially the latter. 
 From the standpoint of the efficient control and supervision 
 
 126 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 127 
 
 of roads and bridges the General Assembly of Iowa had 
 been moving backward since 1851. The machinery of local 
 administration, including the management of roads, had 
 been broken up and dismembered, and was now without any 
 responsible head possessing a sufficient amount of real 
 authority. The final step was to be taken by removing the 
 nominal head of the system, which was the county judge, 
 and establishing a county board of supervisors made up of 
 officials elected in the civil townships. In other words, the 
 General Assembly passed from one extreme to the other in 
 the organization of county government from authority 
 vested in one man to authority parcelled out among a large 
 group of men who were strictly local or township officials. 
 When the General Assembly convened in 1860 a great 
 many petitions were presented asking that the county judge 
 system be abolished. Among the numerous arguments ad- 
 vanced against the system, it was claimed that to vest so 
 much power in the hands of any one man was undemocratic. 
 Certain citizens of Monona County considered the system 
 to be "undemocratic, unjust and oppressive in its opera- 
 tion, fostering favoritism and corruption"; 251 while peti- 
 tioners from Delaware County believed in a system of 
 township organization similar to that of New York or Wis- 
 consin, which meant a county board of township super- 
 visors. But the real objections to the system were more 
 clearly stated in a petition signed by thirty-eight electors 
 of Bremer County. This very instructive document reads 
 as follows : 
 
 The undersigned Electors of Bremer County, respectfully peti- 
 tion your Honorable body, and represent that the present system 
 of County Government in this State is, in the estimation of your 
 petitioners very unwise & injudicious and wholly fails to meet 
 the wants and requirements of the people of our State. It too 
 often places in the hands of designing men powers for the com- 
 mission of Public Grievances wholly incompatible with the System 
 
128 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 of a Republican Government with the County funds wholly under 
 his control coupled with the power to make that fund as large 
 almost as he may wish, there is no balance save the County Judge's 
 own sense of rectitude to regulate the expenditures of the County. 
 
 And the County is liable at any moment to be plunged ruinously 
 in debt for Public works, which are too often wholly unsuitable to 
 the condition of the people and located for the accommodation of 
 private interests rather than that of the Public. 
 
 The affairs over which the County Judge at present supremely 
 presides too nearly and extensively effect our dearest interests to be 
 submitted to the control of one man, however pure he may be in 
 principle or sound in judgment. These considerations among many 
 others have induced the undersigned to request the present Legis- 
 lature to materially curtail the power of County Judge, and to give 
 to the people a more direct and complete representation in the man- 
 agement of the affairs of their respective Counties. 252 
 
 Thus it appears that the chief objections to the county 
 judge system were: first, the great danger or supposed 
 danger involved in placing so much power in the hands of 
 one man; and second, the special danger believed to exist 
 in giving one individual so much discretion and authority 
 in the important matter of finances. While the manage- 
 ment of road taxes had been transferred in a large measure 
 to township trustees, the county judge still (in 1860) re- 
 tained a very substantial control over the general finances 
 of the county. The argument of centralized authority and 
 arbitrary power made against the county judge had also 
 been made against the county road supervisor provided for 
 in the Code of 1851. In fact these considerations have 
 always been advanced in the past against any system of 
 efficient, responsible administration, and largely for that 
 reason one may expect them to be urged in the future 
 against any plan of constructive statesmanship for the 
 supervision and control of highways and bridges or the 
 assessment and collection of taxes. The remaining peti- 
 tions merely emphasize points already suggested, but do not 
 add anything of substantial value to the narrative. 253 
 
COUNTY BOAED OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 129 
 
 A number of bills were introduced both in the House of 
 Eepresentatives and in the Senate, dealing with the question 
 of township and county government and therefore with the 
 problem of road administration. On January 27, 1860, Mr. 
 Chauncey Gillett presented a bill providing for the reorgan- 
 ization of counties and townships ; 254 while a few days prior 
 to this time Mr. John E. Blackford had introduced a bill 
 relating to the organization of new counties, which was re- 
 ferred to the Committee on Township and County Organiza- 
 tion. 255 A third bill, creating a new system of township 
 and county organization, was introduced by Mr. James 
 McQuinn ; 256 and a fourth bill was presented by Mr. Charles 
 Paulk to establish a board of supervisors. 257 The debate in 
 the Senate with reference to the question of township and 
 county organization was for the most part postponed until 
 the bill dealing with that subject had been transmitted from 
 the House. 258 The measure, however, which became the 
 storm center of the session was that introduced by Mr. 
 Chauncey Gillett in the House and entitled "An Act for the 
 re-organization of counties and townships ", 259 
 
 In order to understand the arguments for and against the 
 system of administrative decentralization supported by a 
 majority of the members of the General Assembly it is 
 necessary to make a brief study of this important bill. The 
 fact that highway administration is an organized part of the 
 general field of local government was recognized by the men 
 who enacted the Revision of 1860. It was clearly stipulated 
 that the statute relating to roads and bridges must be read 
 by substituting "board of supervisors" or "clerk of board 
 of supervisors ' ' in place of the words " court " or "judge" 
 as the case may be, thus indicating that the two acts, one 
 outlining a method of road administration and the other 
 devising a new plan of township and county organization, 
 were parts of one system of local government. 
 
 The bill under consideration provided for a board of 
 
130 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 supervisors to be elected by the legal voters of each civil 
 township. And should "the population of any such Town- 
 ship exceed four thousand inhabitants and is less than 
 8,000 there shall be elected one additional supervisor from 
 such township or townships and one additional supervisor 
 for each 4000 inhabitants over and above 8000. " 26 
 
 Among the powers conferred upon the proposed board of 
 supervisors the following relate directly to the subject of 
 roads : first, the appointment of commissioners to act with 
 similar commissioners appointed in other counties, author- 
 izing them to lay out, alter or discontinue any road extend- 
 ing through their own and one or more other counties, 
 subject to the ratification of the board; second, to lay out, 
 establish, alter, or discontinue any county road within their 
 respective counties ; third, to provide for the building of all 
 necessary bridges and keep the same in such repair as the 
 public convenience might require; and fourth, to have and 
 exercise the general financial authority and power to audit 
 bills and accounts which had heretofore been vested in the 
 county judge. Consequently, if this bill became a law, it 
 would mean a complete and radical change in the whole 
 system of supervising highways and bridges and in the 
 general management of local finances. The bill especially 
 stipulated that "After the taking effect of this act neither 
 the County Judge nor County Court, shall have or exercise 
 any of the powers hereby conferred upon the Board of 
 Supervisors. " 261 
 
 Mr. Gillett's bill providing for the reorganization of 
 counties and townships 262 was ordered printed and referred 
 to the Committee on Township and County Organization. 263 
 On February 17th this committee reported that in connec- 
 tion with a similar committee of the Senate they had 
 considered the bill and had agreed upon a substitute em- 
 bracing most of the principles embodied in the original 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 131 
 
 bill. 264 A few days earlier the Senate Committee on Town- 
 ship and County Organization had reported a substitute for 
 various bills dealing with the same subject. 265 The whole 
 question, in fact, had been thoroughly discussed in the Sen- 
 ate and the committee in presenting the substitute also 
 submitted a report embracing the chief objections to the 
 county judge system. 
 
 This Senate report goes to the very heart of the whole 
 question of local government and local administration and 
 therefore has a close and vital relation to every problem 
 which in the last analysis must depend for its solution upon 
 the character of township and county organization. The 
 committee in their report referred to the county judge sys- 
 tem as one ' t not adapted to or consistent with the genius of 
 our institutions, tending as it does to centralize rather than 
 diffuse political power. " The committee frankly granted 
 the efficiency of the centralized plan, but with the following 
 important qualification and exception: "We cannot concede 
 that it places power where it will always secure the rights of 
 the people by whom it is delegated. ' ' In other words, it was 
 felt that the county judge was in some respects placed be- 
 yond the immediate reach of the people, thus making his 
 power all the more dangerous. Believing that all political 
 power is t ' inherent in the people ' ' and should be delegated 
 only in accordance with the theory of checks and balances, 
 the committee concluded that the power of the county judge 
 was a dangerous one and "so far as it pertains to the 
 finances of a county, should be taken from him, and vested 
 in agents more immediately from the body of the peo- 
 ple/' 266 
 
 These objections, no doubt, possessed some real merit at 
 that time. They certainly appear to be very modern. In- 
 deed, they sound much like the objections which are fre- 
 quently made at the present time against any bill to create 
 the office of county road engineer or to render more efficient 
 
132 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 in some other way the general system of road adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 Between February 13th and March 14th the whole ques- 
 tion of township and county organization was thoroughly 
 debated in both the House and the Senate. After passing 
 the House on March 2nd by a vote of forty-seven to thirty- 
 four, 267 the bill under consideration was messaged over to 
 the Senate and referred to the Committee on Township and 
 County Organization. 268 Here it appears that Senator 
 W. H. M. Pusey from the committee made a minority report 
 in which it was alleged that the proposed board of super- 
 visors would be cumbersome, inefficient, much more ex- 
 pensive, and in various other ways less representative than 
 the old system. 269 It was during the discussion of the 
 minority report of the committee that the different plans or 
 methods of reforming township and county government 
 were presented on the floor of the Senate. 
 
 The arguments and plans of reform outlined during this 
 debate are of vital interest to the student of local adminis- 
 tration, for almost every shade of opinion regarding the 
 nature and scope of what would constitute the most de- 
 sirable system of township and county organization was 
 expressed. Some members believed in the minimum amount 
 of change or perhaps no important change, holding that the 
 county judge system had proved to be satisfactory. Others 
 held that it would be wise to associate with the county judge 
 certain other officials, especially in the consideration of 
 financial matters ; 270 but they did not feel that it was neces- 
 sary or desirable to multiply offices and therefore increase 
 expense. As the debate proceeded, however, it became more 
 and more evident that the majority of members both in the 
 Senate and in the House favored revolutionary changes. 
 
 Aside from the provision that additional supervisors 
 should be elected from the civil townships on the basis of 
 population, no important amendment was adopted by the 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 133 
 
 Senate. 271 The bill finally passed by a vote of twenty-three 
 to twenty, 272 and was returned to the House where the 
 Senate amendments were adopted. 273 Thus, on March 14th 
 after weeks of prolonged debate regarding the fundamental 
 principles of local government the most important measure 
 of the session of 1860 was finally enacted into law. 
 
 The fact that there was a very general and comprehensive 
 discussion throughout the State of the whole question of 
 township and county organization is apparent from an ex- 
 amination of the contemporary newspaper files. The Mus- 
 catine Daily Journal and the Iowa Democratic Enquirer of 
 Muscatine, The Daily Gate City of Keokuk, The Burlington 
 Hawk-Eye, The Iowa State Journal of Des Moines, and 
 other contemporary papers contain a substantial amount of 
 important first-hand material with reference to this ques- 
 tion. The arguments for and against the proposed decen- 
 tralized system of local administration are presented with 
 a great deal of force. These arguments in the main have 
 already been noted in tracing the history of the bill through 
 the General Assembly. 
 
 Perhaps the most important consideration which was re- 
 peatedly urged in favor of the county board of township 
 supervisors was the necessity of placing power, especially 
 the control of finances, closer to the people. And so the 
 proposed system was looked upon as thoroughly democratic 
 and in harmony alike with the spirit of the Constitution and 
 the demands of the people. 
 
 A writer in The Daily Gate City makes an especially 
 strong statement of the arguments in favor of the new 
 system in the following terms : ' ' It subverts and dethrones 
 just as many little kings or petty despots or possible des- 
 pots, as there are Counties in the State "; "It restores that 
 principle and system of local self-government which was the 
 germ of our municipal Republican institutions, and, in all 
 ages of English civilization, the bulwark of individual lib- 
 
134 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 erty"; "The system is essentially democratic in the true 
 sense of the term. ... As the people become acquaint- 
 ed with the system, they will like it, and will rejoice that the 
 'County King' is dethroned. " 274 
 
 There is no possibility of misunderstanding the nature 
 and purpose of these observations. The forces of central- 
 ization and arbitrary authority or what was supposed to 
 be arbitrary and irresponsible authority were brought 
 face to face with the forces of administrative decentraliza- 
 tion, or what was believed by a majority of the people at the 
 time to be a more democratic and responsible system of 
 local self-government. Moreover, these considerations 
 necessarily go to the very foundation principles of all gov- 
 ernment more especially local government and adminis- 
 tration and therefore must be thoroughly understood 
 before the practical statesman is able to formulate a con- 
 structive program of reform along the line of taxation, 
 roads and bridges, the public school system, or any similar 
 question. 
 
 On the other hand, the most important arguments urged 
 against the proposed system were the needless multiplicity 
 of offices, the increase of expenses, and the impossibility, or 
 at least impracticability, of holding any one official respon- 
 sible for honest, efficient public service. It was also alleged 
 that the new system was not necessarily more democratic 
 than the old ; that is to say, the question whether a govern- 
 ment is or is not democratic does not depend upon the size 
 of the administrative unit, but rather upon the extent to 
 which officers are actually representative and held directly 
 responsible to the electorate. Nor can it be doubted that 
 these contentions were worthy of serious thought in 1860 or 
 that they have a great deal of force under present political 
 and economic conditions. 
 
 Early in the session it became obvious that the county 
 judge system would undergo some very substantial changes. 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 135 
 
 This being true, at least three different plans might be 
 adopted : first, the retention of the county judge as a part 
 of a board either composed of two or more commissioners 
 or of the clerks of the various civil townships, or some other 
 compromise along similar lines; second, the commissioner 
 system substantially the same as that which now prevails 
 in Iowa ; and third, a county board of township supervisors, 
 following the New York and Wisconsin plans. 
 
 But the forces which were working for a more radical 
 change were in the majority. While a substantial minority 
 was in favor of a compromise and many were inclined to 
 favor the commissioner system, it is apparent that the ma- 
 jority of the members of both the House and the Senate 
 were willing to experiment with a decentralized system of 
 township and county organization, thinking that such a 
 system was closer to the people, more democratic, and there- 
 fore more in harmony with the spirit of the Constitution. 
 By having the government close to the people many be- 
 lieved that public officials would be held more strictly 
 accountable for their acts and that all public service would 
 be placed on a more efficient basis. The considerations 
 which doubtless had great weight with the members of the 
 General Assembly are stated by one correspondent as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 It is not the legitimate compensation of officers, under any system 
 of county government, however high their salaries may be, that 
 makes a government burdensome and odious to the people, but it is 
 the robbery practiced under color of law, or the contracts made 
 upon inadequate information or incompetent judgment. 275 
 
 The radical changes in local administration above out- 
 lined had a direct and important bearing upon the whole 
 question of roads and bridges. The Revision of 1860 con- 
 tains the various statutes relating to roads which had been 
 enacted since the adoption of the Code of 1851, including 
 some legislation along the same line enacted by the General 
 
136 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Assembly in I860. 276 The machinery of road administra- 
 tion outlined in these acts has already been described in the 
 previous chapter. With the exception of "An Act in rela- 
 tion to Roads and Highways", approved on April 2, I860, 277 
 and "An Act for the regulation of State and County Eoads 
 within Towns and Cities", approved on March 30, I860, 278 
 the road legislation outlined in the Revision of 1860 consists 
 simply of the statute laws which had been enacted subse- 
 quent to the Code of 1851, revised and brought up to date. 
 The wording is exactly the same ; but it is expressly stated 
 that throughout the chapter the words "court" and 
 "judge" shall be changed to "board of supervisors" or 
 "clerk of the board of supervisors", as the sense might 
 require. In other words, the Revision of 1860 had been 
 drafted before the enactment of the law which produced so 
 radical a change in the general system of township and 
 county organization. 
 
 Moreover, the change in the wording of the road legisla- 
 tion in the Revision of 1860 was necessary not only as a 
 result of the complete change in government, but it appears 
 that an act in relation to roads and highways expressly 
 provided that "the board of supervisors shall have the 
 same power, and perform the same duties in relation to 
 roads and highways in their respective counties, as have 
 been exercised under previous laws by county judges and 
 county courts, subject to such modifications as shall be or 
 have been made at the present session of the legisla- 
 ture." 279 The same act also stipulated that in case certain 
 duties could not be performed by the board of supervisors 
 without too much delay or inconvenience, the board might 
 confer this power upon the clerk of the district court, acting 
 as the clerk of the board. 
 
 Thus it is apparent that the machinery of road adminis- 
 tration, as it existed in 1860 and was outlined in the Re- 
 vision of that year, can not be understood except as studied 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 137 
 
 in connection with the new system of local government pro- 
 vided for in "An Act creating a County Board of Super- 
 visors, defining their duties, and the duties of certain 
 County Officers. " 28 Each organized county was declared 
 to be a body politic and corporate with such powers and 
 immunities as were established by law. The county board 
 of township supervisors was composed of one supervisor 
 elected from each civil township unless the population of 
 the township exceeded four thousand inhabitants, in which 
 case one additional supervisor was allowed for each addi- 
 tional four thousand inhabitants, the number of inhabitants 
 to be determined by the last preceding State or federal 
 census. The method of classification, the term of office, and 
 other details of the new system are the same as have already 
 been described in connection with the original bill, intro- 
 duced in the General Assembly by Mr. Chauncey Gillett. 281 
 The powers conferred upon this new board included as a 
 matter of course the general supervision of roads, high- 
 ways, and bridges and the management of county finan- 
 ces. 282 And so it appears that since the Code of 1851 had 
 been adopted the State had been gradually moving away 
 from administrative centralization and official responsibility 
 toward a system of administrative decentralization and, 
 what logically follows, administrative inefficiency and need- 
 less additional expense. 
 
 It will be recalled that the road laws of 1858 specifically 
 deprived the township trustees of the right to levy road 
 taxes in incorporated cities and placed this power in the 
 hands of the proper municipal authorities. 283 The meaning 
 and intent of this clause of the statute came up for adjudi- 
 cation in the case of Hawley, Street Commissioner, v. 
 Hoops. 284 The city of Muscatine, situated within Blooming- 
 ton township, having been formed into a separate road 
 district, the question arose as to whether the board of 
 trustees of the township of Bloomington had the right to 
 
138 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 levy road taxes against property situated within the cor- 
 porate limits of the city of Muscatine. On the points in- 
 volved the court held: first, that the construction of the 
 statute was very plain and could not be misunderstood, the 
 obvious intent being to clothe the proper municipal authori- 
 ties with the full power to levy road taxes within their own 
 jurisdiction; second, that the problem of improving the 
 streets of a city was essentially different from the care and 
 maintenance of ordinary roads and therefore should be 
 under the control of the city as such; third, that if the 
 privilege of levying road taxes within the city was granted 
 both to the township trustees and to the city council, it 
 would be impossible, or at least impracticable, for the latter 
 to adopt any permanent system of improvement; fourth, 
 that the township trustees possessed no intimate knowledge 
 of conditions in the city and therefore a levy made under 
 their authority might be wholly inadequate for, or in excess 
 of, the amount required ; and fifth, that any compromise sys- 
 tem of divided authority would create an unnecessary an- 
 tagonism between the rural districts and the city and would 
 be burdensome and expensive in its operation. 285 
 
 Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood in a special message dated 
 September 3, 1862, called the attention of the General As- 
 sembly to the fact that the regiments of troops sent into 
 the field contained a very large part of the population re- 
 quired by law to perform labor on highways. He stated 
 that the roads must be kept in repair and that this 
 could be done only by supplying the deficiency of labor 
 which resulted from enlistments by requiring labor of 
 those ordinarily exempt. "I therefore recommend ", said 
 the Governor, /'that the law be so amended that all able 
 bodied male residents of the State between the ages of 
 eighteen and sixty be made liable to perform labor on our 
 highways. " 28e No action, however, appears to have been 
 taken along this line by the General Assembly. 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 139 
 
 It will be recalled that very serious objection was made 
 in 1860 to the adoption of the so-called supervisor or New 
 York system of county government. In fact, a substantial 
 minority voted against it both in the House and in the 
 Senate. As predicted at that time, the new system was 
 scarcely in operation before a great many taxpayers were 
 again demanding a change. Some believed that the county 
 judge system should be reestablished; but the majority of 
 those who were opposed to the decentralized system of 
 township and county organization preferred the commis- 
 sioner system of county government. 
 
 A petition signed by four hundred and twenty-two citi- 
 zens of Decatur County asked for the repeal of the act 
 creating a county board of supervisors and that the county 
 judge system be reestablished for the following reasons : 
 
 1st, In the matter of economy the present System has cost our 
 County at least Seventy five per cent more than the County Judge 
 System ; 
 
 2nd, It is far more inconvenient in its practical working, requir- 
 ing persons having claims against the County to make several trips 
 to the County Seat, and in many instances to employ Attorneys to 
 get their just claims allowed ; 
 
 3rd, It is entirely too slow to meet the wants of paupers and 
 others who require immediate action. 
 
 These are only a few of the reasons that induce us to ask this 
 favor at your hands. 287 
 
 Other petitions along the same line were introduced ; but 
 for the most part the petitioners were either willing to 
 accept the commissioner system or actually preferred it to 
 the county court as provided for in the Code of 1851. 288 
 
 From a study of contemporary sources it is apparent that 
 a considerable minority favored the commissioner system, 
 that is, a form of county government in which authority is 
 vested in three or four commissioners elected either from 
 the county at large or on the district plan. This was in 
 
140 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 reality a compromise between the highly centralized system 
 of administration in which authority was vested in a county 
 judge, on the one hand, and the plan of electing supervisors 
 in the various civil townships on the other. It had been the 
 form of county government in Iowa prior to the Code of 
 1851, and was destined to be reestablished in 1870. The 
 General "Assembly which adopted the Code of 1851 went to 
 the extreme of centralization. On the other hand, the Re- 
 vision of 1860 represents the opposite extreme of decentral- 
 ization. The commissioner system, being a compromise 
 between the two, was believed by many taxpayers to be the 
 most practicable and desirable. 
 
 The War between the States was now in progress and the 
 problems connected with it occupied the public mind. Ac- 
 cordingly no fundamental changes were made in the system 
 of road administration during the regular session of the 
 General Assembly in 1862. Two minor acts, however, were 
 passed: one, entitled "An Act amendatory to an act en- 
 titled an Act to provide for the making and repairing of 
 public highways and prescribing the further duties of 
 Township officers in certain cases. Approved March 23rd, 
 1858 ", 289 and the other "An Act prescribing the duties of 
 Township Trustees and Eoad Supervisors in certain 
 cases. " 29 
 
 The first of these acts made it the duty of the district 
 road supervisors to keep the roads in as good condition as 
 the funds at their disposal would permit ; and it stipulated 
 in greater detail concerning the placing of guideboards, re- 
 quiring that such boards should "be made out of good 
 timber, the same to be well painted and lettered, and placed 
 upon good substantial hard wood posts, to be set four feet 
 in the ground, and shall be at least eight feet above 
 ground. " 291 The expense of putting up guideboards was 
 defrayed by a property tax which was levied by the town- 
 ship trustees and required to be paid in money. The town- 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 141 
 
 ship clerk in making up the tax list for each road district 
 was also required to carry out the amount of tax paid in 
 money due from each individual in a separate column in 
 order to distinguish the amount of tax paid in money from 
 that paid in labor. 292 
 
 The second measure, prescribing the duties of township 
 trustees and road supervisors, clothed the former with 
 authority to "determine upon the amount of property tax 
 to be levied for roads, bridges, plows and scrapers, and for 
 payment of any indebtedness previously contracted by such 
 township for road purposes, and levy the same, which shall 
 not be more than three mills on the dollar on the amount of 
 the Township assessment for that year". 293 The same 
 measure also gave the trustees the important authority to 
 determine what proportion of the road tax, not exceeding 
 one mill on the dollar, in the various road districts of their 
 townships should be paid in money and what proportion 
 should be paid in labor. That is to say, the township trus- 
 tees at their discretion might require one-third of the road 
 tax to be paid in money. This act is important for two 
 reasons : in the first place, it represented a movement away 
 from the payment of road taxes in labor to the payment of 
 the same in money ; and in the second place, it vested a large 
 measure of financial power in the civil townships. 
 
 Certain other provisions of the same statute should also 
 be mentioned in this connection. First, incorporated cities 
 were considered as road districts and, following the proviso 
 of the road law of 1858 already noted, 294 were vested with 
 authority to levy road taxes within their own jurisdiction. 
 In the second place, road supervisors were required to post 
 notices, stipulating in each case the amount of road tax to 
 be paid in money and the amount to be paid in labor and 
 specifying also the time when such labor should be per- 
 formed. Finally, an excellent example of the degree to 
 which not only the levy but the expenditure of road funds 
 
142 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 had become decentralized is to be found in the fact that the 
 law provided that no part of the tax levied for highway 
 purposes in one road district should be "paid out or ex- 
 pended for the benefit of any other road district in the 
 township. " 295 Thus, it was made impossible for money 
 raised in one road district of a township to be used in 
 meeting extraordinary expenditures for bridges or other 
 purposes in another district of the same township, a pro- 
 vision which, if not undesirable, is an altogether needless 
 limitation on the management of road finances. 
 
 The war continued to absorb the attention of the public, 
 and consequently little was done along the line of reforming 
 road administration. During the legislative session of 1864 
 practically nothing appears in the messages of the Governor 
 or in contemporary newspaper files. Only two minor acts 
 were passed dealing with the subject of roads : one, fixing 
 the per diem of road supervisors ; and the other providing 
 for the compilation and publication of the road laws. 296 
 The compensation of road supervisors was fixed at one 
 dollar and fifty cents for each day spent in the discharge 
 of their official duties ; and each supervisor was authorized 
 to require all able-bodied male residents of his district be- 
 tween the ages of twenty-one and fifty to perform two days 
 labor upon the public highways. The second law simply 
 provided for the publication in pamphlet form of 20,000 
 copies of the road laws, which were to be distributed by the 
 Secretary of State to the various clerks of the county boards 
 of supervisors, and by such clerks among the township 
 clerks, who in turn were required to supply a copy to each 
 district road supervisor. 297 
 
 At the close of the war serious interest was again taken 
 in State and local problems, including the question of town- 
 ship and county organization. Bills were introduced in 
 both the Senate and House during the session of 1866 pro- 
 viding for changes in the system of local government. 298 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 143 
 
 On January 23rd the following resolution was presented 
 by Mr. Joel Brown of Van Buren County : 
 
 WHEREAS, There seems to be manifest objections to the present 
 system of County Government, and 
 
 WHEREAS, It seems to be a question whether a Board of Commis- 
 sioners would not be less expensive, and more efficient in the trans- 
 action of County business. 
 
 Therefore be it resolved ~by the House of Representatives of the 
 State of Iowa, That we deem it expedient to take action at an early 
 period of this session, looking to an absolute and radical change, 
 Article II, Chapter 22, Revision of I860. 299 
 
 This resolution called forth a general discussion of the 
 relative merits of the different plans of local administra- 
 tion. Mr. Brown, the author of the resolution, stated that 
 its principal object was to test the sense of the House, sug- 
 gesting that the existing system of county government was 
 unsatisfactory to the people of his community. It was 
 cumbersome, inefficient, and represented conflicting local 
 interests which frequently rendered definite action prac- 
 tically impossible. He believed that no supervisor should 
 owe his election to any one township, but rather to the 
 county at large. Mr. Winslow T. Barker held similar views, 
 claiming that a smaller number of men could do the work 
 more efficiently and that a system of representation could 
 be prescribed which would insure a square deal to the rural 
 districts as well as to the cities. 
 
 The majority, however, were not ready for a change of 
 this character. Mr. John McKean preferred an old law 
 which was well understood, claiming that the supervisor 
 system had worked well not only in Iowa but in other States. 
 He stated also that the people had tried both the commis- 
 sioner and the county judge system and had become dis- 
 satisfied with both. Admitting that the supervisor system 
 might be more expensive, he held that it was safer and less 
 easily corrupted. "The one-man power is stronger, more 
 
144 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 efficient, and cheaper than any other government if the right 
 man is in power ", said Mr. McKean. "But politicians are 
 not to be trusted. Hence it is necessary to have all sections 
 of the county represented, and to have a tolerably numerous 
 representation so that one may watch the rest." 300 It 
 would be very difficult, indeed, to find a more definite state- 
 ment of implicit faith in the doctrine of checks and balances 
 in government. The decentralized system of county repre- 
 sentation was considered by Mr. William Hale to be "the 
 nearest perfect of any system ever devised", and to be 
 strictly in harmony with the spirit of our institutions. It 
 was a government in which each section of the county had a 
 representative to look after its own interests. In the course 
 of the debate these considerations prevailed, 301 and the 
 resolution was laid on the table. 302 
 
 The General Assembly, however, enacted two measures 
 dealing with the subject of road administration during the 
 session of 1866. "An Act to amend Sections 710 and 312 
 of the Revision of I860" provided that not more than three 
 mills on the dollar should be levied for the making and re- 
 pairing of roads and bridges. 303 Under the Revision of 
 1860 the board of supervisors was not allowed to order the 
 erection of a bridge nor purchase real estate for county 
 purposes in excess of two thousand dollars 1 1 until a propo- 
 sition therefor shall have been first submitted to the legal 
 voters of the county, and voted for by a majority of all 
 voting for and against such proposition, at a general elec- 
 tion". 304 This amount, however, was increased to five 
 thousand dollars, with the proviso that the board of super- 
 visors could not purchase real estate in excess of two thou- 
 sand dollars without the previous approval of the legal 
 voters of the county. 305 
 
 The other measure dealing with the subject of highways 
 which was passed in 1866 was "An Act to provide for estab- 
 lishing private roads in the State of Iowa." 306 By its 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 145 
 
 provisions private roads might be established in the same 
 way that county roads were established by law, and all laws 
 governing the establishment of county roads should also 
 apply in the case of private roads so far as applicable. 
 
 Prior to the appointment of a commissioner to view and 
 make a report on the proposed private road, it was made 
 the duty of the petitioner to file a bond with the board of 
 supervisors "in a penal sum to be fixed by them, payable to 
 the county, with such sureties as may be approved by said 
 Board, for the use of the parties injured by the establish- 
 ment of such private road, with conditions that the ap- 
 plicant will pay all the cost resulting from such application 
 and will pay all the assessed damages to the owners of the 
 land over which such a road may be established, and comply 
 with all other conditions upon which such road is estab- 
 lished M . 307 These conditions, however, did not apply in 
 case the road was not accepted. 
 
 No private road could be established, however, until the 
 applicant paid all damages and costs and complied with all 
 the other conditions of the law. In case of failure to comply 
 with such conditions, the applicant forfeited all his rights 
 with reference to the proposed private road. At the final 
 hearing, whether an application for damages had been filed 
 or not, the board of supervisors was vested with authority 
 to hear testimony, receive petitions for and against the lay- 
 ing out and opening of such private road, establish the road 
 upon such conditions as to damages, costs, the building of 
 fences, and the like, as they might consider just and equi- 
 table. Or they might refuse absolutely to establish the 
 same. 
 
 This is the first law on the statute books of Iowa dealing 
 with the subject of private roads. It therefore established 
 a new class of roads at least from the standpoint of law. 
 Moreover, it is a significant fact that the authority to lay 
 out and open roads of this character was vested in the 
 
 10 
 
146 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 county board of supervisors and not in the various boards 
 of township trustees. This arrangement, however, may be 
 partially explained by the real character of the county 
 board, which under the Revision of 1860 was distinctly a 
 local township body. In other words, the fact that the 
 county board as such was given the power to lay out and 
 open private roads did not mean any important degree of 
 centralized administration and control. 
 
 When in McCullom v. Black Hawk County 308 the question 
 as to the liability of the county for damages caused by de- 
 fective bridges situated within the corporate limits of the 
 city came up for adjudication, the court held that the county 
 was liable for damages until the city was organized and had 
 elected a separate group of responsible officials to look after 
 its own interests. In this case the change from county to 
 city jurisdiction had been completed by the election of city 
 councilmen and other officers. The views of the court were 
 stated in the following terms : 
 
 It would not do to give two distinct sets of officers control over 
 the same bridge. There would be, or might be, conflict of juris- 
 diction. The money and means they expend come from different 
 sources, and cannot be applicable to the same objects. Therefore, 
 when the liability of the city attached, that of the county ended, 
 and that of the city attached when its organization was complete ; 
 and an existence of its own began when it had agents and officers of 
 its own to exercise and execute its corporate powers and faculties. 309 
 
 At the following session of the General Assembly (1868), 
 the subject of township and county organization was again 
 taken up for consideration as the result of dissatisfaction 
 with the supervisor or township plan of representation 
 which had become more general and pronounced. An ex- 
 amination of the Senate and House journals reveals the fact 
 that a great many petitions dealing with local govern- 
 ment were presented to the General Assembly at this time. 
 These petitions, which have been preserved and are on file 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 147 
 
 in the Department of Public Archives at Des Moines, in- 
 dicate that the petitioners for the most part desired a 
 change to the general form of county and township organ- 
 ization which had existed prior to the Code of 1851 
 namely, the commissioner system. 
 
 In the first place, it was alleged that the township plan of 
 county representation was expensive and cumbersome, and 
 that the business of the county could be transacted more 
 efficiently with three or four or at least not more than eight 
 or ten commissioners. The citizens of Jefferson County 
 were content, however, to resolve merely that the supervisor 
 system was a "sublime humbug ". Several citizens of 
 Dallas County characterized the supervisor system as being 
 "cumbersome, expensive and inefficient. " A number of 
 petitioners from Appanoose County also desired a law pro- 
 viding for three county commissioners ; but if that proved 
 to be impossible, they considered that the plan should at 
 least be made optional the question to be decided by a 
 majority of the legal voters in each county. 310 
 
 A more detailed petition was submitted by the board of 
 supervisors of Harrison County, who were in favor of a 
 system of three commissioners and the division of the 
 county into three districts following original township lines 
 and having a population as nearly equal as possible. Mem- 
 bers were to be elected from the districts thus formed, and 
 their pay was limited to twenty days in each year at three 
 dollars per day. The petitioners desired that this system 
 be made optional so that any county in the State at the 
 following general election might adopt it if it so desired. 311 
 
 In the House of Eepresentatives at least four bills were 
 presented dealing with the question of local government. 
 All were referred to the Committee on Township and Coun- 
 ty Organization. 312 "A bill for an act to change the number 
 and manner of electing County Supervisors", introduced by 
 Mr. Charles Dudley, and on file in the Department of Public 
 
148 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Archives, 313 simply provided for a board of supervisors to 
 consist of three members in all organized counties having 
 less than twenty thousand inhabitants. Counties of twenty 
 thousand and less than twenty-five thousand inhabitants 
 were to have a board of four members, one additional 
 supervisor to be allowed for every additional ten thou- 
 sand inhabitants. In other words, the bill, which was in 
 reality an attempt at a compromise between the commis- 
 sioner system and the supervisor system as those terms 
 are most frequently understood, required that counties be 
 separated into supervisor districts as nearly equal in popu- 
 lation as possible and of contiguous territory without 
 dividing any organized township, and further stipulated 
 that "the said board of County Supervisors shall be elected 
 in the County at large, no two being residents of the 
 same district except in counties having less than three 
 organized townships. " None of these bills were enacted 
 into law, however, and similar bills in the Senate met the 
 same fate. 314 
 
 Some changes were made, nevertheless, in the general 
 body of road legislation by the Twelfth General Assembly. 
 For example, an act to legalize the establishment of county 
 roads, approved on March 17, 1868, 315 was made necessary 
 by a decision of the Supreme Court holding that the board 
 of supervisors did not have the power under the law to 
 delegate to their clerks the authority to establish roads. 316 
 The act simply stipulated that all county roads theretofore 
 established by the clerks of the county boards of super- 
 visors were declared legal and valid, the same as if they had 
 been established in the regular manner provided by law. 
 The new measure, however, did not apply to cases then 
 pending in the district court to the injury of the litigants. 
 
 A second act so amended the Revision of 1860 as to pro- 
 hibit the laying out and opening of a road "through any 
 garden, orchard or ornamental ground contiguous to any 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 149 
 
 dwelling-house, so as to cause the removal of any dwelling- 
 house or other building, without the consent of the owner; 
 provided, that such garden, orchard or grounds are of more 
 than two years' establishment or growth. 7 ' 317 
 
 A third measure related to the road taxes of non-resi- 
 dents. 318 The Revision of I860, it will be recalled, required 
 the township clerk to make out a correct list of all non- 
 resident lands and town lots on which road taxes had not 
 been paid and the amount of tax charged in each case, and 
 transmit a certified copy of the same to the county judge 
 of the proper county the county treasurer being required 
 to collect the tax. 319 By the provisions of this amendatory 
 act the lists made by the township clerks were required to 
 be transmitted to the clerk of the board of supervisors of 
 the proper county a change representing an additional 
 step in depriving the county judge of his authority over the 
 administration of roads and bridges. It should be noted in 
 this connection that at this same session of the General 
 Assembly the office of county judge was abolished and the 
 office of county auditor established. 320 
 
 A fourth law, prescribing the duties of township trustees 
 and road supervisors in certain cases and providing for the 
 levying and collection of road taxes, was from some stand- 
 points the most important measure of the session. The 
 law then in operation clothed the township trustees with 
 authority to levy road taxes within certain limitations, 
 stipulating the amount to be levied in money. The earlier 
 measure also required that all money raised within a cer- 
 tain road district should be expended in that district and 
 not in any other part of the township. The new act gave 
 the township trustees authority to determine "whether any 
 of said tax shall be paid in labor, and if they determine that 
 any part may be paid in labor, determine what part may be 
 so paid". 321 Moreover, the trustees were granted the addi- 
 tional power of determining whether any part of the road 
 
150 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 tax should be made a general township fund to purchase 
 plows, scrapers, or other implements, and to promote gen- 
 eral road work in the township which provision was a 
 step away from the extreme system of administrative de- 
 centralization represented by the local road district. The 
 township, which was a larger administrative unit than the 
 road district, was to be made the basis of a certain portion 
 of the expenditure for road purposes. 
 
 Certain other provisions of the same statute should be 
 mentioned in this connection. Thus, in cases of failure to 
 pay the road tax by the first Monday of October as required 
 by law, it was made the duty of the road supervisor to re- 
 port all cases of delinquency to the township trustees. 
 Money not set apart in the general township fund was re- 
 quired to be expended in the road district in which it was 
 levied. Finally, the township clerk was obliged to give 
 additional bond for the safe-keeping of the general town- 
 ship fun3, and either he or a member of the board of 
 township trustees was required to take charge of and 
 properly preserve the tools, implements, and machinery 
 purchased therefrom. 322 
 
 Two other laws relating to the subject of road adminis- 
 tration were enacted in 1868 : one prohibited the laying out 
 or opening of roads across certain lands reserved by the 
 State for its various institutions and stipulated that pub- 
 lic roads which had already been laid out across such 
 lands should be vacated; 323 and the second made all public 
 streets in towns and villages not incorporated a part of 
 the regular public highway. 324 The laying out and the 
 opening of public roads through land reserved by the State 
 for its institutions required the express consent of the 
 General Assembly. Finally, it should be noted that the 
 law establishing circuit courts gave such tribunals juris- 
 diction concurrent with the district court in a great many 
 different cases including "all appeals in special proceed- 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 151 
 
 ings for the assessment of damages on the establishment or 
 location of highways". 325 
 
 This chapter, however, would be incomplete without mak- 
 ing a brief reference to at least one very important decision 
 of the Supreme Court declaring "An Act to provide for 
 establishing private roads in the State of Iowa ' ', 326 uncon- 
 stitutional and void. In Bankhead et al v. Brown et al s27 a 
 number of important questions regarding the general sub- 
 ject of road administration were considered, the court 
 holding: (1) that the bill of rights prohibited by implication 
 the taking of private property for any private use whatever 
 without the consent of the owner; (2) that it also prohibited 
 the taking of private property except for public use and 
 even then only after just compensation assessed by a jury 
 had been made; (3) that the General Assembly possessed 
 the sole authority to determine when it was necessary and 
 proper to take private property for public use after making 
 just compensation; and (4) that whether or not a road was 
 public or private did not depend upon the length of the 
 road, the number of persons served, or the number of tax- 
 payers through whose land the road passed. It was further 
 held by the court that roads opened in pursuance of the act 
 of 1866 differed in no respect from ordinary highways ex- 
 cept in the manner of their establishment. 
 
 Following these principles the majority of the court, as 
 above stated, declared that the act providing for the laying 
 out and opening of private roads was plainly contrary to 
 the spirit and intent of the bill of rights. According to the 
 view of the court "the material inquiry is whether land 
 compulsorily taken under act of 1866, is taken for public, as 
 distinguished from private use, within the meaning of the 
 bill of rights? If taken for public use the act is constitu- 
 tional otherwise, if taken for private use. :; * . With 
 respect to the act of 1866, we are of opinion that roads 
 thereunder established are essentially private, that is, are 
 
152 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 the private property of the applicant therefor". 328 The 
 decision, in a word, prohibited the General Assembly from 
 establishing a separate class of highways known as private 
 roads. 
 
 In the case of Kennedy et al, Trustees, etc., v. The Du- 
 buque C. & M. E. E. Co., 329 the court reviewed the whole 
 question of the jurisdiction of the county board of super- 
 visors in the administration of highways ; and after quoting 
 the various statutes bearing upon that subject it held that 
 the jurisdiction of the circuit court was limited to ad quod 
 damnum proceedings, while in all other matters relating to 
 roads the county board of supervisors possessed exclusive 
 jurisdiction. The court reached this important and what 
 would seem to be obvious decision largely on the basis of 
 "An Act in relation to Roads and Highways ", approved on 
 April 2, 1860, which provided that "the board of super- 
 visors shall have the same power, and perform the same 
 duties in relation to roads and highways in their respective 
 counties, as have been exercised under previous laws by 
 county judges and county courts, subject to such modifica- 
 tions as shall be or have been made at the present session of 
 the legislature." 330 
 
 By way of general summary it should be stated in the first 
 place that the county board of township supervisors was 
 itself the most distinctive feature of local government in 
 Iowa during the period from 1860 to 1870. Power and 
 authority which had been vested in one man, the county 
 judge, was now placed under the jurisdiction of a group of 
 men representing civil townships. This change, however, 
 was not so revolutionary in character as might at first be 
 assumed, for the reason that the county judge had gradu- 
 ally been deprived of a large part of his original power 
 before the complete change of system was finally made. In 
 other words, the repeal of the county judge system did not 
 
COUNTY BOARD OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 153 
 
 really take place in 1860, but was gradually effected by a 
 process of elimination during the period from 1853 to 1860. 
 
 Under the new plan the township and county functions of 
 local government were so blended and interwoven into one 
 complex system as to remove any clear line of demarcation 
 between the two. The township supervisor, representing 
 as he did the civil township, had more in common with the 
 township trustees and the township clerk than would be 
 possible in the case of a member of the county board elected 
 from a larger jurisdiction. This being true, there was no 
 longer any reason why the county board of township super- 
 visors should not exercise a much larger supervision over 
 roads and highways and a greater control of finances than 
 the people had been willing to grant to the county court. 
 Under the reorganized system the control of finances by the 
 county board meant its control in the last analysis by town- 
 ship officials close to the people and therefore familiar with 
 local conditions. The reasons for depriving the county 
 judge of fiscal authority during the period from 1851 to 
 1860 did not apply to the county board of township super- 
 visors in the decade from 1860 to 1870. Not only was this 
 movement checked, but it will be recalled that the laying out 
 and opening of private roads was placed under the juris- 
 diction of the new county board rather than of the township 
 trustees. 
 
 The arguments for and against the new system of county 
 government were substantially the same as those outlined 
 above in Chapter V. It was alleged again and again with 
 much force that the county judge system was arbitrary, 
 undemocratic, and placed too much power, especially finan- 
 cial power, in the hands of one man. The friends of the 
 township-county plan of local government maintained that 
 their system was more representative in character and, by 
 placing government in closer touch with the people, insured 
 a more rigid control of the public purse. 
 
154 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 While the bills were pending before the General Assembly 
 in 1866 and again in 1868 for the reorganization of county 
 government almost every form of compromise between the 
 contending principles of centralization and decentralization 
 in local administration was suggested. Some desired the 
 reestablishment of the county judge system; others pre- 
 ferred the commissioner system ; and still others advocated 
 various forms of compromise. 
 
 The district road supervisor, elected by the people in a 
 subdivision of the civil township, was retained. This fact, 
 taken in connection with the organization of the county 
 board on a township basis, makes the period from 1860 to 
 1870 distinctly one of administrative decentralization. The 
 fact, however, that a part of the local road tax was placed 
 in a general township fund for certain purposes represents 
 a movement in the opposite direction in favor of a more 
 efficient system of supervision and control. 
 
 Finally, the payment of a part of the road tax in money, 
 the enactment of a law providing for the laying out and 
 opening of private roads (which was later repealed as the 
 result of an adverse decision of the Supreme Court), and 
 the judicial determination of the scope and nature of the 
 powers possessed by the county board of supervisors in 
 relation to roads and bridges were elements in the history 
 of road legislation during the period from 1860 to 1870. 
 
VII 
 
 PERIOD OF TRANSITION 
 
 1870-1884 
 
 The supervisor system of county government as estab- 
 lished in 1860 had not been altogether satisfactory to the 
 people of Iowa. Following the close of the War between 
 the States public attention was again directed to the solu- 
 tion of State and local problems, including the important 
 question of township and county organization. In fact, the 
 advantages of the commissioner system were emphasized 
 at the legislative sessions of 1866 and 1868. 
 
 When the General Assembly met in 1870 public sentiment 
 had become crystalized and was sufficiently definite to re- 
 sult in practical legislation. To accomplish results required 
 agitation and persistent effort indeed, the history of any 
 leading reform movement has established the fact that it 
 takes at least four or five and sometimes ten years to make 
 any such fundamental reform as a change in the system of 
 local government. When it is recalled that nearly ten 
 years were employed in the gradual repeal of the county 
 judge system it is not surprising that five sessions of the 
 General Assembly were taken up with the problem of effect- 
 ing the change from the supervisor to the commissioner 
 system. 
 
 Early in the session of 1870 numerous petitions were ad- 
 dressed to the General Assembly asking for the establish- 
 ment of the commissioner system of county organization. 
 The objection to the old plan most frequently made was 
 that it had proved "onerous, Expensive, and entirely dis- 
 qualified to the wants of the people." 331 Again, the super- 
 
 155 
 
156 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 visor system was spoken of as * * cumbersome, unwieldy, and 
 greatly inferior to the old system of transacting the busi- 
 ness by the County Judge ". Some petitioners merely 
 desired that the number of supervisors be reduced and that 
 population be made the basis of representation. A petition 
 signed by a large number of citizens of Monroe County 
 asked for the enactment of a law "reducing the number of 
 members on Boards of Supervisors to three in each County ; 
 to be elected by the County at large. " 332 
 
 Early in the session two bills were presented in the 
 Senate : one by Senator Benjamin F. Murray providing for 
 reorganizing the boards of supervisors and defining their 
 duties and the manner of their election; 333 and a second 
 by Senator Frank T. Campbell creating a board of county 
 commissioners and prescribing their powers and duties. 334 
 The bill by Senator Murray, introduced on January 17, 
 1870, required the boards of supervisors to "divide their 
 respective counties into districts of 5000 population each 
 as near as practicable, and at the regular election in 
 October 1870, there shall be elected by the qualified voters 
 of such district a member of the Board of Supervisors as 
 hereinafter provided. ' ' It was further stipulated, however, 
 that counties having less than fifteen thousand inhabitants 
 should be divided into three districts, each district being 
 entitled to a supervisor. 335 
 
 The bill introduced by Senator Campbell provided defi- 
 nitely for creating a board of county commissioners. It 
 proposed a somewhat radical change, stipulating that "the 
 System of County Supervisors is hereby abolished, and in 
 lieu thereof a Board of County Commissioners is herein- 
 after provided for." In counties having not more than 
 thirty thousand inhabitants, it was made the duty of the 
 board of supervisors to establish three districts which were 
 not subject to alteration oftener than every three years, 
 "each of which Districts shall be entitled to a Commission- 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 157 
 
 er, to be elected by the qualified voters of the county at 
 large ". Counties having more than thirty thousand in- 
 habitants were granted an additional commissioner for 
 every ten thousand exceeding that number, the districts 
 being established on an equitable basis. 336 
 
 On January 25th Senator N. B. Moore from the Com- 
 mittee on County and Township Organization submitted a 
 substitute bill providing for a new system of county govern- 
 ment and recommended its passage. 337 Then followed a 
 somewhat prolonged debate regarding the relative merits 
 of the various systems of township and county organiza- 
 tion. 338 Senator Joseph Dysart offered a substitute for the 
 first section, giving counties authority to select either the 
 commissioner or the supervisor system. This substitute, 
 however, met with strenuous and successful opposition, the 
 majority of the Senators believing that it would only com- 
 plicate matters when it should come to a fair vote on the 
 question of either abolishing or retaining the old board of 
 supervisors. Senator Samuel H. Fairall maintained that 
 the Constitution plainly required that all laws of a general 
 nature should be uniform in their operation and that if the 
 proposed plan was made optional "some counties would 
 want the old system of County Judges, others the Board of 
 Supervisors, and still others County Commissioners. " 339 
 
 Senator John N. Dixon, who objected to any "mongrel 
 system ", voiced the sentiment of those desiring a change 
 when he suggested that under the old system "each Super- 
 visor paid more attention to his township than to the gen- 
 eral good." As a striking example of this point Senator 
 John G. Patterson referred to his home county, where three 
 expensive bridges had been constructed across the Shell 
 Eock River and only one across the Cedar River, the result 
 being that the citizens of St. Charles township, who paid 
 about one-third of the whole county tax, had been com- 
 pelled to build a bridge across the Cedar River by private 
 
158 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 subscriptions. 340 The Senator was satisfied that three good 
 men selected from various parts of the county would pre- 
 vent this log-rolling process and do justice to all the 
 taxpayers. Senator West held a similar view, stating that 
 the Board of Supervisors in many of the counties had 
 erected monuments of their wisdom. He remembered one 
 just now. On a frequented road they had erected an iron 
 bridge, the ends of which it was impossible to reach except 
 with a ladder. 
 
 Numerous amendments were offered, but practically all 
 of them were voted down." Almost every shade of opinion 
 prevailed in the Senate regarding the proper method of 
 township and county organization. Some believed in a 
 radical change; others favored a compromise on the basis 
 of five or seven supervisors ; and still others considered that 
 the old system of township representatives had proved 
 satisfactory. Senator Samuel McNutt of Muscatine was the 
 leader of those who objected to a change of system, holding 
 that every section of the county was entitled to representa- 
 tion. In case a change was made, he preferred the optional 
 system and would vote for the substitute offered by Senator 
 Charles Beardsley. The bill, however, passed the Senate 
 on February 3rd without any important amendments, 341 
 was messaged over to the House, and referred to the Com- 
 mittee on County and Township Organization. 342 
 
 After weeks of earnest debate regarding the strong and 
 weak points of the different systems of township and 
 county government, the victory as might have been ex- 
 pected was not wholly with either side. The system adopted 
 was a compromise and was in a measure optional, giving 
 each county the right to determine whether the number of 
 its supervisors might be increased to five or seven. 343 It 
 should not be forgotten, however, that the township system 
 of representation was definitely abolished and that the real 
 victory was therefore gained by the advocates of the 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 159 
 
 commissioner system. The name "board of supervisors " 
 was still retained; but it was provided that said board 
 "shall consist of three persons, and no ballot shall be cast 
 at such election for two residents of the same township, or 
 if so cast shall not be counted. " 344 If any county desired 
 to increase the number to five or seven it was given the 
 privilege of doing so by submitting the question to a ma- 
 jority of the people as already explained. In other words, 
 the new law created a commissioner system in fact, retain- 
 ing, however, the name of the old organization. 345 
 
 The fundamental and radical change thus produced in the 
 whole machinery of county government is well stated in an 
 editorial entitled "The County Commissioner Bill", which 
 appeared in the Dubuque Daily Herald. The editor who 
 believed that every section of the county was entitled to 
 representation wrote in part as follows : 
 
 The senate on Thursday passed a bill, ostensibly to reduce the 
 number of county supervisors, but really to abolish the supervisor 
 system and substitute for it the system of commissioners. It is a 
 return to the old commissioner system of county government. "We 
 think the experience of the people of Iowa has sufficiently estab- 
 lished the fact that the commissioner system is not so good as that 
 of supervisors, in any respect. It was abolished in this state because 
 it was found to lack the essential requirements of good county gov- 
 ernment. The supervisor system may not have embraced all of 
 these requirements, and amendments may have been desirable, but it 
 certainly is a much better system than that of commissioners. It is 
 based upon the correct principle that all portions of the county 
 shall be represented in the government, a principle no less important 
 in the government of a county than in that of a state. 346 
 
 Aside from the general change in county organization 
 already outlined, the General Assembly passed the follow- 
 ing laws dealing with the subject of highways and bridges : 
 "An Act to Ajnend Section 2, Chapter 100, of the Laws of 
 the Twelfth General Assembly"; 347 "An Act Authorizing 
 
160 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Counties to Build Bridges"; 348 "An Act to Authorize and 
 Empower Cities to build and maintain Toll-Bridges, and to 
 provide therefor"; 349 "An Act to Provide for the Com- 
 pilation and Publication of the Koad-Laws, and the Dis- 
 tribution of the same"; 350 "An Act to Repeal Chapter 127, 
 of the Acts of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State 
 of Iowa"; 351 and finally, "An Act to Legalize the Laying- 
 out of Roads under Section 840, of the Revision of I860." 352 
 These statutes were for the most part amendatory, not 
 representing changes of a fundamental character. 
 
 The measure passed at an earlier session providing for 
 the establishment of private roads was repealed, although 
 it had already been declared unconstitutional by the Su- 
 preme Court. Additional power was granted to the board 
 of supervisors in the matter of appropriating money for 
 the building of bridges. In counties having a population of 
 fifteen thousand, the board might appropriate the sum of 
 ten thousand dollars for the construction of a bridge and 
 two thousand dollars more for each additional five thou- 
 sand inhabitants. 353 
 
 Nor should the most important provisions of the law 
 authorizing and empowering cities to build and maintain 
 toll bridges be overlooked in this place. The city council 
 was clothed with authority to build and maintain toll 
 bridges, providing the same did not affect "the vested 
 rights of any person or corporation now existing in or to 
 any toll-bridge franchise." Bonds issued for that purpose 
 were limited in amount at any one time to five per cent of 
 the assessed valuation of the taxable property within the 
 city. Tolls collected for the use of a bridge were set aside 
 as a separate fund for the liquidation and payment of the 
 bonded debt. Finally, it was stipulated that after the 
 liquidation of all the debt the bridge should be free to the 
 public. 354 
 
 Governor Samuel Merrill in his second biennial message 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 161 
 
 and Governor Cyrus C. Carpenter in Ms first inaugural 
 each referred to the subject of road legislation. Among 
 other things, Governor Merrill stated that "much complaint 
 is made of the inefficiency of our present road laws" and 
 suggested that one-fourth of the $268,137.46, exclusive of 
 poll taxes, judiciously expended for road purposes "would 
 effect more permanent improvement than can be accom- 
 plished under the present wasteful management." As a 
 remedy for these conditions the Governor declared that 
 "the abolition of the existing road-districts, with township 
 supervision under an officer selected for the purpose, who 
 would be enabled to systematize the work upon the roads, 
 would, it is thought, give us much better roads with smaller 
 expenditure." 355 
 
 Governor Carpenter stated that turnpike roads and com- 
 mon roads were everywhere rapidly going into disuse, 
 except for mere local purposes in other words, the old 
 type of graded turnpike roads had become a thing of the 
 past. Reference has already been made to the fact that 
 graded and plank roads were a connecting link between the 
 ordinary wagon road and the railroad. 356 With the coming 
 of the railroad, according to the Governor, people were 
 obliged to intrust their persons and property "in moving 
 from point to point, to a transportation monopoly." 357 On 
 the one hand, the administration of wagon roads and 
 bridges had become almost entirely a township and county 
 problem, and on the other, the regulation of railroads as 
 common carriers was soon destined to become a public 
 necessity. 
 
 No fundamental changes, however, in the general system 
 of road administration were made in 1872. A number of 
 minor acts, for the most part amendatory in character and 
 referring especially to the construction of bridges, were 
 passed. "An Act Authorizing the Appropriation of Money 
 to build Bridges" clothed the board of supervisors of any 
 
 11 
 
162 HISTORY OF KOAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 county having a population of more than fifteen thousand 
 with authority to appropriate l ' for the construction of any 
 one bridge which is, or may hereafter become, a county 
 charge, within the limits of said county, such sum as may be 
 necessary, not exceeding the sum of forty dollars per lineal 
 foot". 338 The maximum amount to be appropriated for 
 such purpose, however, was fixed at twenty-five thousand 
 dollars. By the provisions of the same act, the common 
 council of any incorporated city was likewise granted 
 authority to appropriate a sum not to exceed ten dollars 
 per lineal foot for the construction of any county bridge 
 within the city limits. 
 
 A second act authorized any incorporated town to aid in 
 the construction and repair of any roads leading thereto by 
 appropriating for that purpose a sum not exceeding fifty 
 per cent of the road tax of the town. Before money could be 
 appropriated for that purpose, however, it was necessary 
 to file a petition signed by one-third of the resident tax- 
 payers asking that the question be submitted to the voters 
 at a special election. In case a majority voted in favor of 
 the appropriation the council was authorized and empow- 
 ered to make the necessary expenditure, provided that the 
 improvement was made within two miles of the corporate 
 limits of the town. 359 
 
 By the provisions of "An Act Eelating to Taxes Levied 
 for Bridge Purposes", 360 cities and towns maintaining 
 at their own expense bridges at least seventy-five feet in 
 extreme length across running streams were entitled to all 
 bridge taxes levied by county authority and collected on 
 property within their corporate limits. It was further pro- 
 vided, however, that whenever the taxes so levied and the 
 tolls collected and paid over to the proper authorities 
 amounted to the cost of building and maintaining such 
 bridges, the bridge tax should thereafter remain in the 
 county treasury for general bridge purposes. 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 163 
 
 Aside from two minor amendatory laws, "An Act Legal- 
 izing the Establishment of Eoads by County Judges and 
 Auditors 7 ', 361 completed the road legislation of 1872. This 
 measure was rendered necessary by a decision of the Su- 
 preme Court holding that the board of supervisors was the 
 proper authority to establish roads and that this authority 
 could not be delegated. 362 
 
 The Code of 1873 was adopted at an adjourned session of 
 the Fourteenth General Assembly. The codification made 
 at that time, like that of 1851, was a complete and thorough 
 revision of the statutes on a logical and systematic basis, 
 but the changes were not of such a revolutionary character 
 as in the earlier code. A brief analysis of the new code will 
 reveal the exact machinery of road administration which 
 existed at that time. 
 
 In making an historical study of any complex and im- 
 portant question, like roads, taxation or the public school 
 system, it is frequently desirable or in fact necessary to 
 examine a cross section of the whole in order to understand 
 thoroughly any real progress which may have been made. 
 Indeed, it is quite impossible to possess an accurate knowl- 
 edge of details unless one has a clear grasp of fundamental 
 principles ; but at the same time it is a well established rule 
 of logic that the mind can not comprehend the whole of a 
 problem except through a patient and thorough analysis of 
 its various parts. In other words, a cross section of the 
 general subject of road legislation and administration as 
 contained in the various codes and revisions will be helpful 
 both from the standpoint of details and of fundamental 
 principles. 
 
 The statutes dealing with the subject of roads and bridges 
 in the Code of 1873 may be briefly analyzed under the fol- 
 lowing heads: (1) the method of laying out and opening 
 roads, including the awarding of damages, the preparation 
 of field notes, and the like; (2) the levy and collection of 
 
164 HISTOEY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 taxes 'for the building and maintenance of roads and 
 bridges ; and (3) the actual work on the roads, including the 
 administration or supervision of the same. Speaking in 
 general terms, the laying out and opening of roads accord- 
 ing to the plan outlined in the Code of 1873 was a county 
 function ; the levy of taxes for the support of roads was very 
 largely a township function ; while the actual work on roads 
 and the administration of the same was a road district 
 function. While the county board of supervisors did have 
 authority to levy a tax of not more than three mills for 
 making and repairing bridges, 363 the fact remains that the 
 levy of road taxes at that time was primarily a function 
 exercised by the township trustees. A mere statement of 
 these considerations suggests the extent to which the same 
 administrative decentralization had taken place since 1851 
 in the supervision of roads which has been found to exist 
 in the assessment and equalization of taxes during the same 
 period. 364 
 
 The principal officers and boards engaged in the adminis- 
 tration of roads and bridges as outlined in the Code of 1873 
 were the following: the county boards of supervisors, the 
 county auditor, the commissioners, the reviewers and ap- 
 praisers, and the circuit court all of which were clothed 
 with certain definite powers and authority; the township 
 trustees and township clerks, who exercised important 
 duties with reference to the levy of road taxes and the 
 making out of the tax list ; and finally, the road supervisors, 
 who were engaged either in actual work upon the highways 
 or in the supervision of the same. A brief statement of the 
 duties of these officers and boards will, as already suggest- 
 ed, present to the reader a cross section of the method of 
 road administration which existed at that time. 
 
 The board of supervisors was given general supervision 
 over the highways in the county "with power to establish 
 and change them as herein provided, and to see that the laws 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 165 
 
 in relation to them are carried into effect." 365 In perform- 
 ing this work, the county auditor was closely associated with 
 the board of supervisors. Any person desiring the estab- 
 lishment, vacation, or alteration of a highway was required 
 to file a petition in the auditor's office and give bond with 
 sureties approved by the auditor. After filing the petition 
 and bond as required by law, the county auditor appointed 
 a commissioner to view the road and make a report on the 
 same. 
 
 The report of the commissioner being placed on file, the 
 county auditor was then required to appoint a day for hear- 
 ing complaints and claims for damages. In this connection 
 he served notices on each owner or occupier of land lying 
 in the proposed highway or abutting thereon. In case no 
 objection or claims for damages were placed on file within 
 the specified time and the auditor was satisfied that all the 
 provisions of the law had been complied with, he was vested 
 with authority to ' ' establish such highway as recommended 
 by the commissioner upon the payment of costs." 366 If, 
 however, the auditor was satisfied that notice had not been 
 served and published in a legal manner, it was made his 
 duty to appoint another day and proceed in the same man- 
 ner as already indicated. In other words, the county audi- 
 tor under certain conditions had authority to establish 
 highways. 
 
 If objections were made or claims for damages filed, the 
 whole question was postponed and brought before the board 
 of supervisors at its next meeting. Under these conditions 
 the county auditor appointed " three suitable and disinter- 
 ested electors of the county as appraisers to view the 
 ground on a day fixed by him, and report upon the amount 
 of damages sustained by the claimants". 367 If no damages 
 were awarded, the applicant was obliged to pay all costs 
 growing out of his application. 
 
 The code stipulates that "when the time for final action 
 
166 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 arrives, the board of supervisors may hear testimony, re- 
 ceive petitions for and remonstrances against the estab- 
 lishment, vacation, or alteration, as the case may be, of such 
 highway, and may establish, vacate, or alter, or refuse to 
 do so, as in their judgment, founded on the testimony, the 
 public good may require." 368 The board might also in- 
 crease or diminish the damages allowed by the appraisers 
 and establish, vacate, or alter the proposed road, condi- 
 tioned upon the payment either in whole or in part of the 
 damages awarded. After the establishment of the high- 
 way, the plat and field notes were filed by the auditor who 
 directed the road supervisors to open and work the road. 
 
 Some other miscellaneous provisions concerning the lay- 
 ing out and opening of roads should be mentioned. When 
 established along or across a county line concurrent action 
 of the respective boards of supervisors was required; and 
 highways thus established by concurrent action could be 
 discontinued only in the same manner. Roads might also 
 be established without the appointment of a commissioner 
 if the written consent of all owners of land to be used for 
 that purpose was first filed in the auditor's office. As an 
 additional protection of individual rights, the applicant for 
 damages might " appeal from the final decision of the board 
 of supervisors to the circuit court of the county in which 
 the land lies". 369 Finally, provision was made for the re- 
 survey of highways in cases where the field notes had been 
 lost. 
 
 In order to make the supervision of roads more definite 
 and systematic by affording more accurate information to 
 different local officials, it was made the duty of the county 
 auditor to cause every highway in the county to be platted 
 in a book obtained and kept for that purpose and known as 
 the "Highway Plat-book". Each township was platted 
 separately and the records always kept up to date, and 
 copies of portions of the plat-book were furnished to the 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 167 
 
 various township clerks as far as the same related to their 
 respective townships. 
 
 As noted above, the township trustees possessed a large 
 amount of power with reference to the levy of taxes for the 
 support of roads. It was made their duty to determine the 
 amount of tax "to be levied for highways, bridges, guide- 
 boards, plows, scrapers, tools, and machinery adapted to 
 the construction and repair of highways, and for the pay- 
 ment of any indebtedness previously incurred for highway 
 purposes ". 37 The amount of such tax, however, was not 
 to be less than one nor more than five mills on the dollar. 
 The trustees also determined whether any portion, and if 
 so what part, of the road tax should be paid in labor. When 
 it is remembered that the same officials also were granted 
 the power of dividing their township into a sufficient num- 
 ber of road districts, of settling with the township clerk 
 and township supervisors of highways, and at the same time 
 of determining the amount of a general road fund to be 
 used for certain purposes specified by law, it becomes ap- 
 parent that the township was the really important unit of 
 local government, especially when viewed from the stand- 
 point of road finances. 
 
 The numerous duties of the township clerk are also care- 
 fully defined in the Code of 1873. Among other things he 
 was required to furnish each road supervisor "with a copy 
 of so much of the map or plat furnished such clerk by the 
 auditor as relates to the highways in the district of such 
 supervisor ". 371 Thus, the county auditor was required to 
 keep a plat or road map of the entire county; the various 
 township clerks kept on file plats or road maps of their 
 respective townships ; and finally, each road supervisor was 
 provided with a similar map of his own road district. The 
 making out of the tax list in a manner provided by law was 
 also placed in the hands of the township clerk, who deliv- 
 ered the same to the road supervisors of the various dis- 
 
168 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 tricts x)f his township, who in turn had full authority to 
 collect all taxes charged against resident property holders 
 in his district. 372 
 
 As has been suggested, actual work on the highways was 
 under the direct supervision of a district road supervisor, 
 each township being divided into a number of road dis- 
 tricts as determined by the township trustees. Thus it is 
 seen that the work of constructing and maintaining roads 
 and highways was more decentralized from the standpoint 
 of administration than was the levy of taxes for road pur- 
 poses. The office of district road supervisor, created in 
 1853, seemed to satisfy the democratic tendencies of the 
 people who were very anxious to preserve the largest meas- 
 ure of what they believed to be local self-government. 
 
 The numerous and important duties of the road super- 
 visor are outlined with much detail in the Code of 1873. 
 Among other things, he was required to give bond, cause 
 all taxes collected by himself to be expended in a man- 
 ner provided by law, collect the road poll tax, give notice to 
 all persons required to work on the highways, and finally 
 make a report to the township clerk. The character of the 
 report submitted by each road supervisor to the township 
 clerk reveals the extent to which the actual administration 
 of highways had become a local function. 373 
 
 Aside from being responsible for damages caused by un- 
 safe bridges in certain cases and possessing a number of 
 miscellaneous duties, the supervisors were required to meet 
 the township trustees for the purpose of settling all ac- 
 counts connected with the highway fund, "and after pay- 
 ment of the supervisors, the trustees shall order such 
 distribution of the fund in the hands of the township clerk, 
 as they may deem expedient for highway purposes, and the 
 clerk shall pay the same out as ordered by the trustees." 374 
 
 The code further provides certain definite rules and regu- 
 lations regarding ferries and bridges, toll bridges, and rail- 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 169 
 
 way toll bridges. For example, the board of supervisors 
 was vested with authority to grant licenses for the erection 
 of toll bridges across any water courses which called for an 
 expenditure that could not reasonably be met by the rev- 
 enues of the county. In such cases a private corporation 
 constructing a toll bridge might appropriate as much pri- 
 vate property as was necessary for a right-of-way and all 
 approaches. In fact, the board of supervisors possessed 
 a large amount of authority and discretion in the case of 
 ferries and toll bridges. Even in the case of railway toll 
 bridges across the Mississippi, Missouri, and Big Sioux 
 rivers, the supervisors might designate their location. 
 
 A brief analysis of the road legislation contained in the 
 Code of 1873 would be incomplete without calling attention 
 to certain provisions relating to the control of highways, 
 bridges, streets, and public squares in certain cities. The 
 reader will recall the general rule or plan of having each 
 city constitute a road district, separate and distinct from 
 the adjoining rural territory. 375 The reasons for this rule 
 are sufficiently obvious. The care of streets, side-walks, 
 alleys, and public squares in cities involves very different 
 problems than does the administration of ordinary wagon 
 roads in the country. 
 
 The organization of cities into separate road districts 
 and the powers granted to the cities are thus outlined in the 
 code: "The city council shall have the care, supervision, 
 and control of all public highways, bridges, streets, alleys, 
 public squares, and commons within the city, and shall cause 
 the same to be kept open and in repair, and free from nui- 
 sances; all public bridges exceeding forty feet in length, 
 over any stream crossing a state or county highway, shall be 
 constructed and kept in repair by the county ", 376 The city 
 council, however, might appropriate a sum not exceeding 
 ten dollars per lineal foot to aid in the construction of any 
 county bridge within the city limits. 
 
170 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 No fundamental changes were made in the general ma- 
 chinery of road administration following the enactment of 
 the Code of 1873 until the session of 1884. In fact, the 
 system of road administration at the present time is sub- 
 stantially the same as it was forty years ago. While it is 
 true that amendatory acts have been passed from time to 
 time these measures for the most part involve matters of 
 detail and not fundamental principles. 
 
 The period under consideration was one of transition and 
 not of radical changes. This is especially evident from the 
 following facts and circumstances : first, the problem of 
 road legislation considered as a whole was coming to be 
 vastly more complex, involving the principles of civil en- 
 gineering, economics, and sociology, as well as political 
 science and administration; second, thinking men were be- 
 ginning to recognize the fact that good roads and well 
 constructed bridges required something more than the mere 
 enactment of law; and finally, the decentralized system of 
 administration created during the period from 1853 to 1870 
 was gradually proving itself to be out of harmony with 
 changed economic conditions. In other words, the good 
 roads movement was soon to follow with its emphasis upon 
 scientific engineering, sound economic principles, and the 
 honest and efficient administration of law. 
 
 Governor Cyrus Clay Carpenter in his first biennial mes- 
 sage on January 23, 1874, referred to the necessity of 
 amending the road law. The Governor was among those 
 who had a great deal of faith in the principles of local self- 
 government and believed that the amendment of road legis- 
 lation at that time should be along the lines of even greater 
 decentralization. "I suggest for consideration'', said 
 Governor Carpenter, " whether it would not be well to make 
 each road-district independent, and provide that the people 
 may come together and levy a tax to build highways as the 
 law provides they may do to build school-houses. '; V ; 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 171 
 
 If one enterprising district, for the honor of the neighbor- 
 hood, secures good roads, the adjoining district is stim- 
 ulated to like enterprise. Contracts let to competitors 
 among neighbors, whose reputation in the neighborhood 
 depends upon faithful performance, are not only usually 
 done well but economically. " 377 
 
 No very important road legislation, however, was enacted 
 in 1874. Cities and towns were granted authority to make 
 contracts with any railroad or other private company for 
 the use of a bridge belonging to such a company as a public 
 highway, assuming at the same time responsibility for any 
 damages that might result from such use. 378 Another stat- 
 ute denned the penalties for obstructing, defacing, or 
 injuring any public road or highway. 379 In the third place, 
 the code was so amended as to give the township clerk 
 rather than the county auditor authority to direct the super- 
 visor of highways to open and work a highway after the 
 plat and field notes had been filed as provided by law. 380 
 Eailroad corporations were granted the privilege of raising 
 or lowering any turnpike road or other highway for the 
 purpose of having its railway cross over or under the same 
 the company, however, being required to put the highway 
 in as good repair and condition as before such change had 
 been made at the place of crossing. 381 
 
 Finally, the Fifteenth General Assembly authorized the 
 establishment of railways or highways "from any stone- 
 quarry, coal, lead, or other mine". 382 In case, however, the 
 owner of the land refused to grant the necessary right-of- 
 way, or could not agree with the corporation regarding the 
 price thereof, it was made the duty of the county sheriff 
 upon the application of either party to appoint six dis- 
 interested freeholders to assess the damages and report on 
 the same. The method of determining and awarding dam- 
 ages, the giving of notice to residents and non-residents, 
 and other necessary details were governed by the provisions 
 of the Code of 1873 which have already been noted. 
 
172 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Practically nothing was accomplished in the way of 
 fundamental changes in the general system of road adminis- 
 tration during the legislative session of 1876. The laws 
 which were passed were again for the most part amendatory 
 in character or referred to certain special problems. In 
 other words, the General Assembly was endeavoring to 
 improve roads and construct bridges by the mere enactment 
 of detailed laws. Indeed, the people were very slow to 
 realize the necessity of a more efficient administration of 
 law along this line which meant that their chosen repre- 
 sentatives were not inclined to pass constructive measures. 
 As has been suggested, this was a period of transition when 
 some beginnings were being made, but when nothing very 
 definite was accomplished. 
 
 Among the amendments passed by the General Assembly 
 in 1876 was one dealing with the question of penalty for 
 failure to work on the highway when summoned to do so by 
 the road supervisor. The Code of 1873 gave the road super- 
 visor in such cases the authority to bring action before any 
 justice of the peace in the proper town. 383 The amendatory 
 act strengthened the provision of the code by requiring that 
 in such cases "no property or wages belonging to said 
 person shall be exempt to the defendant on execution. " 384 
 
 Other amendatory acts related to the cutting of shade 
 trees on unenclosed lands, county appropriations for 
 bridges in certain cases, and the construction of cattle- 
 ways across the public roads. The Code of 1873 had per- 
 mitted the road supervisor to take timber or other material 
 for use on highways from any unenclosed lands in the 
 vicinity of the road, but had prohibited the cutting of cer- 
 tain growing trees which did not obstruct the highway. 385 
 The law in this connection was strengthened by an amend- 
 ment which provided that "it shall not be lawful for the 
 supervisor to enter upon any enclosed or unenclosed lands 
 for the purpose of taking timber therefrom without first 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 173 
 
 receiving permission from the owner or owners of said 
 lands. " 386 
 
 It will be recalled that under the provisions of the Code 
 of 1873 the board of supervisors was prohibited from order- 
 ing the erection of a bridge, when the probable cost of the 
 same would exceed five thousand dollars, until the propo- 
 sition was submitted to the voters of the county. The same 
 statute, however, gave the board of supervisors the author- 
 ity to appropriate a sum not exceeding forty dollars per 
 lineal foot or a maximum of fifteen thousand dollars for 
 the construction of certain county bridges. 387 The law in 
 this connection was amended by adding the proviso of the 
 county bridge law of 1872, which stipulated that "in any 
 county having a population exceeding fifteen thousand, said 
 board may appropriate as aforesaid, not to exceed twenty- 
 five thousand dollars." 388 
 
 An act relative to the construction of cattle-ways across 
 public highways conferred upon the board of supervisors 
 the authority to permit the construction of such cattle-ways 
 under certain conditions. The person making application 
 for this privilege was required to construct the cattle-way 
 at his own expense and assume the responsibility for all 
 damages that might result therefrom. In case of failure 
 on the part of the owner to keep the cattle-way in good 
 condition the road supervisor made all necessary repairs 
 and charged the same to the owner of the land. 389 
 
 The session of the General Assembly in 1878 was also 
 characterized by the absence of any definite program of 
 reform along the line of road legislation. Much in the way 
 of criticism was expressed, but no one seemed able to 
 formulate a constructive policy. According to a petition 
 signed by citizens of Jasper County, the expense and dam- 
 ages caused by establishing roads on section lines should 
 be paid by the counties and not by the petitioners. 390 An- 
 other petition demanded the levying of "the Eate of Taxes 
 
174 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 in advance and requiring the work to be done by a given 
 time, and Setting the Settlement as early as the first of 
 October/' Governor John Henry Gear in his first in- 
 augural had referred to the fact that "the present method 
 of managing our public roads and highways is neither ef- 
 ficient or economical, and that the time has arrived for a 
 change. " 391 While the Governor lamented the condition 
 of the highways, especially during certain seasons of the 
 year, and emphasized in this way the economic importance 
 of good roads, no constructive program of reform was 
 suggested. 
 
 Only a few minor changes were made by the General 
 Assembly in 1878. ' ' An Act to Amend Section 990, Chapter 
 2, Title 7, of the Code of 1873 " strengthened the law regard- 
 ing the liability for damages resulting from the unsafe or 
 impassable condition of bridges or portions of the public 
 highway. 392 In the case of bridges erected or maintained 
 by the county it was further made the duty of the road 
 supervisor to inform at least one member of the board of 
 supervisors of his county of its unsafe condition. Failing 
 to do this the road supervisor himself was made respon- 
 sible for any damages that might result providing, how- 
 ever, that "nothing herein contained shall be construed to 
 relieve the county from liability for the defects of said 
 bridge." 393 A second act provided that county line bridges 
 on the county line roads might be constructed wholly within 
 one county where it was found convenient to do so. 394 
 
 Governor Gear in his first biennial message called the 
 attention of the General Assembly to the fact that the 
 amount of road tax levied by the boards of supervisors 
 during the fiscal year 1877-1878 as shown by the State 
 Auditor's report was $1,076,408.31. Moreover, this large 
 sum did not represent the amount of tax worked out on the 
 highways, the money value of which it was impossible to 
 compute. The Governor suggested that nothing added 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 175 
 
 more to the convenience of the people than a good system 
 of public highways and declared that there was a necessity 
 for some definite legislation on the subject. What this leg- 
 islation should be, however, was not indicated. "I am 
 persuaded ", said Governor Gear, "that a judicious ex- 
 penditure of much less than one-half the amount now put 
 upon roads would give us far better returns. " 395 
 
 The General Assembly in 1880 passed the usual number 
 of minor laws and amendatory acts, but no general changes 
 of importance were made in the system of road administra- 
 tion. Street railway companies organized under the laws 
 of the State were granted the privilege of using the public 
 highways beyond the limits of the city where the road was 
 a hundred feet wide or more. The company constructing 
 the street railway was required, however, to keep such 
 highway in as good repair and condition as before the 
 railway was constructed. It was further made the duty of 
 the railway company to "pay all damages sustained by 
 such land owners by reason of building said road, which 
 damages shall be ascertained and paid in the same manner 
 as provided for taking private property for works of in- 
 ternal improvement. " 396 
 
 Another law required boards of supervisors in certain 
 cases to pay cities of the first class a portion of the county 
 bridge fund. Where any bridge or bridges exceeded three 
 hundred feet in length, and for which the city was indebted 
 in a sum not less than one hundred thousand dollars, the 
 board of supervisors was obliged "to annually set apart 
 and pay to such city out of the bridge fund of such county 
 the whole amount of bridge tax collected on the taxable 
 property within the limits of such city for that year, until 
 such indebtedness shall be fully paid". 397 After the pay- 
 ment of the indebtedness the bridge was to become free to 
 the public. 
 
 Other road laws enacted during the same session author- 
 
176 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 ized towns and cities of under ten thousand inhabitants to 
 set aside a part of their road tax to be used in the construc- 
 tion or repair of highways outside of and "within three 
 miles of the limits of such incorporated town or city"; 398 
 required the county treasurer, when turning over highway 
 taxes to the township clerks, to furnish to each clerk a state- 
 ment showing the road district or districts to which the 
 same belonged; 399 vested the county boards of supervisors 
 in counties free from debt with authority to use surplus 
 funds in making improvements on the highways ' ' upon the 
 petition of one-third of the resident free holders of any 
 township in said county"; 400 provided that persons able to 
 work who asked for j5oor relief might be required to earn 
 such relief "by labor on the public highway at a rate of not 
 to exceed sixty-five cents per day"; 401 changed from the an- 
 nual to the biennial system of electing certain township 
 officers, including district highway supervisors; 402 and 
 finally, authorized the compilation and publication of the 
 road laws and the distribution of the same. 403 
 
 Not more than twenty-five per cent of the highway tax of 
 any town or city, however, could be used in improving the 
 roads outside of the corporate limits. In counties having 
 a surplus the board of supervisors could use merely this 
 surplus in making improvements and were not authorized 
 to run the county into debt for that purpose. In such cases 
 the work was also let by contract to the lowest bidder. The 
 act authorizing the compilation and publication of the road 
 laws stipulated that twenty-five thousand copies should be 
 printed, bound in pamphlet form, and distributed by the 
 Secretary of State to the county auditors, who in turn 
 should deliver them to the township clerks, who should 
 finally hand them to the district road supervisors. 
 
 While little of a constructive character was being accom- 
 plished during this period, sentiment was gradually being 
 crystalized in favor of good roads. Thinking men were 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 177 
 
 coming to realize the necessity of a more efficient adminis- 
 tration of the law. It is an axiom verified by historical 
 research that important movements which comprehend 
 changes in the whole system of local government move 
 slowly. About 1880 a few progressive men began to under- 
 stand why so large an amount of money was being annually 
 expended for road purposes with such small results. In 
 the petitions presented to the General Assembly, in the 
 messages and proclamations of the Governors, and in other 
 contemporary source materials one finds for the first time 
 a real comprehensive grasp of the general problem of road 
 administration. 
 
 For example, a petition signed by citizens of Warren 
 County and submitted to the General Assembly in 1882 
 contains the following suggestions : first, that the damages 
 awarded for property condemned for public use should be 
 paid for by the public and not by the petitioners, unless in 
 the judgment of the county board of supervisors the pro- 
 posed road would be more beneficial to the petitioners than 
 to the public generally; second, "that the work should be 
 done under the Supervision of the Township Supervisors "; 
 third, that the poll tax should be fixed by law and the prop- 
 erty tax levied by the township trustees and "Collected all 
 in money and Paid over to the authorities of the Township 
 where assessed "; and fourth, that persons be permitted to 
 work in lieu of paying money by making an agreement with 
 the road supervisor. 404 Evidently the petitioners in this 
 case were impressed not only with the importance of paying 
 road taxes in money rather than in labor, but also with the 
 necessity of enlarging the unit of local administration by 
 making it the township rather than the road district. 
 
 In his second biennial message Governor Gear spoke in 
 very definite terms concerning the subject of public high- 
 ways. Up to this time he had been satisfied with lamenting 
 the impassable condition of highways and indulging in gen- 
 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF EOAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 eralizations. But now, after referring to the fact that 
 business was frequently brought almost to a standstill by 
 the condition of the roads, the Governor declared : 
 
 The present system of working the roads by a headless and almost 
 aimless army of over ten thousand supervisors is radically unsound. 
 The infinitesimal road districts, with their attendant dissipation of 
 responsibility and utter want of system, along with the practice of 
 paying taxes with what is called labor on the roads, ought to be 
 remorselessly annihilated. Of the half million dollars collected for 
 road purposes throughout the State, a far larger proportion, it may, 
 I think, be safely said, is wasted than of any other amount of money 
 collected in this State for any purpose whatever. 
 
 Governor Gear at this time was not even satisfied with 
 pointing out the character of our highways and stating the 
 reasons for the same, but he actually suggested a definite 
 constructive program of reform by saying that "the pay- 
 ment of all taxes in money and the consolidation and 
 systemization of the work on the roads under intelligent 
 management, would be as productive of good results here 
 as it has been in other States/' 405 
 
 Governor Buren Eobinson Sherman, in his first in- 
 augural address, likewise had something definite to say 
 regarding the problem of the roads. He referred to the 
 necessity of a complete revision of the road laws, stated that 
 the l i sorry condition of the highways ' ' seriously interfered 
 with the business of the people, and suggested that the 
 large amount of tax levied for road purposes was sufficient, 
 if properly expended, "to bring a handsome return in im- 
 proved ways. ' ' He considered that the careless supervision 
 or piecemeal system of administration was primarily re- 
 sponsible for the fact that no real progress had been accom- 
 plished; and, following the example of his predecessor, he 
 ventured some definite recommendations. "I believe ", 
 said the Governor, "a betterment would result if the road 
 taxes were payable in money as other taxes, and the ex- 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 179 
 
 penditure made under authority of a township road-master 
 who should be held to the same rigid accountability for 
 faithful service as other officers." 406 
 
 The session of 1882, although barren of constructive 
 legislation, was nevertheless characterized by an earnest ef- 
 fort in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to 
 make important changes in the road laws. At least ten bills 
 were presented in the House and two in the Senate, which 
 proposed fundamental and radical changes in the whole 
 system of highway administration. In the House the Com- 
 mittee on Roads and Highways held numerous meetings 
 and endeavored to reach a compromise in the form of a 
 substitute measure. Notwithstanding the development of a 
 radical difference of opinion, a substitute signed by seven 
 members of the committee was finally reported although 
 a minority report was also presented. 407 The distinct fea- 
 tures of the committee substitute, or majority report, were 
 as follows : 
 
 1st. Each civil township constituted one road district; corpora- 
 tions exempted from the operations of the bill. 
 
 2d. Township road masters appointed by the Board of Trustees, 
 and to serve in that capacity from April to October, each year. 
 
 3d. All road taxes, except poll taxes, to be paid in money and 
 collected by the County Treasurer. 
 
 4th. The Boards of Township Trustees to have directory author- 
 ity in all matters pertaining to the public highways in their respec- 
 tive townships, and to act as Supervisors of the township road 
 district from October to April each year. 408 
 
 It appears that the committee substitute was a very elab- 
 orate measure which comprised thirty-three sections and 
 outlined in detail the duties of the township trustees, road 
 master, and township clerk with reference to the super- 
 vision of public highways. Strenuous opposition was made 
 to this bill, especially to those provisions which required 
 the appointment of a township road master and the payment 
 
180 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 of all property road taxes in money. The substitute having 
 been made a special order for March 13th it was again 
 referred to the Committee on Roads and Highways with in- 
 structions "to report additional provisions to the bill leav- 
 ing it to civil townships to determine by vote as to whether 
 they will accept the provisions of the substitute, before any 
 township shall be affected thereby. " 409 This action being 
 taken only three days before the close of the session and 
 with the radical differences of opinion which prevailed in 
 the House at that time, it was impossible to redraft the 
 measure. Accordingly, the Committee on Eoads and High- 
 ways submitted the following report on March 14th : 
 
 We find after a careful consideration of the provisions of the 
 resolution instructing the committee, that to so amend the bill as to 
 incorporate the provisions of said instructions would involve so 
 many changes as to make it practically impossible for want of time, 
 and would recommend the adoption of the substitute with such 
 changes as the House may see proper to make. 410 
 
 The sifting committee which had already been appointed 
 was, however, opposed to so radical a change and therefore 
 no action was taken on the substitute. 
 
 In the Senate, where two important bills were introduced 
 along the same line one by Senator Martin Garber and 
 the other by Senator Samuel D. Nichols even greater 
 opposition was manifested. 411 After being referred to the 
 Committee on Highways, reported back without recom- 
 mendation, and re-referred to the same committee, it was 
 finally recommended that the bills "be indefinitely post- 
 poned, for the reason that the committee consider that they 
 have not time to perfect the bill, and for the further reason 
 that a part of the committee are radically opposed to the 
 measures of the bill." 412 
 
 Thus ended the first real effort to provide for the pay- 
 ment of all property road taxes in money and at the same 
 time to make the civil township a more important unit of 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 181 
 
 local government from the standpoint of road administra- 
 tion. But progress was made in that a foundation was 
 being laid for some real constructive legislation at the fol- 
 lowing session of the General Assembly. 
 
 Only a few supplementary acts dealing with the subject 
 of roads were passed at the session in 1882. For example, 
 the board of school directors was authorized to obtain, at 
 the expense of the district, such highways as were deemed 
 necessary for proper access to the schoolhouse. 413 Town- 
 ships, incorporated towns, and cities (including those act- 
 ing under special charters) were granted authority by vote 
 of the people at a special election to aid in the construction 
 of county bridges. It was provided further that "the ag- 
 gregate amount of tax to be voted or levied under the pro- 
 vision[s] of this act in any township, incorporated towns, 
 or city, shall not exceed five per centum of the assessed 
 value of the property therein, respectively, nor shall it ex- 
 ceed one-half the estimated cost of the bridge sought to be 
 aided as fixed by the board of supervisors. " 414 
 
 In conclusion, the following table, compiled from the re- 
 ports of the Auditor of State, will serve to show the amount 
 of revenue raised for road and bridge purposes during the 
 period under consideration: 
 
 TABLE I 
 
 ROAD AND BEIDGE REVENUES 1870-1882 
 
 YEAR BRIDGE TAX EOAD TAX 
 
 1870 $ 618,884.11 $268,137.46 
 
 1871 695,781.74 348,092.82 
 
 1872 705,445.61 360,700.95 
 
 1873 672,300.47 414,610.48 
 
 1874 680,255.29 458,488.27 
 
 1875 839,668.79 443,449.48 
 
 1876 952,948.10 438,206.88 
 
 1877 946,788.08 532,732.27 
 
 1878 856,338.81 543,676.04 
 
 1879 764,747.12 394,332.30 
 
 1880 828,442.40 447,047.00 
 
 1881 970,238.08 486,454.36 
 
 1882 1,089,294.92 477,389.95 
 
182 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 It should be noted, however, that the amounts indicated 
 in the above table do not include the road tax paid in labor. 
 It does not appear that the amount of road tax paid in labor 
 has ever been reported even to the county auditors in the 
 respective counties, and hence it is impossible to estimate 
 the amount of tax thus worked out on the roads. 
 
 The period from 1870 to 1883 was characterized by legis- 
 lation along the following lines : first, the change from the 
 supervisor to the commissioner system of county govern- 
 ment which had a direct bearing on the general subject of 
 road and bridge administration; second, a separate and 
 distinct body of acts relating to bridges, bridge funds, and 
 the fixing of responsibility for damages sustained as the 
 result of unsafe bridges ; and third, a distribution of road 
 taxes as between the cities and the rural districts. Regard- 
 ing the last point, it will be recalled that cities and towns 
 were vested with authority to levy taxes for the improve- 
 ment of the public highways within three miles of the cor- 
 porate limits. This law and one granting townships, towns, 
 and cities the authority to levy a tax for a county bridge 
 fund were an important recognition of the well known fact 
 that from an economic standpoint the value of a road is not 
 confined to the small local district in which it is situated 
 and therefore its financial support should come partly at 
 least from a larger or neighboring jurisdiction. 
 
 The new plan of county government, which was nominally 
 the supervisor but in reality the commissioner system, rep- 
 resented a compromise between the county judge and the 
 county board of township supervisors. The name " super- 
 visor" was retained, and the number of supervisors by vote 
 of the people of the county might be increased to five or 
 seven as concessions to the advocates of the township- 
 county principle of county organization. The county board 
 of supervisors or commissioners being organized on a 
 
PERIOD OF TRANSITION 183 
 
 county basis, the line of demarcation between the sphere of 
 the township and the county in local government was des- 
 tined to become more distinct and clearly defined. More- 
 over, it would be reasonable to expect a greater separation 
 of township and county functions in the future as a result 
 of the commissioner system, on the one hand, and changed 
 economic conditions, on the other. 
 
 As a concrete example of this point one may cite the act 
 authorizing the appropriation of money for a county bridge 
 fund. It will be recalled that the General Assembly in 1872 
 vested the board of supervisors of any county having a 
 population of more than fifteen thousand with power to ap- 
 propriate for the construction of any one bridge a sum not 
 exceeding forty dollars per lineal foot, the total appropria- 
 tion not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. 
 
 Finally, the period under consideration was essentially 
 one of transition. There was a gradual recognition of the 
 fact that roads and bridges are quite as important from the 
 standpoint of economics and civil engineering as from the 
 standpoint of political science and administration. The 
 wastefulness and inefficiency of the existing system was 
 recognized by both Governor Gear and Governor Sherman 
 and emphasized by a substantial minority of the members 
 of the General Assembly in the session of 1882. In fact, the 
 Nineteenth General Assembly, while practically barren of 
 constructive road legislation, marked out the real begin- 
 nings of a reform movement along the following lines : first, 
 the payment of property road taxes in money; second, the 
 desirability of appointing a township supervisor of roads or 
 a township road master for at least a short period of time 
 each year, thus recognizing the necessity of abolishing the 
 small road district and making the civil township a more 
 important unit of highway administration; and finally, an 
 enlargement of the power and authority of the county, 
 especially from a financial standpoint. 
 
VIII 
 
 THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 
 1883-1904 
 
 For reasons partially suggested in the preceding chapter 
 the session of the General Assembly in 1884 marked the 
 beginning of an important era in the history of road legis- 
 lation in Iowa. During the winter of 1882-1883 the public 
 highways had been in an almost impassable condition a 
 fact which very naturally stimulated an active interest in 
 the demand for radical changes in the road laws and the 
 general system of highway administration. Indeed, this 
 aroused popular interest was largely responsible for the 
 calling of what seems to have been the first State road con- 
 vention held in Iowa. 
 
 A communication entitled Public Highways in Iowa, 
 written by Mr. S. D. Pryce of Iowa City and sent to the 
 Iowa State Register under date of January 3, 1883, con- 
 tributed in no small degree to the education of the public 
 regarding the value of an improved system of highways. 
 Mr. Pryce 's communication was reprinted in almost every 
 section of the State and became in a large measure the 
 basis of the good roads movement which led to the calling 
 of a State road convention in March, 1883. "To Capt. 
 Pryce, especially, and in a large measure to other energetic 
 gentlemen in Iowa City", wrote the editor of the Iowa City 
 Weekly Republican, "is due the credit of working up an 
 interest in the desired and much needed change in the 
 manner of working the public highways. ' ' 
 
 The Pryce communication was in fact a very progressive 
 document, discussing the road question from the stand- 
 
 184 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 185 
 
 point both of engineering and political science. Among 
 other points Mr. Pryce called attention to the following: 
 first, the great economic loss, especially to the farmers, 
 resulting from bad roads ; second, the fact that Iowa ranked 
 first as an agricultural State and yet possessed the " highest 
 per cent of poor roads of any country this side of the swing- 
 ing worlds ' ' ; third, the folly of working public highways in 
 the fall of the year, the result being similar to the ' i fate of 
 the Daughters of Danaas in the fable, who were compelled 
 to the endless task of filling bottomless buckets with wa- 
 ter "; fourth, the necessity of "graded, tile-drained, gravel, 
 or macadamized " roads, depending upon the topography 
 and road material which might exist in any particular sec- 
 tion; and fifth, the wastefulness and inefficiency of the 
 system of paying road taxes in labor. "In so far as these 
 laws [road laws] provide for commutation of tax by labor", 
 said Mr. Pryce, "they are absolutely worthless and should 
 be repealed. ' J 
 
 In conclusion Mr. Pryce recommended the following def- 
 inite changes in the road laws: (1) the repeal of the pro- 
 vision allowing the commutation of road taxes in labor; (2) 
 a general and uniform tax of five mills for road purposes 
 levied upon the assessed valuation of each township and 
 paid into the county treasury; (3) the appointment by the 
 Governor of a highway commissioner in each county, who 
 should commence the building of public highways through- 
 out each county; and (4) "the building of roads to be let by 
 contract to responsible parties, and the drains and grades 
 to be placed under the supervision of a competent civil 
 engineer." These suggestions make the communication 
 read very much like a modern document. Indeed, it is a 
 significant fact that most of the reforms suggested by Mr. 
 Pryce have not yet been realized and are now being advo- 
 cated by the State Highway Commission and endorsed 
 by friends of the good roads movement throughout the 
 
186 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 State.' If the future may be measured by the past, it will 
 probably still require many years to write into law the 
 dreams of some of the progressive men who assembled in 
 the State Eoad Convention at Iowa City thirty years ago. 415 
 
 With regard to the State Eoad Convention it appears 
 that the Iowa City Board of Trade, largely through the ef- 
 forts of Mr. Pryce, extended a cordial invitation "to the 
 Boards of Trade, Boards of Supervisors, City and Town 
 Councils, Farmers' Clubs and kindred organizations, to 
 send delegates to a State Eoad Convention, to assemble in 
 Iowa City, March 1 and 2 to consider the improvements of 
 the public roads, and to devise means for a change in 
 the laws and governing the working of public highway s." 416 
 At the appointed time the convention assembled in the 
 Opera House, and after the reading of the call by Captain 
 H. W. Fyffe, Secretary of the Iowa City Board of Trade, 
 Hon. John Scott was made chairman of the convention by a 
 unanimous vote. Then followed the introduction of Gov- 
 ernor Kirkwood, who delivered a short address of welcome 
 in which he called attention to the importance of a better 
 system of highways and emphasized the practical difficulties 
 in the way of bringing about a general revision of the road 
 laws. 
 
 "I have lived in three States", said Governor Kirkwood, 
 * ' and have worked for the road laws, and they are substan- 
 tially the same, and the roads are just about as bad. The 
 system is an old one, and you will find it harder to change 
 than you perhaps imagine it to be. It will not be sufficient 
 that you here lay down a system that you think should take 
 the place of the existing system. You will find the legis- 
 lators in both branches slow to move and they must be 
 moved upon; you will find that organized action produces 
 its results in legislative bodies both State and National." 
 In the light of the history of road legislation since 1883 it 
 will be admitted that the venerable Governor gave the con- 
 vention some very sound advice. 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 187 
 
 Chairman Scott replied to the address of welcome in a 
 brief but enthusiastic speech. He referred to the vast sums 
 of money which had been expended in the building of rail- 
 roads, first to reach the extensive and fertile region of the 
 Mississippi Valley and later the Pacific Coast and yet 
 these main thoroughfares of steel represented only a part 
 of the whole system of transportation throughout the 
 Union. Finally, Mr. Scott favored better highways and a 
 better system in locating highways, building bridges, and 
 grading roads in order to obtain ' ' a public highway system 
 that shall supplement our railroad system." 
 
 At the close of the introductory addresses Mr. H. S. 
 Fairall of Johnson County was elected secretary and Mr. 
 T. H. Palmer of What Cheer assistant secretary of the 
 convention. Committees on credentials, resolutions, and 
 permanent organization were also appointed. 
 
 After the offering of a number of resolutions Senator 
 Pliny Nichols of Muscatine County read a most instructive 
 paper on Practical Reform in Our Road Laws. While rec- 
 ognizing that there was some necessity for the permanent 
 improvement of the main thoroughfares for example, the 
 building of macadamized roads Mr. Nichols declared that 
 the principal business of the convention was to devise ways 
 and means of providing a better system of wagon roads. 
 Governor Gear and Governor Sherman, he said, had both 
 called attention to the inefficiency and wastefulness of the 
 small road district plan and suggested the desirability of 
 a complete revision of the statutes dealing with highways 
 and bridges. 
 
 The Senator then proceeded to give a brief history of the 
 efforts to secure legislation in the session of 1882 ; and fol- 
 lowing the example of Governor Kirkwood he pointed out 
 very definitely the practical difficulties in the way of any 
 thorough and scientific reform along this line. During that 
 session ten bills, he said, had been introduced in the House 
 
188 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Roads 
 and Highways. Not finding any of the proposed measures 
 entirely satisfactory, a majority of the committee under- 
 took the task of combining into one committee substitute 
 the best features of all the bills that had been presented. In 
 considering this substitute measure the committee had 
 "met oftener and remained in session longer than scarcely 
 any other committee of the House ", taking up point by 
 point all the different sections of the bill. The majority and 
 minority reports of the Committee on Roads and Highways 
 already noted in the preceding chapter revealed, in 
 the opinion of Mr. Nichols, the great difficulty in the way of 
 securing a thorough revision of the road laws. 
 
 In reviewing the arguments which had defeated good 
 road legislation, Senator Nichols emphasized especially the 
 objection to the payment of all road taxes in money. The 
 farmers in many sections of the State, it was alleged, were 
 already paying taxes on two or three times what they were 
 really worth considering the heavy mortgages against 
 their live stock and real estate and they believed that the 
 proposed reform would simply add to their burdens. 
 Strenuous opposition had also manifested itself against the 
 employment of a township road superintendent for so long 
 a period and against the payment of fees to township trus- 
 tees and county treasurers for the collection of road taxes 
 on a money basis. 
 
 Thus the experience of the Nineteenth General Assembly 
 had made very evident the necessity of advocating reforms 
 on an evolutionary basis. And so Senator Nichols observed 
 that ' ' any measure of reform in our present system of road 
 laws, to insure its success in the Legislature, in my opinion, 
 must have local option applied, either to the measure as a 
 whole or to a considerable portion of the features of its 
 makeup. Then if local option be incorporated into the 
 measure, it must be so sugar-coated that the people will 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 189 
 
 take the pill when offered to them, otherwise it had better 
 not incTimber our statute books." 
 
 While an advocate of reform Senator Nichols believed in 
 proceeding along conservative lines. In his opinion, Iowa 
 was not ready for the improved system of highways which 
 existed in Ohio under county supervision and control. The 
 people, however, were ready for substantial improvements, 
 and he thought that they should make their wants known. 
 He favored the one-district plan, with the division of the 
 township into four sub-districts for road purposes and the 
 appointment of a road supervisor for each district. Funds 
 were not available in his judgment for employing a town- 
 ship superintendent except for a very short period of time. 
 If there was too much superintending there would be no 
 funds left for actual road work. By employing a township 
 road superintendent for a short time and having four sub- 
 district road supervisors appointed by the township trus- 
 tees, he believed that a more efficient and economical admin- 
 istration of township funds would be realized. On this 
 point Mr. Nichols spoke specifically as follows : 
 
 With one road district for each civil township, we should have 
 better instruments, but would not have so many of them. With one 
 road district, we should have more head work, skill, and would get 
 more and better road work done for the same money. Work would 
 be of uniform excellence throughout the township, and railroad and 
 all other road taxes would be applied where most needed, and where 
 they would do the most good in the township. 
 
 The reports of the various committees 417 followed the 
 address of Senator Nichols. The Committee on Credentials 
 showed that two hundred and fifty delegates were present, 
 representing thirty-nine counties of the State. The Com- 
 mittee on Permanent Organization reported in favor of 
 organizing a State road improvement association, and out- 
 lined the work which such an organization should perform. 
 Believing that much better results could be accomplished 
 
190 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 through organized effort, the committee recommended the 
 desirability of forming county road improvement associa- 
 tions. In a word, State officials were provided for and a 
 general plan for organized effort in promoting the good 
 roads movement was definitely formulated. 
 
 The report of the Committee on Resolutions is significant 
 from the standpoint of the present reform movement ; for it 
 is a striking fact that the document contains most of the 
 recommendations which are now being made by the State 
 Highway Commission. The report as originally presented 
 was as follows : 
 
 Resolved, 1st. That it is the sense of this Convention that all road 
 taxes, except the poll tax, be paid in money. 
 
 2d. That the District Supervisor system be abolished. 
 
 3d. That the county surveyor in each county shall be the Bridge 
 and Road Commissioner. 
 
 4th. That each township shall elect a township road master, who 
 shall have charge of the road work in his township under the Com- 
 missioner, and may expend the poll tax for necessary repairs. 
 
 5th. The road work shall be let by contract to the lowest re- 
 sponsible bidder. 
 
 In view of the fact that the payment of road taxes in 
 money, the repeal of the district supervisor system and the 
 substitution of the township system, and the letting of con- 
 tracts to the lowest responsible bidder were all advocated 
 in 1883, it is apparent that the good roads movement may 
 be said to have originated at that time. The State Road 
 Convention of 1883, assuming a decidedly progressive atti- 
 tude, inaugurated a far-reaching movement for reform. 
 
 Resolutions one and two were adopted after a brief de- 
 bate, although some members of the convention favored the 
 payment even of poll taxes in money. The third resolution, 
 however, called forth a very general discussion. Mr. 
 Palmer offered the following substitute: "That the Board 
 of Supervisors be empowered to engage a suitable and com- 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 191 
 
 petent man to have charge of the public highways within 
 the county, and require sufficient bonds for the faithful and 
 able manner of doing the work/ 7 Mr. McFarland, on the 
 other hand, presented a more conservative substitute: 
 "Resolved, That there shall be elected in each township, 
 one commissioner to supervise the working of the roads ", 
 which was adopted as resolution number three. 
 
 The fourth resolution was promptly stricken out. This 
 was followed by an effort to defeat the fifth resolution. In 
 fact Senator Nichols offered the following substitute: 
 "Resolved, That road work in the township shall be done 
 under the direction of the township trustees." The pro- 
 posed substitute was lost, and the fifth resolution was 
 finally adopted, requiring the letting of contracts to the 
 lowest responsible bidder. 
 
 During the course of the session, which lasted for two 
 days, other resolutions were adopted dealing largely with 
 the question of organization and the methods which should 
 be followed in order to obtain desirable road legislation. A 
 resolution presented by Mr. Ambler provided that the board 
 of supervisors of the several counties should take charge of 
 public road work " where extraordinary expenditure is re- 
 quired " and improve such roads by tiling, macadamizing, 
 or some other practicable method. Mr. W. P. Payne of 
 Story County offered a resolution which was adopted urg- 
 ing the necessity of "intelligent, directive and general 
 supervision of road building and repairing in harmony with 
 the recommendation already made. ' ' 
 
 In concluding this account of the epoch-making State 
 Eoad Convention of 1883, brief reference should be made to 
 a paper read by Mr. L. S. Coffin, in whose judgment good 
 roads were very desirable. He thought, however, that the 
 people of the cities and towns ought to bear their share of 
 the expense. The farmers, he maintained, were already 
 paying "three-quarters of all the taxes that run the gov- 
 
192 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 ernm&nt" and were obliged to pay taxes on all their farm 
 lands and improvements although they might be mortgaged 
 for two-thirds of their value. "The first step, then, in my 
 humble judgment ", said Mr. Coffin, "is to commence at the 
 bottom. First make equal and just tax and revenue laws; 
 put all on a level; then enact the wisest law possible for 
 road making, and we will all pull together/' Needless to 
 say this was very sound doctrine in 1883 and in the last 
 analysis represents the very cornerstone of the good roads 
 movement at the present time ; for without funds permanent 
 highway improvement is impossible, and the proper dis- 
 tribution of funds can be realized only through an equitable 
 system of taxation. 
 
 From an examination of the Senate and House journals 
 it appears that a great many petitions dealing with the road 
 question were submitted to the General Assembly in 1884. 
 Only a very few of these petitions, however, are still in 
 existence. The few that have been preserved are on file in 
 the Department of Public Archives at Des Moines. A reso- 
 lution passed by the board of supervisors of Clinton County 
 asked that the road supervisors should be placed under the 
 jurisdiction of the county judge or the township trustees of 
 the several townships, "thereby relieving the Board from 
 duties that can be better performed by the county Judge 
 or the township Trustees. ' J418 A petition signed by citizens 
 of Warren County is especially instructive because of the 
 positive and reactionary stand taken against the recom- 
 mendations of the State Eoad Convention and the Gov- 
 ernor. Among other things, the petition declared that if all 
 the road tax was required to be paid in money the logical 
 result would be to increase the burden of taxation by mak- 
 ing the payment more difficult. Under existing conditions 
 the farmers, it was claimed, worked out their road taxes 
 after the harvest during the dry season when the best re- 
 sults could be obtained. It was further asserted by the 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 193 
 
 petitioners that farmers did more and better work than any 
 other class. 
 
 The memorialists were in favor of the existing system of 
 local supervision, believing that such a policy was "more in 
 accord with the provisions of justice and liberty and the re- 
 quirements of free government than the suggestions of the 
 late road convention or the recommendations of the gov- 
 ernor." Considerable opposition was expressed to the 
 placing of only one road supervisor in each township. "We 
 cannot close", said the farmers, "without reminding you 
 as the Honorable Representatives of the people that the 
 System of one Supervisor only in each township as recom- 
 mended could not be as advantageous as the present system 
 of having five or six small districts with a man to supervise 
 each because there is a supervisor in each small district 
 now who can be notified easier of anything and is right 
 close to all needed repairs." 419 These petitions afford 
 concrete evidence of the opposition to reform as suggested 
 by Senator Nichols. 
 
 Governor Buren E. Sherman in his first biennial message 
 emphasized the existence of many conflicting views on the 
 subject of road administration and indicated the necessity 
 of a definite program on which the representatives of the 
 people might agree. The subject, he said, was an important 
 and perplexing one, and one which would "tax to the ut- 
 most the ingenuity and wisdom of the Legislative depart- 
 ment. ' ' Governor Sherman admitted that his own personal 
 views were not very clear and satisfactory. He believed, 
 however, that the payment of road taxes in labor was the 
 basis of much of the difficulty. ' ' If this tax was all payable 
 in money", he said, "as I believe it should be, the same in 
 the hands of a competent supervisor would accomplish 
 much more than is now possible, and better roads would 
 result. This will be conceded by everyone. ' ' 
 
 In the second place, the Governor suggested the desira- 
 
 13 
 
194 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 bility,of having one road master in each township, who 
 should be held responsible for the roads therein, to be ap- 
 pointed by the township trustees and made accountable to 
 them for his official actions. Finally, it was held that the 
 funds provided by law were frequently not sufficient to keep 
 bridges in good repair. "I suggest the propriety", said 
 Governor Sherman, "of increasing the powers of the trus- 
 tees in such cases, and having gained the consent of the 
 board of supervisors thereto, that they be authorized to 
 levy such additional tax as will replace the bridges swept 
 away." 420 
 
 Three laws relating directly or indirectly to the adminis- 
 tration of roads and bridges were passed by the General 
 Assembly in 1884: one authorizing boards of supervisors 
 to purchase and maintain bridges over streams dividing 
 their respective counties; 421 the second, relating to ditches, 
 drains, levees, embankments, and changes in water 
 courses ; 422 and the third ' ' An Act to Promote the Improve- 
 ment of Highways". 423 By the provision of the first meas- 
 ure boards of supervisors in adjoining counties, each 
 having a population of more than ten thousand, were 
 clothed with authority to purchase and acquire any toll 
 bridge constructed between such counties and maintain the 
 same at joint expense as a free public bridge, "provided 
 that the total cost of such bridge shall not exceed the sum of 
 $10,000. ' ' The second act authorized boards of supervisors 
 to establish drainage districts, and also to permit the con- 
 struction of ditches or drains within the limits of any public 
 highway on condition that the same did not interfere or 
 prevent public travel. 
 
 By far the most important road law enacted in 1884 was 
 the one entitled "An Act to Promote the Improvement of 
 Highways". This measure followed in some degree the 
 recommendations and suggestions of Governors Gear and 
 Sherman and was obviously the result of the popular agita- 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 195 
 
 tion for better roads which had led to the holding of the 
 State Road Convention. Briefly stated, the act stood for a 
 larger measure of administrative centralization, first, by 
 providing a regular county road fund as distinguished from 
 the township road fund, and second, by authorizing town- 
 ship trustees in certain cases to consolidate the various 
 road districts of a township into one highway district. 
 
 Boards of supervisors were authorized to levy a tax of 
 not more than one mill on a dollar of the assessed value of 
 the taxable property in their county. The road tax thus 
 levied was collected in the same manner as other taxes and 
 set aside as a county road fund to be paid out "only on the 
 order of the board of supervisors for work done on the 
 highways of the county, in such places as the board shall 
 determine ", 424 The board also possessed the authority to 
 determine in what manner the county road tax should be 
 expended, whether by contract or otherwise. 
 
 It will be recalled that both Governor Gear and Governor 
 Sherman suggested the advisability of making the township 
 the unit of actual road administration. An optional system 
 of this character was established by the act under consider- 
 ation. On petition of a majority of the voters of a given 
 township the trustees might organize the township into one 
 highway district; After two years' trial of the plan, how- 
 ever, the trustees might again return to the old district 
 system. 425 
 
 Where the township system of road supervision was 
 adopted a great many changes were made in the township 
 plan of administration. First of all, the trustees might 
 order the township highway taxes to be paid in money and 
 collected by the county treasurer the same as other taxes. 
 In the second place, the township trustees were authorized 
 to direct the expenditure of all the highway funds belonging 
 to the township and in this connection might let any con- 
 tract for road work to the lowest responsible bidder. In 
 
196 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 case the contract system was objectionable, the trustees 
 might appoint a township superintendent of highways with 
 one or more assistants to superintend all or any part of the 
 road work. 
 
 Other minor requirements of this important act are 
 worthy of mention. For example, it was made the duty of 
 the township trustees to see that the road tax was equitably 
 and judiciously expended for highway purposes in the town- 
 ship; the trustees were also required to see that noxious 
 weeds were cut twice a year if deemed necessary; nine 
 hours was declared to constitute a full day's work; and it 
 was further stipulated that all highway funds belonging to 
 the several road districts prior to the change of system 
 should be placed to the credit of the general township high- 
 way fund. Finally, the law applying to road supervisors 
 was made applicable to contractors and superintendents in 
 these terms: "The powers, duties, and accountability im- 
 posed on highway supervisors, so far as consistent with this 
 act, shall apply with equal force to contractors, superin- 
 tendents and assistants contemplated in this act/' 426 
 
 No petitions are on file in the Department of Public 
 Archives and nothing was said by the Governor during the 
 1886 session of the General Assembly in regard to the sub- 
 ject of road administration. The public mind was occupied 
 with other problems especially the important question of 
 regulating railway rates. In fact, Governor Larrabee was 
 soon to make the regulation of railroads one of the chief 
 planks in his platform. 
 
 The General Assembly, however, passed the following 
 minor laws on the subject of highways and bridges: (1) an 
 act enabling cities to aid in the construction of highway 
 bridges over navigable boundary rivers; 427 (2) an act al- 
 lowing underground tile drains to be constructed across the 
 public highway and defining the duties of road supervisors 
 relative to the same; 428 and (3) the board of supervisors, 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 197 
 
 in certain cases, was granted discretionary power to estab- 
 lish highways along streams in order to avoid the construc- 
 tion of bridges. 429 It will be recalled that under the 
 provisions of the Code of 1873 the road supervisor was 
 authorized to take timber or other material for use on the 
 highway from any unenclosed lands in the neighborhood 
 under certain conditions and limitations outlined in the stat- 
 ute. 430 The amendment under consideration merely stipu- 
 lated that in obtaining this material for use on the highway 
 the road supervisor should be forbidden to "destroy or in- 
 jure the ingress or egress to any property, or to turn the 
 natural drainage of the surface water to the injury of the 
 adjoining owners. ' ' 431 
 
 That the question of good roads was by this time begin- 
 ning to receive serious attention is illustrated by some 
 instructive suggestions from an engineering standpoint 
 made by Mr. F. L. Easley of Fort Dodge in a paper before 
 the Iowa Surveyors' and Civil Engineers' Association at 
 its annual meeting in 1887. After pointing out the con- 
 fusion and delay resulting from the existing method of 
 laying out highways, Mr. Easley made the following sug- 
 gestions : 
 
 For example when a new highway is established make it the duty 
 of the County Surveyor to run levels and establish a grade line, set 
 slope stakes and give directions, in writing, for the working of the 
 same, and in order that the Surveyor may have full control and 
 supervision as to the location of highways, place the highway rec- 
 ords and all duties relating to them now devolving upon the Auditor 
 in the hands of the Surveyor and allow him an assistant and a 
 salary of some amount for the extra duties thus required. Make it 
 his special duty to see to all locations of county bridges on high- 
 ways and have the same cross sectioned and staked out, so that a 
 highway supervisor can go to work in an intelligent manner ancT 
 then have him make an estimate each year, say after closing of 
 work upon highways, of all work done in each district during the 
 year. 
 
198 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 This* will give the highway supervisors some chance to show 
 to the public how they have used the public funds of their district 
 and in a few years will show a systematic working of highways 
 and a saving of money to the public on account of having the 
 material used in the proper place for there is no ordinary man but 
 what will agree that it costs more to place 100 cubic yards in 
 embankment on a public road than it does to place 100 cubic yards 
 in an embankment upon a railroad. Why is this? Just because 
 everything is planned and staked out on railroad work. Grade 
 lines are cross sectioned and staked out, so that any man of 
 ordinary intelligence can go to work and do the grading in an 
 intelligent and substantial manner without having to move mate- 
 rial two or three times before he gets it to the proper place. 
 
 I have often wondered that there was not worse work done on 
 account of not having anything to guide them in their working of 
 difficult places. 
 
 Place the highway matters in the hands of the Surveyor instead 
 of the Auditor and the public will not have to wait three or six 
 months for the determination of the location of any portion of an 
 old highway, providing it is made his duty to attend to such cases, 
 and is allowed a salary for doing, so, and a faithful assistant to help 
 him. The office will then be filled by competent men as a rule and 
 not as it is now an exception. 
 
 The change as suggested would relieve the Auditor of what to 
 him is a very unpleasant duty, one for which he is rarely qualified, 
 and place it in the hands of an officer who is more apt to be qualified 
 to adjust such matters to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. 
 The highway supervisor could present a petition signed, by say, two- 
 thirds of the legal voters of his district to the Surveyor to have any 
 work done, which might be necessary in the working of the highways 
 of his district. 
 
 Let the Surveyor's profile and grade line be subject to approval 
 by the Board of Supervisors, and become a part of the records of 
 the road, as much so as any part of the plat or line, thus binding all 
 successors to continue the work in the manner of its commence- 
 ment, viz : In a systematic way. 432 
 
 The 1888 session of the General Assembly was practically 
 barren of road legislation. As has been suggested, other 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 199 
 
 problems were absorbing the attention of the public. Gov- 
 ernor William Larrabee in his first biennial message had 
 nothing to say directly on the subject of roads and bridges. 
 An act authorizing the construction of cattle-ways across 
 public roads and under any township bridge constituted the 
 body of road legislation enacted by the General Assembly 
 in 1888. 433 
 
 In his second biennial message Governor Larrabee broke 
 his silence on the subject of road legislation by calling at- 
 tention to the fact that taxes collected for the care of 
 highways " yield a smaller return proportionately than any 
 other imposts ", and he suggested that "the manner in 
 which these taxes are used is a reproach to people ordina- 
 rily provident in private matters. ' ' The sum expended on 
 roads, according to the Governor, was greater in the aggre- 
 gate than the total amount of State taxes; and yet the 
 highways were not improved by that large expenditure. He 
 further stated that the General Assembly had contemplated 
 a remedy, first, by providing that the board of supervisors 
 might levy a road tax on the whole county to be expended 
 under their direction, and second, by authorizing the trus- 
 tees to organize a township as a single road district on 
 petition of a majority of the voters. "It is believed 7 ', said 
 Governor Larrabee, ' ' that very few townships have availed 
 themselves of this provision for securing better manage- 
 ment of highway work. The requirement that a majority 
 of the voters must petition for the system practically pre- 
 vents its adoption. It would be better to authorize the 
 trustees to submit the question of the adoption of the sys- 
 tem to the people of the township at a general or special 
 election." 434 Finally, it was declared that the farmers 
 should lead in this important reform for the obvious reason 
 that better roads would not only tend to increase the value 
 of land by making markets more accessible, but would also 
 render farming more profitable. 
 
200 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Only two minor amendments were made to the general 
 body of road legislation in 1890: the first related to the 
 bridge fund in cities of the first class and cities of the 
 second class having a population of less than ten thousand, 
 and also in cities under special charters; 435 and the second 
 gave the board of supervisors power to grant street rail- 
 ways the privilege of operating their lines over highways 
 to any State institution under certain conditions and 
 limitations. 436 
 
 During the session of the General Assembly in 1892 
 amendments were made to the road law regarding the con- 
 struction of street railways over highways, 437 and to the 
 law regulating the cutting of Canadian thistles. 438 Laws 
 were also passed requiring owners of Osage Orange hedge 
 fences to keep the same trimmed along the public highways 
 and railroads 439 and authorizing the location of a highway, 
 by and with the consent of the trustees of the Hospital for 
 the Insane at Independence, across land belonging to the 
 State of Iowa in Buchanan County. 440 The latter measure 
 was rendered necessary by the existence of a law prohibit- 
 ing the construction of highways across lands belonging to 
 any of the various State institutions without obtaining the 
 express consent of the General Assembly. Finally, a law 
 was enacted to protect persons and property from danger 
 resulting from steam engines on the public highways. 441 
 
 About this time the case of Chas. C. Waud, Appellant, v. 
 Polk County, involving the question of personal injury re- 
 sulting from defective bridges, came up for adjudication. 
 In regard to contributory negligence 442 the evidence in the 
 case showed, first, that the bridge had been defective for a 
 period of more than six months, and second, that the plain- 
 tiff had known of this condition. With reference to the 
 latter point the court held that the question as to whether 
 the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence in using 
 the bridge at the time of the accident was a matter for the 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 201 
 
 jury to determine, and not for the court. In the second 
 place, the court maintained that where a patent and obvious 
 defect in a county bridge had existed for six months or a 
 year, knowledge on the part of the proper county authori- 
 ties would be presumed. 
 
 By this time the good roads movement was a subject of 
 general discussion. The people of Iowa seemed to be just 
 awakening to the fact that something was wrong with the 
 system of road administration and that poor highways were 
 not unavoidable concomitants of Iowa soil and climate. 
 Day after day and week after week many of the leading 
 newspapers of the State contained editorials and communi- 
 cations dealing with the road question; while various soci- 
 eties and organizations took up the problem. For instance, 
 at the annual meeting of the Iowa Society of Civil Engi- 
 neers and Surveyors in January, 1893, "Good Roads in 
 Iowa" was the subject of a symposium participated in by 
 six men, all of whom were more or less familiar with the 
 practical side of road making. 
 
 Besides discussing the road question from the purely 
 engineering standpoint, these men suggested many changes 
 in the road laws. For instance, they agreed upon the de- 
 sirability of requiring all road taxes to be paid in money, 
 and upon the need of expert, centralized supervision of 
 roads and highways. In order that work on the roads 
 might be suited to the needs of each particular highway the 
 following classification of roads was suggested: (1) main 
 thoroughfares of long distance travel, (2) the principal 
 routes of travel between the smaller cities and towns, (3) 
 the principal country roads leading to the market towns or 
 cities, and (4) the so-called neighborhood roads of the rural 
 districts. To insure systematic and intelligent road work 
 according to this classification it was proposed that there 
 should be established an elaborate and highly centralized 
 system of State supervision and control. 
 
202 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The. proposed plan of State supervision provided for an 
 executive board of highways consisting of five men ap- 
 pointed by the Governor, two of whom should be civil en- 
 gineers of ability and reputation and one a lawyer of good 
 standing. It should be the duty of this board to divide the 
 State into road districts consisting of one or more counties 
 as the case might seem to require, and to exercise general 
 supervision over the working of roads. The work of each 
 district was to be in charge of a superintendent of high- 
 ways and a district engineer elected by the people of the 
 district, the latter of whom, however, must possess a cer- 
 tificate from the State board indicating his qualifications 
 for the office. In fact, the system of supervision thus pro- 
 posed was outlined in considerable detail and contains many 
 suggestions which are worthy of study. 443 
 
 At about this same time there appeared a newspaper ar- 
 ticle which contains a clear statement of one reason for the 
 poor roads of Iowa as well as a picture of actual conditions 
 on country roads at certain seasons of the year. The writer 
 pointed out the fact that in the laying out of the early Ter- 
 ritorial and State roads an effort had usually been made to 
 follow the contour of the country, and that as a result these 
 roads were often excellent highways in spite of the fact that 
 little work was done on them. But, he declared, " these 
 early roads spoken of, have been done away with, and nar- 
 row lanes, laid largely on subdivision lines, regardless of 
 the character of the ground, regardless of steep grades, 
 regardless of distance, regardless of sloughs and every- 
 thing else that should be avoided in road making. Only one 
 thought was kept in view, that, to save land. ' ' 
 
 Furthermore, the writer declared that no road should be 
 less than sixty feet wide in order that room might be left 
 "for a drive-way and drainage gutters or ditches on either 
 side" of the road and that the road might have a chance to 
 dry. Instead, there were many roads which were only forty 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 203 
 
 feet or less in width, and these roads filled "with snow in 
 winter and are veritable mud traps in the spring and fall. 
 The snow and mud hang on long after the fields adjacent are 
 dry. I have seen an empty wagon being dragged through 
 one of these lanes by four horses, with the axle nearly to 
 the ground, while an old state road in the same section of 
 exactly the same soil was comparatively dry, because it was 
 wide enough to dry out. ' ' Finally, the writer declared : 
 
 But if it is disheartening for a man to drive through one of these 
 narrow apologies for a road, what of the man who attempts to 
 navigate one on foot ? He may have climbed snow clad mountains, 
 penetrated jungles, traversed the forests or deserts of Africa, or 
 found his way in safety across the prairies in a Dakota blizzard, 
 but he is conquered here. He leaps from one island to another, 
 weaving his way from side to side until exhausted, and his feet 
 loaded with mud, he thinks to betake himself to the fields, but he is 
 confronted with a hedge of thorns or a barbed wire fence, and 
 finally owns himself knocked out. 
 
 And these are the roads that the children must use in going to 
 and from school. 444 
 
 In his inaugural address Governor Frank D. Jackson 
 touched upon the building of permanent highways. Some 
 broad and comprehensive plan, he thought, should be adopt- 
 ed on the basis of which a few miles of substantial and 
 permanent road might be constructed each year. Referring 
 to the new processes in the manufacture of road materials 
 which, in his judgment, were an important factor in pro- 
 moting the building of permanent highways, the Governor 
 suggested that the six hundred inmates of the prisons, who 
 were engaged chiefly in the manufacture of products in 
 competition with free labor, might be employed with far 
 greater advantage to the general public in the preparation 
 of material for the construction of highways. From the 
 general standpoint of road administration, however, no 
 definite constructive program was formulated by the Gov- 
 ernor. 
 
204 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 In spite of a determined effort to secure the enactment of 
 %[ 7 a progressive road law 445 the Twenty-fifth General Assem- 
 bly accomplished practically nothing in the line of road 
 legislation. The law authorizing the establishment of pub- 
 lic ways to lands having stone or mineral thereon 446 was so 
 amended as to give "any person, corporation, joint stock 
 association or co-partnership, owning or leasing any land 
 not having a public or private way for ingress or egress ", 
 the privilege of establishing over the land of another a 
 highway "to any railway station, street or highway, not 
 exceeding forty feet in width' *. 447 In other words, the right 
 to enjoy such a private highway was not confined to persons 
 owning lands with stone or mineral thereon. The important 
 act to promote the improvement of highways approved on 
 April 14, 1884, 448 was so amended as to make the levy of a 
 tax to be set aside as a county road fund mandatory upon 
 the county board of supervisors. In other words, by substi- 
 tuting "shall" for "may" the county was given more 
 authority in the administration of roads and highways; 449 
 and thus a second step was taken toward the desired goal of 
 expert administration represented by the county road en- 
 gineer. Furthermore, there was enacted "An Act provid- 
 ing for breaking and loading stone by convict labor at 
 Anamosa penitentiary and the State quarry, to be used in 
 improving highways and streets by macadamizing." 450 
 Upon proper application "any county, township, road dis- 
 trict or town or any city" might secure a quantity of this 
 stone not to exceed ten carloads in any one month for use 
 on streets and highways, the only cost being the cost of 
 transportation. 
 
 In the case of Homan v. Franklin County, the question of 
 contributory negligence in the case of personal injury re- 
 sulting from a defective county bridge again came up for 
 discussion. The court held that any person who crossed a 
 bridge knowing it to be in an unsafe condition could not 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 205 
 
 recover damages for injuries sustained, if there was an- 
 other safe and convenient passage. This was true even 
 though the county had neglected to prevent the use of the 
 unsafe bridge. "To our minds ", said the court, "the effect 
 of the invitation to the public to cross or use a bridge that 
 is really unsafe, and can not be prudently used, ceases in 
 behalf of any person who actually knows of the unsafe con- 
 dition. When such knowledge obtains, then the reason of 
 the rule ceases, for the person does not then rely on the 
 invitation or apparent conditions as to safety, but he as- 
 sumes the risk of using that which he actually knows to be 
 unsuitable for use." 451 
 
 The 1896 session of the General Assembly was likewise 
 practically barren of any important road legislation. Gov- 
 ernor Francis Drake in his inaugural address made only a 
 brief reference to the question of good roads speaking of 
 the convenience and economy thereof. He hoped that 
 measures would soon be taken which would result in an 
 improved system; but he failed to outline or develop any 
 bills towards the realization of that desired end. 452 
 
 While no important changes were made in the plan of 
 road administration in 1896 the following amendments and 
 supplementary acts were passed: (1) authorizing the trans- 
 fer of any surplus in the county road fund either to the 
 general county fund or to the county bridge fund; 453 (2) 
 requiring the petitioner for the establishment of a highway 
 to pay the costs "unless the claimant recovers a less amount 
 than was allowed him by the board"; 454 (3) making it the 
 duty of the board of supervisors "to use strict diligence in 
 draining the surface water from the public highway in its 
 natural channels"; 455 (4) making additional regulations 
 for the trimming of various forms of hedge fences along the 
 highway; 456 and (5) providing more stringent rules for the 
 extermination of Eussian thistles. 457 The time of the meet- 
 ing of the township trustees for the purpose of making a 
 
206 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 settlement with district road supervisors was changed from 
 October to November in order to give the farmers more 
 time during the fall of the year to work out their road 
 taxes. 458 An act was also passed enabling the trustees or 
 commissioners of State institutions to lay out, establish, 
 vacate, or change public highways through land owned by 
 the State " subject however to the approval of the board of 
 supervisors of the county or the city council of the city 
 wherein such lands are situated. " 459 
 
 The nature and scope of that provision of "An Act to 
 Promote the Improvement of Highway s" 40 which author- 
 ized township trustees under certain conditions to consoli- 
 date the several road districts of their township into one 
 highway district came up for adjudication in P. C. Dunham 
 et al v. Orvis Fox et al, Appellants. 461 The evidence in the 
 case revealed the fact that eighty-nine voters had signed 
 the required petition asking for a consolidation of the road 
 districts, but that later forty of this same number signed 
 a remonstrance indicating that they had changed their 
 minds. The court maintained, first, that the statute was not 
 mandatory but permissive only, giving the township trus- 
 tees a discretionary power under certain conditions, and 
 second, that the petitioners had a right to sign a remon- 
 strance thus expressing to the board of supervisors the fact 
 that they did not desire to be regarded any longer as peti- 
 tioners. The conclusion that petitioners in such cases have 
 a right to sign a remonstrance is sustained by a long list of 
 authorities. 462 
 
 It is apparent that, aside from the laws providing for the 
 optional consolidation of road districts on the township 
 basis and creating a county road fund, no fundamental 
 changes in the general system of road administration were 
 made between 1873 and 1896. In other words, the Code of 
 1897, viewed from the standpoint of road and bridge legis- 
 lation, is substantially the same as the Code of 1873. 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 207 
 
 Numerous mandatory and supplementary acts of a some- 
 what minor character were passed ; but in the final analysis 
 the power and authority of the townships, on the one hand, 
 and of the county, on the other, remained practically un- 
 changed. In this respect the history of road legislation and 
 administration in Iowa, as has been suggested, has very 
 much in common with the history of taxation. Indeed, the 
 fact that all real progress and reform must be for the most 
 part evolutionary is well illustrated in the history of the 
 two great problems of taxation and road legislation in 
 Iowa. 
 
 By referring to the analysis of the provisions of the Code 
 of 1873 4 made in Chapter VII the reader will have a com- 
 prehensive and fairly accurate understanding of the system 
 of road administration which prevailed when the Code of 
 1897 was enacted into law. The board of supervisors still 
 had general supervision over the roads in the county, with 
 power to establish, vacate, and change them as provided for 
 by law. 464 The width of roads, the form of petitions for the 
 establishment of roads, the bond required, the appointment 
 of a commissioner to survey the road and file a report, 
 together with the plat and field notes, are provided for in 
 the Code of 1897 on substantially the same basis as had 
 been adopted nearly a quarter of a century before. The 
 county auditor in his relation to the board of supervisors, 
 on the one hand, and the township clerks, on the other, re- 
 tained essentially the same authority and powers of super- 
 vision. In fact, the county auditor under both codes was an 
 important official. 
 
 Briefly stated, the county board of supervisors and the 
 county auditor had practically complete jurisdiction with 
 reference to the laying out and the opening of highways. 
 The method of selecting appraisers and determining dam- 
 ages caused by the establishment of highways likewise 
 remained unchanged. One also notes that essentially the 
 
208 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 same provisions are found in both codes concerning the lay- 
 ing out and the opening of county line roads and the estab- 
 lishment of what are referred to as consent highways. 465 
 Under the new code appeals might be taken from the de- 
 cision of the county board of supervisors to the district 
 court, which had taken the place of the old circuit court. 
 
 From the standpoint of raising revenue for the main- 
 tenance of highways and bridges, the township trustees 
 possessed large powers and authority. Under the new code 
 it was provided that the township trustees at their meeting 
 should determine ' ' the amount of property tax to be levied 
 for roads, bridges, guide-boards, plows, scrapers, tools, and 
 machinery adapted to the construction and repair of roads, 
 and for the payment of any indebtedness previously in- 
 curred for road purposes, and levy the same, which shall 
 not be less than one nor more than four mills on the dollar 
 on the amount of the township assessment for that year, 
 which, when collected, shall be expended under the direction 
 and order of the township trustees ", 466 A part of the tax 
 thus levied was to be set aside by the township trustees as 
 a general township road fund, the township clerk being 
 required to give bond for the handling of the same. 
 
 As already intimated, the new code differed from the one 
 enacted in 1873 in the provision which was made for a 
 county road fund under the jurisdiction of the county board 
 of supervisors. In other words, the county, being clothed 
 with a larger measure of real financial authority, was made 
 a more important unit of local government in the adminis- 
 tration of highways and bridges. Judged from the stand- 
 point of the new standards of local organization and the 
 problems connected with the building of permanent roads 
 and bridges, this was not only an important but in fact an 
 absolutely necessary change. 
 
 The Code of 1897 provided that "the board of supervisors 
 of each county may, at the time of levying taxes for other 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 209 
 
 purposes, levy a tax of not more than one mill on the dollar 
 of the assessed value of the taxable property in its county, 
 including all taxable property in cities and incorporated 
 towns, which shall be collected at the same time and in the 
 same manner as other taxes, and be known as the county 
 road fund, and paid out only on the order of the board for 
 work done on the roads of the county in such places as it 
 shall determine ", 467 It should be noted, however, that the 
 portion of the county fund obtained from property within 
 any city or incorporated town " shall be expended on the 
 roads or streets within such city or town, or on the roads 
 adjacent thereto, under the direction of the city or town 
 council". 
 
 The optional plan of consolidating road districts on a 
 township basis provided for in "An Act to Promote the 
 Improvement of Highway s", 468 approved on April 14, 1884, 
 has already been outlined. This important act with only 
 very slight changes of detail is embodied in the Code of 
 1897. The whole machinery of road administration worked 
 out on the basis of making the civil township, rather than 
 the sub-district, the real unit for actual work on the high- 
 ways should be thoroughly understood since it has a close 
 and vital relationship to the present road movement, both 
 in Iowa and in other States. 
 
 In townships where the old system prevailed and where 
 the actual work on highways was done on the basis of 
 smaller areas or sub-districts, the system of district road 
 supervisors, created nearly one-half a century before, was 
 still retained. As very few townships adopted the new plan 
 this meant that the district supervisor system continued to 
 prevail over practically the entire State. From the stand- 
 point of actual work on the highways and the supervision 
 thereof the Code of 1897 does not represent any substantial 
 progress over the Code of 1873 or in fact over the Revision 
 of 1860. 
 
 14 
 
210 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 It is a significant fact that the most vital part of the 
 whole scheme or plan of highway administration that of 
 actual highway work done was just as decentralized and 
 inefficient in 1897 as in 1860. That is to say, the laying out 
 and the opening of roads and highways had been and con- 
 tinued to be a county function. The levying of taxes for the 
 support of roads was still primarily a township but had 
 become partially a county function, the county as already 
 suggested being clothed with this authority in 1884. But 
 from the really essential standpoint of the expenditure of 
 funds the same old decentralized, pioneer system continued 
 to exist. It should be noted, however, that under the Code 
 of 1897 there was a tendency to separate bridge legislation 
 from the general road laws and provide for the expend- 
 iture of money for the construction of bridges on a some- 
 what more logical basis. 
 
 The road legislation of 1898 was again very limited in 
 scope, being confined to a number of minor amendments 
 and an act providing for the publication of the road laws 
 in pamphlet form. 469 The demand on the part of the farm- 
 ers for more time to work roads during the fall season of 
 the year was recognized by amending the code so as to 
 make November rather than September the time when road 
 taxes which remained unpaid should be transferred to the 
 books of the county auditor and made collectible as ordinary 
 taxes. 470 The law with reference to the cutting of weeds on 
 public highways was also amended and made more stringent 
 in its provisions. 471 
 
 Governor Leslie M. Shaw in his second inaugural an- 
 nounced the fact that "the highways of Iowa ought to be 
 greatly improved ", suggesting at the same time that "in- 
 ternal improvement distinguish energy and hopefulness 
 from sloth and ignorance. ' ' Moreover, a constructive atti- 
 tude of mind was manifested in his reference to the pay- 
 ment of road taxes in money. "I am convinced ", said the 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 211 
 
 Governor, "from observation where the experiment has 
 been tried, that it is far better to have highway taxes paid 
 in cash, and expended with the same care and under like 
 restrictions as protect the disbursement of other public 
 funds. " 472 The product of legislation in 1900 on the sub- 
 ject of roads, however, was confined to a minor amendment 
 in the law providing for the cutting of weeds along the 
 public highways. 473 
 
 By the year 1902 the good roads movement, which took 
 its rise in 1883, was an established fact. Nearly all classes 
 of people were now demanding some fundamental changes 
 in the system of road administration. Accordingly a series 
 of amendatory acts were passed along the following lines : 
 first, authorizing cities, which had voted taxes to aid any 
 corporation organized under the laws of the State for the 
 construction of a combination bridge across any navigable 
 boundary river, to vote additional taxes under certain lim- 
 itations and restrictions for the purchase of such bridge; 474 
 second, repealing certain provisions of the code, abolishing 
 the office of district road supervisor and with it the district 
 road system, and providing in lieu thereof for the consoli- 
 dation of each township into one road district; 473 third, 
 amending those sections of the code relative to the levying, 
 certifying, and collection of the road tax, 476 and also those 
 relating to levees, drains, and water courses; 477 and fourth, 
 providing additional regulations defining and conferring 
 rights and powers upon interurban street railways con- 
 structed along the public highways. 478 Under certain con- 
 ditions and limitations determined by the board of super- 
 visors, a street railway might be constructed along a public 
 road less than one hundred feet wide, providing the consent 
 of three-fourths of the residents owning property abutting 
 upon such highway was obtained and filed with the auditor 
 of the county where the highway was located. 479 
 
 By far the most important act passed by the General 
 
212 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Assembly in 1902 was the one repealing certain sections of 
 the code and providing for the consolidation of road dis- 
 tricts on the basis of the civil townships. This measure 
 resulted in a fundamental change in the whole system of 
 road administration. The decentralized system of road ad- 
 ministration represented by the district road supervisors 
 and established by the Fourth General Assembly in 1853, 
 had by the year 1902 been in existence nearly half a cen- 
 tury. 480 The system of strictly local supervision estab- 
 lished forty years before was employed in the control of 
 highways down to the legislative session of 1902. 
 
 Thus the new measure represents a radical break with the 
 established system by providing that "the board of town- 
 ship trustees of each civil township in this state, at its 
 regular meeting in April, 1903, shall consolidate said town- 
 ship into one road district, and all road funds belonging to 
 the road districts of said township shall at once become a 
 general township road fund, out of which all claims for 
 work done or material furnished for road purposes prior to 
 the change, and unsettled, shall be paid." 481 The act 
 further provided for a township superintendent of roads 
 to be appointed by the trustees or the township clerk as the 
 board of trustees itself might determine and direct. Final- 
 ly, after the township trustees had levied the road tax the 
 township clerk was vested with authority to certify such 
 levy to the county auditor "who shall enter it upon the tax 
 books for collection by the county treasurer as other 
 taxes." 
 
 Thus it will be seen that the act under consideration 
 virtually represents a return to the system of administra- 
 tive centralization provided for in the Code of 1851 , 482 for 
 it will be recalled that between 1851 and 1853 the township 
 rather than the so-called road district was the unit of local 
 government from the standpoint of the actual supervision 
 of highway work. After 1853, while the laying out and the 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 213 
 
 opening of roads was a county function and the levying of 
 taxes for the support thereof had become partly a county 
 although primarily a township function, actual work on the 
 highways and the direct supervision and control of the same 
 was conferred upon local road districts as parts of civil 
 townships. It is, therefore, instructive to note that this 
 thoroughly decentralized and inefficient plan was finally 
 abandoned and the township (for the first time since 1853) 
 made the unit of local government for this purpose. It is 
 hardly necessary to observe in this connection that the law 
 of 1902 providing for a consolidation of road districts is in 
 harmony with the best thought on the subject and is well 
 adapted to meet the social and economic conditions of the 
 present day. "The last General Assembly of Iowa", de- 
 clared Professor C. F. Curtiss, "enacted a very important 
 law making the township instead of the sub-district the 
 unit for road work in Iowa and providing for the payment 
 of road taxes in cash. It is too early yet to fully forecast 
 the results of this legislation, but it is safe to say that this 
 is the most important step that has yet been taken looking 
 to the improvement of the public highways of this state." 483 
 
 The good roads movement in Iowa may be said to date 
 from the State Eoad Convention held at Iowa City on 
 March 1 and 2, 1883. For the first time in the history of 
 Iowa the subject was discussed from the broad standpoint 
 of political, economic, and engineering science. Indeed, the 
 convention did not stop with mere discussion, but actually 
 endorsed the following propositions: (1) the payment of 
 property road taxes in money; (2) the appointment of a 
 township road superintendent or road master for at least 
 a part of the year, thus substituting the civil township for 
 the small road district as a unit of actual road administra- 
 tion; and (3) the establishment of a county road fund, 
 which meant that the county should be clearly differentiated 
 
214 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 from the township and made a distinct and important unit 
 of local government for the supervision and control of 
 highways. In fact, the decentralized and inefficient system 
 of road supervision by small road districts was not only 
 condemned by the State Road Convention, but was also 
 severely criticized by Governor Gear and Governor Sher- 
 man. 
 
 As a logical result of the good roads agitation, the people 
 through their chosen representatives demanded important 
 changes in the road laws. As would naturally be expected 
 strong opposition especially from the rural districts 
 developed against the idea of paying all property road taxes 
 in money, as well as against the appointment of a township 
 road superintendent. Indeed, the opposition was strong 
 enough to make the new system optional and not manda- 
 tory. In other words, the epoch-making act to promote the 
 improvement of highways, which was passed in 1884, pro- 
 vided that the county board of supervisors "may" levy a 
 tax to create a county road fund ; and the township trustees 
 "may" consolidate the several road districts of their town- 
 ship into one highway district; they "may" order the 
 township highway tax paid in money; and finally, they 
 "may" let work by contract "to the lowest responsible 
 bidder. " As a matter of fact, the measure, although purely 
 optional in character, served as an entering wedge for 
 development along the right lines. 
 
 The progress really made during the period from 1883 to 
 1904 becomes evident when the act of 1884 is compared and 
 contrasted with the legislation of 1902. The more recent 
 measure relating to the duties of township trustees, the 
 consolidation of road districts, and the appointment of 
 township road superintendents differed from its predeces- 
 sor chiefly in the fact that its provisions were mandatory. 
 For example, the law of 1902 plainly stipulated that the 
 township trustees ' * shall consolidate said township into one 
 
THE GOOD ROADS MOVEMENT 215 
 
 road district"; that all road funds belonging to the road 
 districts of a certain township " shall" become a general 
 township road fund; and finally, that the trustees " shall" 
 order the township road tax paid in money. Thus the sub- 
 district system was finally abolished and the civil township 
 made the basis of actual road supervision. 
 
 In the same connection, it should be remembered that the 
 levy of a tax by the county board of supervisors to create a 
 regular county road fund was made mandatory by the pro- 
 visions of an act passed in 1894. Thus the optional system, 
 first, of passing from the sub-district to the township in the 
 matter of actual road administration, and second, of trans- 
 ferring a part of the fiscal authority from the township to 
 the county, which had been created in 1884, became manda- 
 tory by action of the General Assembly as to the county 
 road fund in 1894 and as to the township road district in 
 1902. These important acts give a distinct character and 
 purpose to the period under consideration. 
 
 The possibility of a greater separation of township and 
 county functions has already been noted as a result of the 
 commissioner system of county organization created in 
 1870. From a financial standpoint, the line of demarcation 
 between the township and the county was clearly defined in 
 legislation which provided for a county road fund in 1894. 
 Aside from this change, and the optional system provided 
 in 1884, the Code of 1897 contained substantially the same 
 provisions as the Code of 1873 relative to roads and high- 
 ways. The laying out and opening of roads remained a 
 county function ; the levying of all taxes for the support of 
 roads continued to be primarily a township function; and 
 finally, the district road supervisor system was retained for 
 the actual administration of highway work this system 
 not being definitely abolished until the session of 1902. 
 
 In conclusion, it should be stated that a summary of the 
 legislation during the period from 1883 to 1904 would be 
 
216 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 incomplete without a brief reference to the long list of 
 special and amendatory road acts which were passed. In- 
 deed, a considerable number of measures dealing with 
 special phases of the road and bridge question were enacted 
 into laws which are chiefly important as an indication of an 
 effort on the part of the General Assembly to solve the 
 question of highway administration by the writing of 
 statutes. 
 
IX 
 
 THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 
 1904-1912 
 
 The history of road legislation and administration in 
 Iowa since 1904 is in a very large measure the history of 
 the State Highway Commission. Indeed, the Commission 
 itself was the logical result of at least twenty years of agi- 
 tation for good roads. Since 1884 public opinion had been 
 gradually crystalizing in favor of a more systematic and 
 definite plan of road administration. More immediately, 
 however, experimental work, conducted by the Division of 
 Engineering of Iowa State College, beginning as early as 
 1902, contributed in no small degree to the enactment of the 
 law creating the Commission. Certain experiments were 
 made with reference, first, to the traction resistance of 
 country roads, second, to the amount of traffic over country 
 roads in selected townships, and finally, to the relation 
 between the prices of agricultural products and the con- 
 dition of the roads. 484 
 
 In the establishment of the State Highway Commission 
 two men, namely, Dean C. F. Curtiss of the Division of 
 Agriculture and Dean A. Marston of the Division of En- 
 gineering of Iowa State College, are entitled to much credit. 
 The question of creating a regular State Highway Depart- 
 ment at the College and of providing an appropriation 
 therefor came before the General Assembly in 1904, but 
 public sentiment was not ripe for such a radical step. 
 Indeed, it soon became apparent that no separate depart- 
 ment supported by a substantial appropriation could be 
 established until public sentiment had been educated to the 
 
 217 
 
218 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 value , of improved highways and the necessity of a more 
 efficient system of road administration. At this juncture 
 Representative F. F. Jones introduced a bill providing that 
 the Iowa State College should act as a State Highway Com- 
 mission. 485 This measure, which did not carry an appro- 
 priation, was passed by both houses after being slightly 
 amended. 486 The money for the support of the Commission 
 was included in the regular college budget for experimental 
 purposes and was subject to the control of the Board of 
 Trustees. The act as finally passed stipulated that the 
 Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts 
 should serve as a State Highway Commission for Iowa 
 with the following powers and duties : 
 
 1. To devise and adopt plans and systems of highway con- 
 struction and maintenance, suited to the needs of the different 
 counties of the state, and conduct demonstration in such highway 
 construction, at least one each year at some suitable place, for the 
 instruction of county supervisors, township trustees, superintend- 
 ents, students of the college, and others. 
 
 2. To disseminate information and instruction to county super- 
 visors, and other highway officers who make request; answer in- 
 quiries and advise such supervisors and officers on questions per- 
 taining to highway improvements, construction and maintenance, 
 and whenever the board of supervisors of a county adjudge that 
 the public necessity requires a public demonstration of improved 
 highway construction or maintenance in said county, and so request 
 and agree to furnish necessary tools, help, and motor power for 
 same, the commission shall furnish as soon as practicable thereafter, 
 a trained and competent highway builder for such demonstration 
 free to the county. 
 
 3. To formulate reasonable conditions and regulations for public 
 demonstrations; and to promulgate advisory rules and regulations 
 for the repair and maintenance of highways. 
 
 4. To keep a record of all the important operations of the high- 
 way commission, and report same to the governor at the close of 
 each fiscal year. 487 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 219 
 
 In conformity with the provisions of the law, the Board 
 of Trustees of the Iowa State College appointed the Deans 
 of the Divisions of Agriculture and Engineering to serve 
 the State in that capacity. Moreover, Professor T. H. Mc- 
 Donald was engaged as an assistant to give all of his time to 
 the work, and vigorous steps were taken to carry out the 
 requirements of the statute. 
 
 In the meantime the movement in favor of good roads 
 was greatly furthered by the organization of the Iowa Good 
 Eoads Association on August 15, 1903. This Association 
 held its first meeting in Des Moines on February 24 and 25, 
 1904. Mr. T. G. Harper served as president and Mr. D. B. 
 Lyons acted as secretary of the Association. In addition to 
 the presentation of an instructive program a general plan 
 was developed to promote good road legislation before the 
 General Assembly. 488 
 
 Strangely enough an effort was made during the 1904 
 session of the General Assembly to force a backward step 
 in road administration through a bill providing for an 
 amendment of the Anderson law which had authorized the 
 consolidation of road districts on the basis of civil town- 
 ships and the appointment of a township superintendent of 
 roads. 489 The author of the bill did not wish to repeal the 
 Anderson law, but desired merely to make the adoption of 
 the consolidated system optional with each civil township. 
 He declared that taxpayers ought to have the right to re- 
 turn to the old system of decentralized supervision and 
 control if they so desired. In other words, they should be 
 granted the privilege of enjoying local self-government. 490 
 The bill passed the House, but was indefinitely postponed 
 by the Senate. 491 
 
 Some amendments, however, were made at this time to 
 the general body of road legislation. Ajuong other changes, 
 the road tax was excluded from the consolidated levy of the 
 county; 492 and the law with reference to personal injuries 
 
220 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 caused by steam engines on the public highways was slightly 
 amended. 493 Finally, a law with reference to the construc- 
 tion of levees, ditches, drains, or changes of any natural 
 water-course across the public highway 494 stipulated : first, 
 that the actual cost of constructing the same across any 
 public highway should be paid for by the township trustees 
 out of the township road fund, and second, that " whenever 
 the making of such improvement across any highway neces- 
 sitates the building of a bridge over the same, the board of 
 supervisors shall build and construct the 'same and pay all 
 costs and expenses thereof out of the county bridge 
 fund." 495 
 
 An example of the somewhat complex character of local 
 government and of the necessity of carefully distributing 
 the tax burden in proportion to benefits received is to be 
 found in the fact that it was further specified in the act that 
 whenever any highway was beneficially affected by the con- 
 struction of any improvements in such districts "it shall 
 be the duty of the commissioners appointed to classify and 
 assess benefits, to determine and return in their report the 
 amount of the benefit to such highway, and notice shall be 
 served upon the clerk of the township in which said high- 
 way is located as provided in case of an individual property 
 owner. ' ' Finally, the law specified that levees and drainage 
 ditches should be so constructed as not to interfere mate- 
 rially with travel on the public highways. 
 
 It is not too much to say that the creation of the State 
 Highway Commission by the General Assembly in 1904 
 marked an important turning point in the history of road 
 legislation in Iowa. Professor T. H. McDonald, who had 
 been employed as assistant in charge of good roads investi- 
 gation for the Commission, was also made secretary of the 
 Iowa Good Eoads Association. Plans were laid and work 
 was commenced along strictly scientific lines. With the 
 limited funds which the College Board of Trustees set apart 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 221 
 
 for the purpose of road investigation it was possible to 
 make only small beginnings. 
 
 In a bulletin entitled The Good Roads Problem in Iowa, 
 dated June, 1905, Professor McDonald reviewed the early 
 labors of the Commission and outlined a constructive pro- 
 gram of reform along the line of road legislation and ad- 
 ministration. An effort was made to investigate road 
 conditions in different sections of the State, and at that 
 time road maps were prepared for about twelve counties. 
 A preliminary investigation was also made regarding the 
 amount of road funds raised in the different counties and 
 the methods and results of the expenditure for such pur- 
 poses. This included a house to house canvass in typical 
 townships. Finally, the investigation of road materials in 
 Iowa was placed in the hands of Professor S. W. Beyer, 
 whose work is now practically ready for publication. 
 
 It was estimated at that time that Iowa possessed about 
 one hundred thousand miles of road about twenty-five 
 thousand miles of which were classed as main-traveled 
 roads. The relation between the price of farm produce and 
 the condition of public highways, the amount of road taxes 
 in the various funds, the subject of road drainage and the 
 use of the King Road Drag, road culverts, gravel and stone 
 roads, and various other problems were carefully discussed 
 in this preliminary report. Professor McDonald pointed 
 out that the good roads problem in Iowa was how to spend 
 the money already being raised so as to secure one-hundred- 
 cents-on-the-dollar returns. He estimated that $1,000,000 
 set aside annually for permanent stone or gravel roads 
 would give the State from three hundred and fifty to five 
 hundred miles of stone road or from one thousand to fifteen 
 hundred miles of gravel road. 496 
 
 The State Highway Commission also published a Manual 
 for Iowa Highway Officers (dated June, 1905) which was 
 widely distributed and which has rendered an important 
 
222 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 service to the cause of the good roads movement along 
 rational, scientific lines. In this Manual attention is called 
 to the well known fact that the rapid development of rail- 
 roads in recent years had attracted the attention of the 
 people from the importance of public highways as agencies 
 of transportation. In this connection it will be recalled 
 that prior to the coming of the railroads the Territory and 
 later the State had manifested great interest in and had 
 given substantial encouragement to the building of perma- 
 nent roads, including the chartering of private corporations 
 with authority to construct graded and plank roads. 497 But 
 in reference to the new agitation in favor of permanent 
 highway improvement in 1905 Professor McDonald was 
 able to say : " At the inception of road building in the United 
 States the leading men of the day championed the move- 
 ment, and now the foremost men in every state have not 
 only given its revival their approval, but have aided its 
 advancement in every possible manner.' 7498 
 
 The Manual for Highway Officers contains, besides the 
 data noted above, chapters dealing with the topography of 
 Iowa, a brief historical statement regarding the subject of 
 road legislation with special emphasis on the Anderson 
 road law enacted in 1902 and providing for the consolida- 
 tion of road districts on the basis of civil townships and 
 the appointment of a township road superintendent, the 
 work of the Commission itself, the importance of road 
 dragging, and various other technical problems in highway 
 engineering, including the location of roads, drainage, and 
 the proper method of constructing permanent highways. 
 It is declared that the Anderson law has been quite gener- 
 ally disregarded by township trustees. The law contem- 
 plated that a man filling that important position should 
 devote his full time to the work. "Some townships", ac- 
 cording to the Manual, "have appointed several men to 
 work on the roads and called them road superintendents 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 223 
 
 but this is merely a modification of the old many-district 
 system. It would be much better and would follow the re- 
 quirements of the law to have one road superintendent for 
 the township and let him have, if necessary, a number of 
 assistants. The more the work is concentrated under one 
 man and this man held responsible for the proper expend- 
 iture of the fund, the more economical will be the adminis- 
 tration of the road funds provided the proper man is 
 selected in the first place. " 4 " 
 
 In 1905 the Iowa Good Roads Association held its annual 
 meeting at Ames on June 15th and 16th. In his address of 
 welcome, Dean Charles F. Curtiss suggested that "an in- 
 ferior public road system imposes a heavy burden upon the 
 people who live under it and it is only a prosperous and 
 rich community that can afford to bear that burden. " 50 
 President T. Gr. Harper emphasized the fact that the road 
 legislation of Iowa was the product of pioneer days. "In 
 every department of business activity and commercial 
 enterprise", said Mr. Harper, "we look around to find that 
 we have gone ahead by leaps and bounds, but in the matter 
 of common road making we find ourselves precisely where 
 our pioneer fathers left us." In his opinion, there was no 
 more important question before the people of Iowa than the 
 road question, since the means of communication and trans- 
 portation marked the high or low civilization of any people. 
 Mr. Harper emphasized the importance of a larger unit of 
 road administration. "I contend", he said, "that the unit 
 of the road district should be the county instead of the 
 township. There should be a county superintendent of 
 roads and bridges to work under the direction and juris- 
 diction of the county board of supervisors." 501 
 
 At this meeting of the Association a number of excellent 
 addresses were made on practical subjects, including the 
 questions of maintaining and repairing highways, road laws 
 in Iowa, weeds, the work of the State Highway Commission, 
 
224 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 the question of public roads considered from the stand- 
 point of the legislator, stone roads, and the use of concrete 
 in culverts and bridges. Attorney General Charles W. 
 Mullan stated that in his opinion all road work should be let 
 by contract to the lowest responsible bidder and placed 
 under the supervision of a competent road engineer. It was 
 pointed out further that the old system of small road dis- 
 tricts had produced two results: first, a wasteful expend- 
 iture of the public funds; and second, a lack of concerted 
 action or spirit of cooperation in the building of a connected 
 system of highways. ' i The abolishment of these small tax- 
 ing districts ", said Mr. Mullan, "and the creating of road 
 districts co-extensive with the townships of the state, have 
 given a broader field of action and to a large degree elim- 
 inated the local penuriousness which so long predominated 
 in the construction and repair of public highways. " 502 
 
 Hon. F. F. Jones of Villisca, the author of the law cre- 
 ating the State Highway Commission, delivered an address 
 in which he attributed the poor condition of the public high- 
 ways to the lack of definite, scientific knowledge of the 
 elementary principles of civil engineering. The result was 
 a waste of energy, materials, and resources. The Iowa 
 State College at Ames, he declared, was selected to head 
 this important enterprise for the following reasons : 
 
 First Because it is continually demonstrating its interest in 
 and its ability to serve the great agricultural interests of the state : 
 and these interests are the greatest beneficiaries of improved roads. 
 
 Second Because the training, experience, ability, organization, 
 facilities, and men, necessary to bring the largest results, are there 
 ready to be thus employed, and without additional burdens of 
 expense. 
 
 Third Because the farmers, who are the country road-builders, 
 have such confidence in this institution that they will more readily 
 accept instruction and recommendations from it than from any 
 other source. 
 
 Fourth Because the college officials, when approached in re- 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 225 
 
 gard to the matter, very kindly consented to undertake and prose- 
 cute the work outlined should the bill become a law. 503 
 
 An address by E. W. Weeks of Guthrie Center, entitled 
 The Legislator and The Public Roads is noteworthy because 
 of the emphasis placed on the importance of a more central- 
 ized system of road administration especially the neces- 
 sity of creating the office of county highway commissioner. 
 He believed that by pursuing this method the township levy 
 of four mills could be abolished and the county levy in- 
 creased two mills, thereby saving two mills for the tax- 
 payers. ' ' I would have this County Highway Commissioner 
 have charge of all the highways within the county, both 
 constructive and maintaining. Eliminate all township 
 taxes and supervision, turn them all to the county and 
 County Highway Commissioner. " 504 While this was no 
 doubt an extreme view, it nevertheless indicates an im- 
 portant tendency of the present day along different lines of 
 social and economic reform. 
 
 In its first annual report to the Governor of Iowa, dated 
 December 30, 1905, the State Highway Commission empha- 
 sized the imperative need of more funds to carry out the 
 work required by law and recommended the desirability of 
 having a larger percentage of road taxes expended by 
 county authorities. In the judgment of the Commission 
 there should be a county engineer appointed by the board 
 of supervisors and placed in immediate charge of road 
 work, who in turn should consult the State Commission 
 regarding the standard plans and methods of construc- 
 tion. 505 The report contains a review of the work accom- 
 plished by the Commission under the following headings: 
 (1) investigations, (2) experiments, (3) plans and publica- 
 tions, and (4) the road school. 
 
 A discussion of the general topography of the State on 
 the basis of glacial districts, an account of road and bridge 
 work carried on in various counties, the expenditure of the 
 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 different road funds, and a number of closely allied prob- 
 lems are also presented in this first annual report. The 
 results of certain experimental work along the line of 
 traction resistance, gravel road with clay binder, stone 
 roads, and certain problems in concrete are also included in 
 the report. That is to say, a comprehensive statement of 
 work accomplished, together with an outline of the future 
 plans and policies of the Commission, was now laid before 
 the Governor and the General Assembly. 
 
 Agitation for good roads continued and gradually crystal- 
 ized into a definite policy. On January 11, 1906, Governor 
 Albert B. Cummins addressed a communication "To the 
 Boards of Supervisors and to the Associations of Every 
 Kind Organized in Aid of the Development of the State ", 
 asking that the board of supervisors in each county ap- 
 point three delegates and that each association "of what- 
 ever kind, organized in aid of development" appoint two 
 delegates to attend the Third Annual Convention of the 
 Iowa Good Roads Association to be held at Des Moines on 
 February 7 and 8, 1906. In his communication the Gov- 
 ernor referred especially to the practical value of the King 
 Drag in keeping ordinary dirt roads in a good state of 
 repair. 506 
 
 Largely as a result of the campaign of education carried 
 on by the State Highway Commission and the Iowa Good 
 Eoads Association a number of important bills dealing with 
 the subject of roads were introduced in the General Assem- 
 bly in 1906. On January llth a bill to provide for working 
 or smoothing public highways by the use of split log road 
 drags was presented by Mr. M. Z. Bailey and referred to 
 the Committee on Highways. 507 Bills were also introduced 
 to increase the tax levy in townships, 508 to amend the law 
 regarding the appointment of a township superintendent 
 of roads, 509 to amend the law regarding the collection of 
 road taxes, 510 to amend certain sections of the law relating 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 227 
 
 to levees, drains, and water courses, 511 and finally, to en- 
 courage the use of wagons with wide tires on public high- 
 ways and providing for a rebate of a portion of their road 
 tax to persons using wagons with tires not less than three 
 inches in width when hauling heavy loads on the public 
 roads and highways. 512 It will be recalled that the use of 
 the split log road drag had been endorsed by the State High- 
 way Commission and the Iowa Good Roads Association. 
 
 The proposition to abolish the office of county surveyor 
 and substitute in lieu thereof that of county engineer was 
 also urged by a great many advocates of road reform and 
 endorsed by the State Highway Commission. Members of 
 the committees on roads and highways of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives held an informal joint meeting 
 to hear representatives of the Iowa Engineering Society 
 with respect to the desirability of legislation along this line. 
 The Secretary of the State Highway Commission was also 
 present and spoke in favor of the proposition. 
 
 The members of the joint committee, however, were in 
 doubt concerning the necessity of such an office, believing 
 that the split log drag and better drainage would solve the 
 road question in the rural districts. For example, one 
 member endorsed the wide tire idea and the use of the road 
 drag; but he "doubted the value of the scheme of substi- 
 tuting an engineer for the surveyor, which would largely 
 increase the expense. " 513 As a matter of fact the people of 
 Iowa were not as yet ready to assimilate a substantial pro- 
 gram of constructive reform along the line of road admin- 
 istration. 
 
 The Thirty-first General Assembly, judged from the 
 standpoint of road legislation, accomplished very little. 
 Laws relating to vehicles with wide tires and the dragging 
 of roads were about the only constructive measures of the 
 session. The bills introduced in the House and Senate 514 
 amending the so-called Anderson law providing for the con- 
 
228 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 solidation of road districts and the appointment of a town- 
 ship superintendent of roads were of a reactionary 
 character. One of these bills gave the township trustees 
 the power to divide a township into two or more road dis- 
 tricts, the superintendent of each district to be elected by 
 the people. It was suggested that after a trial of two or 
 more years the people of a given locality might be given the 
 right to return to the township basis. The bill also permit- 
 ted the road tax to be worked out rather than paid in cash. 515 
 In short, the proposed bills were destructive and reaction- 
 ary in three important respects : first, in the adoption of a 
 decentralized plan of road administration; second, in the 
 principle of electing the local road superintendents; and 
 third, in the payment of road taxes in labor. While these 
 measures were defeated, a backward step from the progres- 
 sive legislation of 1902 was taken in the passage of a bill 
 providing for the appointment of not to exceed four town- 
 ship road superintendents, which had been introduced by 
 the Senate Committee on Highways. 516 
 
 In the meantime the Good Roads Convention, to which 
 Governor Cummins had on January llth invited the boards 
 of supervisors and various associations to send delegates, 
 convened at Des Moines and listened to a number of in- 
 structive papers dealing with almost every phase of the 
 road question. The primary purpose of the convention, 
 however, was to give special consideration to certain bills 
 then pending before the General Assembly. Under date of 
 February 5th the following statement appeared in The 
 Register and Leader: 
 
 The convention will take up the discussion of several laws which 
 are to be presented to the legislature for further action and also 
 the discussion of laws and resolutions that are now before the 
 legislature. One resolution has to do with the changes in the law 
 to promote the use of the King drag throughout the state and the 
 payment of the same out of the township road fund. The conven- 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 229 
 
 tion will take up further the resolution that was adopted by the 
 recent convention of the road supervisors of the state relative to 
 the reduction of the township road fund from 4 mills, as it now 
 stands, to 3 mills, and the raising of the county road fund from 1 
 to 2 mills, thus transferring and centralizing the control of the 
 road funds to the supervisors. The law in regard to compensating 
 wide tires which is already before the legislature, will come in for 
 discussion. The resolution of the recent Iowa engineers' meeting 
 at Des Moines in recommending the extending of the powers of the 
 county surveyor and making him the consulting engineer of the 
 board of supervisors, will be presented for discussion. 517 
 
 Mr. D. Ward King of Maitland, Missouri, inventor of the 
 King road drag, addressed the convention on the use and 
 practical value of Ms machine. 518 Senator Byron W. New- 
 berry spoke on the merits of the wide tire bill which he had 
 just introduced into the General Assembly and referred to 
 the fact that New York, California, New Jersey, Ohio, and 
 Vermont had experienced great benefit through the enact- 
 ment of similar laws. In the course of a few remarks on 
 the general subject of agriculture and the public roads, Mr. 
 Henry Wallace, editor of Wallace's Farmer, said that "as 
 it has been in the past, we have been obliged to market our 
 crops in about three months in the year that is, our grain 
 crop. What has been the result? Car famine and incon- 
 venience to us, to the railroads and to everybody. One of 
 the best ways to avoid that car famine and a congestion of 
 grain in the great markets is to amend our ways get our 
 roads in such shape that we can haul our grain to town any 
 day in the year. That can be done and it can be done over a 
 dirt road." 519 Mr. Wallace then proceeded to give a prac- 
 tical discussion of the use of the road drag. 
 
 Attorney J. C. Davis, representing the Northwestern 
 Eailroad, told the convention that "the relations between 
 the railroads and the public highways are of the most in- 
 timate and, so far as railroads are concerned, dependent 
 character. . . . When you arrive at the last analysis, 
 
230 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 and find the bed rock upon which prosperity depends, 
 you will find that it rests largely upon the farmer of Iowa, 
 aided by the facility with which he can transport his 
 products from his farm to the railroad station. ' ' 52 
 
 From the standpoint of the history of road legislation 
 and administration in Iowa the most important address 
 made before the convention was, perhaps, the one by Hon. 
 F. F. Jones of Villisca. Mr. Jones spoke with emphasis 
 concerning the loose methods employed in accounting, the 
 bad management, the lack of training on the part of road- 
 builders, and the absence of definite, scientific information 
 regarding the general subject of roads and bridges. He 
 suggested that the State Highway Commission had been 
 created for the. express purpose of remedying these de- 
 fects. Up to date there had been nothing but chaos in the 
 system of working roads. He had found as many different 
 opinions in the General Assembly as there were individual 
 members which, in his judgment, proved that there ought 
 to be provided a source of reliable, scientific information. 
 Eegarding the location of the State Highway Commission 
 at Ames, Mr. Jones made the following comment : 
 
 Now, I might mention, that Ames was chosen as the seat of this 
 Highway Commission for several reasons. One is that they have 
 the brains and the ability and the Engineering Department. They 
 have the equipment and the organization. . . . There is per- 
 haps no institution of anything like the character that has the 
 confidence of you farmers as has the college at Ames. 521 
 
 At the close of the convention a number of important 
 resolutions were adopted, endorsing the action of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly in passing a road drag law, recommending 
 an increase of the county levy, expressing general satis- 
 faction with the work done by the State Highway Com- 
 mission, and recommending that appropriations for the 
 support of the work be increased. No action was taken, 
 however, regarding the desirability of abolishing the office 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 231 
 
 of county surveyor and of establishing in lieu thereof the 
 office of county engineer. 522 
 
 The good roads movement, under the direction of the 
 State Highway Commission and the Iowa Good Roads Asso- 
 ciation, continued to make progress, although the forces of 
 reaction were at work at the same time. The so-called 
 Anderson law, which in its original form had provided for 
 a consolidation of road districts on the township basis and 
 the appointment of one superintendent of roads for each 
 township, had met with constant opposition and many at- 
 tacks. As already noted, this law was so amended in 1906 
 as to authorize the appointment of not to exceed four road 
 superintendents in each township. The opponents of the 
 law, not content with this change, seemed determined if 
 possible to return to the old system of administrative de- 
 centralization; and so it appears that in 1907 a bill was 
 introduced, which, from the standpoint of efficient road 
 supervision, embraced three reactionary principles: first, 
 the division of the township into two or more road districts ; 
 second, the election of road superintendents; and finally, 
 the payment of road taxes in labor. 523 
 
 According to the bill as originally introduced the division 
 of a township into two or more road districts, after a peti- 
 tion signed by a two-thirds majority of freehold voters had 
 been presented, was made optional with the township trus- 
 tees. The Committee on Roads and Highways, however, by 
 substituting "shall" for "may" made such a division 
 mandatory. 524 An important amendment proposed to 
 strike out all of section five, which provided for the payment 
 of road taxes in labor. 525 The fact that this amendment was 
 defeated by a vote of sixty- six to thirty-three reveals the 
 fact that the sentiment of the House at that time was op- 
 posed to the payment of all road taxes in cash. The bill 
 finally passed the House by the decisive vote of seventy- 
 three to twenty-seven, but was indefinitely postponed by the 
 Senate. 526 
 
232 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The author of the bill, however, was not to be defeated in 
 his effort to bring about a more decentralized system of 
 road administration without a further contest. It appears 
 that a bill had been introduced to increase the road tax 
 levy made by township trustees from four to five mills, 527 
 which bill had been so amended as to provide ' ' that one mill 
 or necessary portion thereof be reserved to pay benefits 
 assessed against townships in drainage districts. 528 After 
 being referred to the Committee on Eoads and Highways 
 and subjected to various other forms of parliamentary 
 usage, the bill was finally placed in the hands of the Com- 
 mittee on the Judiciary. 529 
 
 On March 6th the Committee on the Judiciary brought in 
 a substitute which contained a provision for the optional 
 payment of two mills of the proposed road tax in labor. 530 
 An earnest effort was made to strike this particular pro- 
 vision from the bill. Those who favored the objectionable 
 provision were accused of being disloyal to the existing 
 laws and it was suggested that ' ' they want to go back to the 
 old system of the road work." One Eepresentative re- 
 ferred to the old method of the farmers "killing time, 
 swapping stories and horses while they were supposed to 
 be working out road taxes", and pointed out the improved 
 condition of the highways since the Anderson law had been 
 passed. 531 The bill, including the labor tax provision, 
 finally passed the House by a vote of fifty-eight to thirty- 
 six, only to be indefinitely postponed by the Senate. 532 
 
 A compromise bill was introduced in the House which the 
 author believed would curb the arbitrary power of township 
 trustees and thus make it possible for every taxpayer to 
 have some road work done in his district. 533 The division 
 into small road districts was made mandatory, but the prin- 
 ciples of appointing road superintendents and of paying 
 road taxes in money were both retained. It was provided, 
 however, that "at least seventy-five (75) per cent of the tax 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 233 
 
 collected from each road district shall be expended in the 
 district from which it is collected, the remaining twenty-five 
 (25) per cent to be expended at the discretion of the 
 board." 534 After prolonged consideration this bill was 
 finally withdrawn by its author. 535 
 
 It does not appear that the Thirty-second General As- 
 sembly in 1907 was prepared to enact road legislation of 
 far-reaching importance. The following laws, for the most 
 part amendatory in character and dealing largely with 
 special subjects rather than with general principles, may 
 be mentioned: (1) a law authorizing cities of the first class 
 to levy taxes on all the taxable property within such city 
 for the purpose of building or reconstructing bridges and 
 to issue bonds against such levies; 536 (2) a law providing 
 that all roads thereafter established should be "at least 
 sixty-six feet wide, and in no case less than forty"; 537 (3) 
 a law giving boards of supervisors certain powers to pre- 
 vent the encroachment of streams on public highways and 
 to condemn land necessary for that purpose ; (4) a law con- 
 ferring upon boards of supervisors the power to grant 
 municipalities the use of the public highways for laying 
 water mains and pipes and fixing the liability for dam- 
 ages; 538 (5) a law relating to the method of making pay- 
 ments out of the county road fund; (6) a law amending the 
 motor vehicle tax law; 539 (7) a law providing a method of 
 administration for State boundary roads; (8) a law re- 
 garding the construction of street railways over public 
 roads; 540 and (9) a concurrent resolution providing for the 
 publication and distribution of ten thousand copies of the 
 report of the Iowa State Highway Commission. The filing 
 fee on motor vehicles was increased from one to five dollars 
 and the annual fee for a dealer 's permit was placed at ten 
 dollars. 541 
 
 During the biennial period following the 1907 session of 
 the General Assembly the Iowa State Highway Commission 
 
234 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 advocated with renewed vigor the cause of good roads. In 
 its report to Governor B. F. Carroll, covering the years 
 1907 and 1908, the Commission made a careful and thorough 
 review of the work which had been accomplished, and sug- 
 gested a number of definite changes which ought to be made 
 in the road laws. It appears that since its establishment in 
 1904 the Commission, with the limited funds at its com- 
 mand, had endeavored to get a fairly accurate knowledge of 
 the general topography of the State and to gather data 
 relative to the amount and character of traffic over the 
 roads, and information concerning road materials and the 
 means available for its use in different localities. More- 
 over, a series of bulletins had been issued, representing a 
 substantial amount of useful preliminary work both in the 
 laboratory and in the field. 
 
 As regards legislation, the Commission suggested the 
 following changes : first, an increase in the expenditure for 
 systematic road dragging which should be placed more di- 
 rectly under the supervision of the road superintendent; 
 second, the desirability of purchasing road machinery out 
 of the county funds which should be relatively increased for 
 that purpose, that is, the more general concentration of 
 road funds in order to promote economical expenditure; 
 third, the creation of the office of county engineer ; fourth, 
 the enlargement of the powers of the State Highway Com- 
 mission; fifth, an adequate bridge law drafted so as to 
 secure real competition in the letting of contracts ; sixth, a 
 more comprehensive weed law ; and seventh, an automobile 
 tax for the use of the State. 542 
 
 With reference to a greater concentration of road funds, 
 thus making the county a more important unit of govern- 
 ment from the standpoint of finance, the following sugges- 
 tions are pertinent : 
 
 It must be recognized that the township funds are not sufficient 
 to do much road grading as the handling of road machinery implies 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 235 
 
 not only trained men but trained horses and adequate tools and 
 machinery. As a rule the townships have an investment in ma- 
 chinery that represents the entire tax one, two or even more years 
 and it is equally as certain that not much of this machinery is used 
 more than a few days during any year, or adequately housed and 
 cared for the remainder of the time. . . . It is clearly impos- 
 sible to drag the roads, build culverts and do much road work with 
 a fund totaling $1,000.00 and $1,500.00 per year and the logical 
 step is to make the county road fund sufficiently large to enable the 
 board of supervisors to keep at least one well equipped building 
 crew at work from April to November. By decreasing the township 
 road fund one mill and adding this to the one mill county road 
 levy, a fund of about $12,000.00 would result in the average 
 county. 543 
 
 The Commission emphasized the fact that by following 
 the policy thus outlined all the main-traveled roads of a 
 county might be put in excellent shape in only a few years ' 
 time; while it would be quite impossible to accomplish, the 
 same result with the road fund divided on the basis of civil 
 townships. In other words, trained supervisors, on the one 
 hand, and greater concentration of road funds, on the other, 
 were recognized to be an imperative necessity from the 
 standpoint of the good roads movement. A decrease in the 
 township road fund and a corresponding increase in the 
 county road fund, it was declared, " would result in differ- 
 entiating the work of road building and road maintenance ; 
 the one belongs properly to the township and the second to 
 the county >'. 544 
 
 An enlargement of the powers and duties of the State 
 Highway Commission was suggested along the following 
 lines : to collect and distribute information and reports from 
 and to local road officials; to apportion and distribute any 
 State or national aid appropriation for road improvement ; 
 to furnish plans for permanent roads, bridges, and culverts ; 
 to supervise the construction of the same, and aid local 
 authorities in letting contracts for this class of work; to 
 
236 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 hold ^meetings for the instruction of road officers and fur- 
 nish competent road builders and inspectors when request- 
 ed to do so by local road officials ; to carry on experiments 
 in order to determine the best building materials and the 
 most economical forms of construction ; and finally, to make 
 reports to the Governor regarding work accomplished and 
 render a detailed account of all money expended. This 
 large increase in the powers of the Commission, together 
 with the additional office of county road engineer and the 
 enlargement of county funds on the one hand and of State 
 road funds on the other, if enacted into law would have 
 produced revolutionary changes in the whole system of 
 road administration. 
 
 These reforms, however, were not to be accomplished in 
 the strenuous session of 1909. It is true that the State 
 Highway Commission, the Iowa Good Roads Association, 
 and a large number of similar organizations, both local and 
 statewide, had been carrying on a vigorous campaign of 
 education to promote the cause of the good roads move- 
 ment ; and as a result public opinion was becoming crystal- 
 ized and a large group of thinking men favored a more 
 economical and efficient method of building and maintaining 
 highways and bridges. But while a substantial beginning 
 had been made, the agitation was not sufficiently general to 
 convince the great mass of taxpayers and thus insure the 
 enactment into law of substantial reforms in the face of an 
 opposition that was making every effort to block the good 
 roads movement. As so frequently happens, the opposition 
 to reform endeavored to accomplish its purpose through an 
 appeal to the prejudice of the common people by insisting 
 that the good roads movement was striking at the roots of 
 local self-government. Moreover, it was alleged that this 
 opposition to the progressive road bills originated with the 
 bridge companies and other corporations interested in the 
 manufacture and sale of various materials and the ma- 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 237 
 
 chinery used in the construction of roads, culverts, and 
 bridges. 
 
 About fifty bills relating directly or indirectly to the 
 general subject of roads and bridges were introduced into 
 the General Assembly in 1909. Some of these measures 
 were of a progressive, while others were of a decidedly re- 
 actionary character. The recommendations of the State 
 Highway Commission formed the basis of proposed legis- 
 lation along the line of the creation of a county highway 
 engineer, a more efficient road drag law, the formation of 
 road improvement districts, the destruction of noxious 
 weeds, the tax on motor vehicles, and an enlargement of the 
 powers of the Commission itself. The bill upon which the 
 opponents of reform centered their efforts provided for a 
 more decentralized system of road administration, the elec- 
 tion of road superintendents, and the payment of road taxes 
 in labor. 545 
 
 Space will not permit of a detailed analysis of the many 
 important road bills considered by the Thirty-third General 
 Assembly. To appreciate the character of the arguments 
 urged for and against the good roads movement it is only 
 necessary to outline briefly a few of the bills that became 
 the storm center of popular discussion. First of all, men- 
 tion should be made of the bill introduced by Eepresentative 
 John C. Bonwell to create a State Highway Commission, 
 defining its powers and duties, and providing a system of 
 State aid or reward through the cooperation of the State 
 with townships and counties in the improvement of public 
 roads. 546 By this bill it was provided that the Iowa State 
 College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts at Ames should 
 act as a State Highway Commission and as such "be 
 charged with the giving of instruction in the art of build- 
 ing, improving and repairing public wagon roads and 
 bridges, collecting reports from township trustees, boards 
 of supervisors, superintendents and street commissioners 
 
238 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 in cities and towns, and with the distribution of any State 
 reward for improving the public wagon roads that may be 
 provided by the Legislature and any funds that may be 
 given to the State for such purposes by the United States 
 government. " 547 Road superintendents and street commis- 
 sioners were obliged to make sworn reports to the Com- 
 mission, which in turn through its highway engineer was 
 required to furnish plans and specifications, give expert 
 advice under certain conditions, study the quality and cost 
 of various kinds of road material, keep a record of its pro- 
 ceedings, and in fact exercise general supervision over the 
 highways of the State. 
 
 Perhaps the most significant feature of the bill was the 
 provision for State reward to be distributed by the High- 
 way Commission on application of the township trustees 
 " notifying the department that the township has made ar- 
 rangements to improve a mile or more of public wagon 
 road by building a clay gravel, a gravel, a stone gravel, a 
 gravel stone, a macadam, or a King drag clay road". The 
 distribution of the State reward fund was in sums from 
 fifty dollars to one thousand dollars per mile, depending 
 upon the character of the proposed highway. The amount 
 to be given to any particular township was limited, and an 
 appropriation of $40,000 was made for the year ending 
 June 30, 1910, and $60,000 for the year ending June 30, 
 1911. In other words, the Bonwell bill provided for a State 
 commission clothed with real power and authority and out- 
 lined a system of State aid or reward. 
 
 In a bill along practically the same lines, but which was 
 somewhat more radical in character, provision was made for 
 a State highway commissioner whose salary was fixed at 
 $4,000 per annum. 548 On the whole, this measure was not 
 prepared with the same care and thorough study of detail 
 as that presented by Representative Bonwell. Finally, 
 mention should be made of a bill introduced by the Com- 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 239 
 
 mittee on Roads and Highways providing for an appropri- 
 ation of $20,000 for the State Highway Commission. 549 
 
 Again, bills were introduced which provided in one way 
 or another for creating the office of county road engineer. 
 In this connection the measures presented by Representa- 
 tives S. M. Corrie and Charles W. Hackler formed the basis 
 of discussion. 550 That introduced by Representative Hack- 
 ler authorized the county board of supervisors to appoint 
 a county highway engineer and fix his salary at not less 
 than nine hundred dollars nor more than twenty-four 
 hundred dollars per annum. This county engineer was to be 
 a resident of Iowa "skilled in laying of drains, bridges, 
 culverts and road building and general road work, and he 
 shall have a practical knowledge of civil engineering. " 551 
 
 The official to be thus appointed was clothed with large 
 powers and authority, having general supervision over the 
 highways of his county. He was to be custodian of all tools 
 and machinery belonging both to the township and the 
 county; have direct supervision over road superintendents 
 and the expenditure of all county and township funds; be 
 responsible for the construction and maintenance of cul- 
 verts, bridges, and roads ; approve all claims for road work 
 done under contract before warrants were issued; inspect 
 the condition of the roads, culverts and bridges of each 
 township as often as practicable; file with the board of 
 supervisors a statement of the condition of the roads and 
 the amount of money available for each township; and 
 finally he was to call an annual meeting at the county seat 
 of all road superintendents and township trustees of the 
 county. Briefly stated, the bill made the county a vastly 
 more important unit of local government from the stand- 
 point of road administration. The county highway engineer 
 was to be a necessary connecting link between the numerous 
 local officials representing the civil townships on the one 
 hand, and between similar local districts and the State 
 Highway Commission on the other. 
 
240 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The, bill presented by Eepresentative Corrie would have 
 accomplished the following changes: first, an increase of 
 the county road fund by the levy of a tax of not to exceed 
 three mills on the dollar; second, the selection of certain 
 roads to be known as county roads, at a joint meeting of the 
 board of supervisors and one or more of the township 
 trustees of each township ; and third, the appointment of a 
 county highway engineer. It was further provided that 
 eighty per cent of all taxes should be expended in the town- 
 ship where collected. 552 
 
 Mention should also be made in this connection of an- 
 other measure, introduced by Representative John H. 
 Darrah, providing for the issuance of bonds for construct- 
 ing permanent highways, bridges, culverts, levees, drains, 
 and ditches and the appointment of a county road engi- 
 neer. 553 When to these measures are added the various 
 bills providing for the destruction of noxious weeds, 554 the 
 dragging of public roads, 555 the efficient collection of road 
 taxes, 556 and the taxation of motor vehicles, 557 it is evident 
 that a substantial body of constructive road legislation was 
 embodied in the bills introduced in the Thirty-third General 
 Assembly. 
 
 The Greater Des Moines Committee, the State Highway 
 Commission, and various other organizations sent repre- 
 sentatives to plead for the passage of the different good 
 roads bills. The greatest obstacle to overcome, however, 
 was the apathy and spirit of conservatism which prevailed 
 among the people a condition which resulted from a lack 
 of definite, scientific knowledge relative to the road and 
 bridge question. Moreover, it would appear from the fol- 
 lowing newspaper comment that bridge companies were 
 active in opposing any bills which had for their object a 
 change in the bridge laws: 
 
 Good road advocates are up against a spirit of apathy and con- 
 servatism among, members of the Iowa legislature that now threatens 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 241 
 
 to postpone the passage of laws for accomplishing anything like 
 statewide improvement of road for at least another two years. 
 
 Bridge men have sent representatives to Des Moines to oppose 
 all legislation which provides for more careful supervision of bridge 
 work and which would destroy the monopoly which they now enjoy. 
 
 On Thursday evening several bridge men asked Chairman Bon- 
 well of the house roads Committee to meet with them at the Savery 
 hotel. At this meeting they argued against all bills now in the 
 hands of the committee which would affect bridge work. 
 
 Mr. Bonwell asked them what they would recommend in place of 
 these bills, and according to him the bridge men declared the laws 
 should be left as they are. 558 
 
 The forces of opposition, however, were not content with 
 defeating what the State Highway Commission and the 
 friends of the good roads movement regarded as construc- 
 tive legislation, but seemed determined to attack the most 
 beneficial features of the general system of road adminis- 
 tration already in existence. As has been noted, a bill was 
 introduced which had for its purpose the amendment of the 
 Anderson law in such a way as virtually to accomplish its 
 repeal. 
 
 This bill embodied three principles which good roads 
 advocates considered as outworn relics of pioneer road 
 legislation, namely: first, a multiplicity of small road dis- 
 tricts as provided for by Iowa statutes sixty years ago; 
 second, the election of road superintendents ; and finally, the 
 payment of road taxes in labor. Among other provisions 
 the bill stipulated that "when the township is so divided the 
 electors of each road district, at the regular annual election 
 of the even-numbered year shall elect a road superintendent 
 for the term of two years'', and further that "in townships 
 which are divided into two or more road districts the town- 
 ship trustees shall permit resident property owners to 
 work out all or part of their property road tax for the year 
 in which said tax is assessed, and shall at their regular 
 
 16 
 
242 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 annual meeting in April determine the amount of tax to be 
 paid in labor and the amount to be paid in cash." 559 
 
 Before this measure passed, however, some of its more 
 objectionable provisions were eliminated. The Committee 
 on Roads and Highways introduced an amendment pro- 
 viding that "not to exceed seventy-five per cent" of the 
 road tax should be paid in labor. 560 In the Senate, on 
 motion of Senator Larrabee, the amount of road taxes 
 which could be paid in labor was reduced to fifty per cent. 561 
 The bill, as finally passed retained the principles of (1) 
 election rather than appointment of road superintendents, 
 (2) small road districts, and (3) as a compromise, the pay- 
 ment of one-half the property road tax in labor. In other 
 words, the law represented what many people looked upon 
 as a backward step from the road legislation that had been 
 enacted in 1902. 
 
 Out of a total of nearly fifty bills relating to roads and 
 bridges which had been introduced in 1909 approximately 
 fifteen were enacted into law ; but aside from the bill which 
 has just been outlined, a bill to promote the building of 
 permanent roads which had been introduced by Senator 
 Fred N. Smith, 562 and possibly the bill relating to the de- 
 struction of noxious weeds, the remaining measures were of 
 a more or less special or amendatory character and did not 
 affect in any important way the general machinery of road 
 administration. 
 
 Among the various enactments may be mentioned an act 
 providing that roads and highways within and adjacent to 
 State lands should constitute a separate road district and 
 be placed under the supervision of the governing board of 
 the particular institution. 563 Finally, the road legislation of 
 1909 embraced the following laws : a law authorizing boards 
 of supervisors to grant the use of public highways for erect- 
 ing and maintaining poles and wires for the transmission of 
 electricity and fixing the liability for damages; 564 a law 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 243 
 
 relating to the county road and county drainage funds; 565 
 a law relative to the erection of guideboards; 566 a law deal- 
 ing with the trimming of osage orange, willow, and other 
 hedge fences; 567 a more stringent road drag law; 568 and 
 finally, a law providing for the regulation of traction en- 
 gines and automobiles. 569 
 
 With reference to the dragging of roads, it was made the 
 duty of township trustees to "have all the main traveled 
 roads, including mail routes, in their townships dragged at 
 such time as in their judgment is most beneficial, and they 
 shall contract at their April meeting to have a given piece 
 of road dragged at a rate not to exceed fifty cents per mile 
 for each mile traveled in dragging. " 57 The law further 
 specified that where it was deemed necessary not less than 
 forty per cent of the road tax collected under the levy made 
 by the township trustees on land abutting the road or ad- 
 jacent thereto should be worked out on such road. 
 
 The law to promote the building of permanent roads in 
 the State and providing for the establishment of road im- 
 provement districts is worthy of special study. Viewed 
 from the standpoint of the general system of road adminis- 
 tration, this was the only really constructive act of the 
 session. The board of supervisors was clothed with "juris- 
 diction, power and authority at any regular, special or 
 adjourned session, to establish permanent road improve- 
 ment district or districts and to cause to be constructed as 
 hereinafter provided, by grading, guttering and curbing 
 and paving or macadamizing permanent highways, and to 
 provide for the making and reconstruction of any such high- 
 way improvement and to assess not less than fifty per cent 
 of the cost thereof on abutting or adjacent property as pro- 
 vided in this act," 571 In order to provide funds for carry- 
 ing out the purposes of the act, the board of supervisors 
 was authorized to levy a tax of not more than two mills on 
 the dollar of the assessed value of taxable property in the 
 
244 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 county, including all taxable property in cities and incor- 
 porated towns. Counties having the mulct tax might use 
 all or any part of the same for permanent road improve- 
 ments. 
 
 The friends of the good roads movement, however, were 
 not to be defeated in their ultimate purpose to secure sub- 
 stantial reforms. Good roads associations in almost every 
 section of the State, commercial clubs, chambers of com- 
 merce, and similar organizations of a progressive character 
 renewed their efforts to educate the people as to the im- 
 portance of a better system of highways. The State High- 
 way Commission continued to be the real force guiding the 
 movement on a conservative basis and along strictly scien- 
 tific lines. 
 
 The conflicting views with reference to road administra- 
 tion were perhaps nowhere more sharply defined than in 
 the Good Roads Convention which met at Des Moines on 
 March 8 and 9, 1910, pursuant to the call of Governor 
 Carroll. Senator Lafayette Young was chosen to act as 
 chairman of the convention, and the opening address was 
 delivered by the Governor. Everything proceeded har- 
 moniously until the vital point was reached, namely, the 
 proposition to create the office of county road engineer. 
 Then the storm broke which resulted in the defeat of this 
 particular resolution. 572 
 
 The opposition endeavored to make it appear that the 
 leaders in the good roads movement were attempting to 
 destroy local self-government. Furthermore, one delegate 
 referred to the county road engineer as * * a scheme to create 
 more offices, as a useless expense which would be productive 
 of no better roads and would be a burden upon the peo- 
 ple. " 573 Another delegate believed that "the plan of 
 County engineer meant merely giving places to a lot of 
 boys from college without accomplishing anything. " A 
 gentleman from Monroe County said that "they did not 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 245 
 
 have to go to the colleges to get men capable of using the 
 level. " A delegate from Lucas County declared that "a 
 County engineer would cost $1800.00 to $2400.00 a year and 
 not a spade full of dirt thrown. " 574 
 
 The real nature and purpose of these arguments is ap- 
 parent to the critical reader. As a matter of fact thinking 
 men are coming more and more to realize that it requires 
 as much engineering skill to prepare plans and specifica- 
 tions for a permanent road or the building of a concrete 
 bridge as it does to draw plans for railroad construction. 
 Indeed, this obvious fact was recognized by no less an 
 authority than Professor J. W. Jenks a quarter of a century 
 ago. 575 Those who contend that it requires no special train- 
 ing and expert knowledge to supervise highway and bridge 
 work are thinking the thoughts of their pioneer ancestors 
 and speaking strictly in terms of pioneer life. 
 
 At the Good Eoads Convention which met in Des Moines 
 on December 28, 1910, immediately preceding the conven- 
 ing of the Thirty-fourth General Assembly, more sub- 
 stantial results were obtained. The following resolution, 
 drafted by a committee composed of Senator N. Balkema, 
 J. W. Foster, W. F. Stipe, C. H. Thomas, and F. T. Morris, 
 was adopted : 
 
 Resolved. 1. That in the interest of simplicity we favor a re- 
 writing, of the road laws of the state into a single act. 
 
 2. That we favor the compulsory dragging of earth roads and 
 the creation of a non divertible drag fund. 
 
 3. That we favor a simple system of road management under a 
 centralized authority which shall work through skilled and com- 
 petent appointed officers. 
 
 4. That we favor some form of state aid to encourage good road 
 building. 
 
 5. It is the sense of this conference that an increased per cent 
 of our road funds be entrusted to the management of the Board 
 of Supervisors. 
 
246 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The name of Mr. F. T. Morris, at that time a member of 
 the Polk County board of supervisors, was not signed to 
 the resolution. In fact, Mr. Morris presented the following 
 minority report : 
 
 Be it resolved by the State Good Roads Conference in session 
 assembled, that it is the sense of said conference that the County 
 Road funds of each County of the State of Iowa be placed in the 
 hands of the Boards of Supervisors of the various counties of the 
 State for expenditure, in the employment of an Engineer at such 
 time as they may deem best, and at a price they may fix, and they, 
 the Board of Supervisors to have supervision, and direction of all 
 work. 576 
 
 After a somewhat animated battle of words this reso- 
 lution of the minority report failed by only two votes ; but 
 later in the session it was again brought up and defeated 
 by a large majority. 577 Indeed, the conference, after listen- 
 ing to a number of instructive addresses, went on record in 
 favor of State aid, a complete revision of the present road 
 laws, the centralization of authority in the hands of trained 
 engineers, and the compulsory dragging of roads. Judge 
 H. E. Deemer made an able plea in behalf of a graduated 
 tax on motor vehicles. 
 
 When the General Assembly convened in January, 1911, 
 the issues in reference to road administration were more 
 clearly defined than ever before. Arguments in favor of a 
 more economical and efficient plan of caring for roads had 
 been presented in every section of the State and given wide 
 circulation through the columns of weekly and daily papers. 
 Moreover, the Iowa State Highway Commission in its re- 
 port to the State Board of Education for the biennial period 
 from July 1, 1908, to July 1, 1910, gave a brief history of 
 the work of the Commission since it had been organized in 
 1904 and outlined somewhat definitely the essential features 
 of a scientific system of road and bridge administration. 
 Among other statements the following is suggestive : 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 247 
 
 The amount spent in the state annually from which no results are 
 obtained would, with the Commission adequately supported, be 
 reduced very materially. With adequate state supervision, the 
 $5,000,000.00 spent annually on the roads and bridges would show 
 results more consistent with the big expenditure. The record of 
 incompetent and frequently flagrantly dishonest handling, of con- 
 tracts, special bridge contracts, pools and agreements in restraint 
 of competition and the erection of flimsy and inefficient structures 
 and disorganized methods of road work, would be in only a few 
 years almost completely revolutionized. For such work the in- 
 tegrity and solidity of an institution such as the college is needed. 578 
 
 As an aid to the General Assembly in drafting road legis- 
 lation along the most approved, scientific lines, the Com- 
 mission prepared an outline of a proposed law providing 
 for surfaced roads, and also submitted a brief to the com- 
 mittees on highways in favor of the good roads bills. With 
 reference to a law providing for surfaced roads, it was 
 shown that all work undertaken along this line should be 
 entirely on the initiative and at the option of the property 
 owners themselves. The part of the cost of such improve- 
 ment paid by the State should " serve as a nucleus about 
 which to gather the local resources and would offer the ad- 
 vantage of supervision by trained men. ' ' As suggested, the 
 plan contemplated the organization of improvement dis- 
 tricts upon the petition of the property owners, following 
 the successful experience of a number of good roads States. 
 
 It was proposed that the board of supervisors should 
 establish the improvement districts on the recommendation 
 of the State Highway Commission, the cost of improve- 
 ments to be shared in equal parts by the State, the county, 
 and the improvement district. The part paid by the State 
 was to come from a license tax on automobiles, and that paid 
 by the county from the mulct tax or from the regular 
 county road fund which should be increased for that pur- 
 pose. The remaining third of the cost, to be paid by the 
 improvement district, was left with a local commission, 
 
248 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 "appointed to assess the benefits against the abutting and 
 the adjacent acres in proportion to the benefits derived from 
 the improvements. ' ' Thus the State Highway Commission 
 presented a thoroughly scientific plan based upon the suc- 
 cessful experience of other States. 579 
 
 In a more comprehensive brief, presented at a joint meet- 
 ing of the highway committees of the General Assembly, the 
 State Highway Commission outlined the following essential 
 points : first, that constructive principles should prevail in 
 all matters presented before the committees, or in other 
 words, that an appeal should always be made to reason and 
 not to popular prejudice; second, that all main-traveled, 
 rural route roads should be dragged frequently ; third, that 
 roads should be properly drained and the hills reduced to 
 the lowest practicable grades ; and fourth, that culverts and 
 bridges should be built safely, permanently, and economic- 
 ally. It was also clearly stated that the advocates of the 
 good roads movement had in mind the strengthening of the 
 county as a unit of local government and not the assumption 
 of local rights by the State. Finally, the joint committee 
 was informed that the road drag law, though mandatory on 
 paper, had never been carefully enforced, due partially to 
 the lack of a specific and definite system and partially to the 
 absence of intelligent supervision and control. 
 
 With reference to the grading and draining of roads the 
 Commission emphasized the fact that the county is the only 
 practicable unit to do this class of work efficiently. From 
 the very nature of the case, township funds were inadequate 
 for the obtaining of skilled men the inevitable result 
 being wastefulness on the one hand and inefficiency on the 
 other. The work in Dallas County had proved the force of 
 these arguments. Uniform road sections, proper grades, 
 and the best system of drainage and of contract plans rep- 
 resented a class of work which could be done properly only 
 by men of experience who possessed a sufficient knowledge 
 of engineering. 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 249 
 
 The reasoning which applied to the proper grading of 
 roads, drainage, and similar problems was even more ap- 
 plicable in the case of culverts and bridges. The State 
 Highway Commission maintained that the heavy traffic 
 under present economic conditions required the construc- 
 tion of permanent and more substantial bridges, whereas 
 in the past little or no attention had been given to the 
 manner in which vast sums of money had been expended 
 for this purpose. Then it was shown that the loose and 
 unbusinesslike methods of supervision and control on the 
 part of local officials had resulted in excessive prices and 
 light, unsafe structures. The opposition to constructive 
 reform, according to the statement of the Commission, 
 "centers around the bridge and culvert question. Some 
 prejudiced opposition comes from the trustees and farmers, 
 but the careful calculated organized opposition has only one 
 source. " 58 
 
 In conclusion, the following definite recommendations 
 were made by the Commission: first, a drag fund, not di- 
 vertible; second, all money spent for road grading and 
 tiling should be handled by the county; third, bridges and 
 culverts should be let by public contract except in the case 
 of bridges of the smaller sizes; and finally, each county 
 should have in its employ a man trained and experienced to 
 superintend and inspect the expenditure of road and bridge 
 funds, namely, a county road engineer. 
 
 The Iowa Engineering Society also appointed a com- 
 mittee to submit a synopsis of the different road bills then 
 (1911) pending before the General Assembly. The Greater 
 Des Moines Committee, the Commercial Club of Des 
 Moines, and numerous other associations took an active 
 interest in supporting the cause of good road legislation. 
 
 The opposition, however, was even more active than in 
 1909. The methods adopted to defeat the good roads bills 
 represented an appeal to prejudice rather than to reason. 581 
 
250 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Nothing was said by the opposition about the wastefulness 
 and inefficiency of the old system, nor was any explanation 
 made as to why such a vast sum of public revenue was 
 annually expended without securing more substantial re- 
 sults. 
 
 As a matter of fact, appeals to prejudice proved to be 
 more effective than appeals to reason in 1911. Public 
 opinion had not sufficiently crystalized to bring adequate 
 pressure on the General Assembly to counteract the opposi- 
 tion. The taxpayers were not informed and therefore were 
 either inactive or in some cases gave their moral support to 
 the opposition. Out of nearly fifty bills which were pre- 
 sented to the General Assembly dealing with the subject of 
 roads and bridges only three or four of any special im- 
 portance were enacted into law. The others were for the 
 most part buried in the highway committees and did not 
 reach the floor of the General Assembly. 
 
 Of the House bills the following received the most general 
 discussion throughout the State: (1) an act to completely 
 revise the whole system of road laws, introduced by Repre- 
 sentative Ulysses G. "Whitney; 582 (2) an act creating the 
 State Highway Department and establishing a State High- 
 way Commission and the office of State Highway Engineer, 
 introduced by Eepresentative Edwin H. Fourt; 583 and 
 finally, an act relating to the registration of motor vehicles, 
 regulating their use, and providing for the expenditure of 
 license fees and funds, introduced by Representative David 
 E. Kulp. 584 Other important bills relating to road drag- 
 ging, drainage of roads, and the destruction of noxious 
 weeds might also be mentioned. In the Senate the so-called 
 Whitney bill was introduced by Senator Nicholas Balk- 
 ema, 585 and a measure to create a State Highway Depart- 
 ment was presented by Senator C. H. Van Law. 586 
 
 Space will not permit of a detailed analysis of the va- 
 rious bills which were proposed. Those mentioned above 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 251 
 
 were drafted largely on the basis of the recommendations 
 of the State Highway Commission and had the general sup- 
 port of those interested in the good roads movement. 
 Several of the leading bills may with profit be briefly sum- 
 marized. The bill introduced in the House by Eepresenta- 
 tive Whitney and in the Senate by Senator Balkema 
 provided for: first, the consolidation of road districts on 
 the basis of the civil township, thus following the original 
 Anderson law of 1902; second, the office of county road 
 engineer; third, the letting of contracts by competition to 
 the lowest responsible bidder; fourth, a more comprehen- 
 sive road drag provision; and fifth, a complete revision of 
 the law regarding bridges, drainage, and culverts. The 
 fundamental principle of the bill was greater administrative 
 efficiency to be brought about, in the first place, by trans- 
 ferring duties and functions from smaller sub-districts to 
 the civil township, which was to be made the smallest unit 
 of local government from the standpoint of road adminis- 
 tration; and in the second place, by the consolidation of 
 greater powers in the hands of the county board of super- 
 visors operating through an efficient county engineer. 
 
 The Fourt bill in the House and the Van Law bill in the 
 Senate supplemented the Whitney and Balkema bills by 
 providing adequate State machinery of road administra- 
 tion. The student of political science is familiar with the 
 fact that in dealing with any comprehensive problem of 
 administration like public education, public roads, or public 
 revenue, there must be some definite system of State super- 
 vision and control, otherwise the local machinery of ad- 
 ministration in the counties and civil townships can not 
 operate harmoniously. In other words, the several areas 
 and phases of administration from the township or sub- 
 district to the State should be closely related and carefully 
 interwoven, so as to form one definite, workable, harmoni- 
 ous system. 
 
252 HISTOEY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Now it is evident that the county, from the standpoint of 
 practical administration, is a necessary connecting link be- 
 tween the civil township on the one hand and the State on 
 the other a fact which has too often been overlooked by 
 the lawmakers of Iowa. The Whitney and Balkema bills 
 outlined a definite, workable system for the counties and 
 civil townships, in which the responsible head was a county 
 road engineer to be appointed by the county board of super- 
 visors and subject to their general supervision and control. 
 The Van Law and Fourt bills provided for a State Highway 
 Commission clothed with large powers and authority, and 
 outlined a system of State aid or reward. In the former 
 measure State funds were to be raised by a license tax on 
 automobiles, while the Fourt bill levied an additional quar- 
 ter of a mill on all the taxable property of the State. 
 
 When it became evident, toward the close of the session, 
 that there was no hope of passing these bills, the good roads 
 advocates were determined, if possible, to save something 
 from the wreck and by so doing provide an entering wedge 
 for constructive legislation in the future. Accordingly, the 
 highway committees of both the Senate and the House intro- 
 duced a bill which was clearly a compromise measure. 587 
 By its provisions the board of supervisors was vested with 
 authority * ' to employ a competent person who shall perform 
 all of the duties now belonging to the office of county sur- 
 veyor, and who may now be employed by them for the 
 purpose of making plans and specifications for the grading, 
 repairing and building of roads, bridges and culverts and to 
 perform such other duties as the board of supervisors may 
 determine/' 588 For the grading and building of roads a 
 county road building fund was to be created by the levy of 
 a tax of not more than two mills on the dollar of assessed 
 valuation. Finally, the bill required the trustees to select a 
 township superintendent of dragging and make contracts 
 for the dragging of the highways. 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 253 
 
 It will be observed that the provision relating to the ap- 
 pointment of a county road engineer had the appearance of 
 being a harmless compromise for two reasons: first, the 
 system was entirely optional with the county board of 
 supervisors ; and second, the individual selected was to be 
 a " competent person 7 ' which of course means something 
 or nothing according to the wishes of those in authority. 
 Nevertheless, it was a small recognition of the necessity of 
 more intelligent supervision and control of county road and 
 bridge work, and of the desirability of having a connecting 
 link between the local officials and the State Highway Com- 
 mission. 
 
 Under date of March 20th the following comment ap- 
 peared in The Register and Leader: 
 
 A good roads bill making important changes in the present road 
 laws has been prepared by the house committee on roads and high- 
 ways. . . . The measure gives new powers to the county 
 boards of supervisors and regulates the levying of taxes and the 
 powers and duties of the township trustees. 589 
 
 Moreover, as proof of the compromise character of the 
 act, the following statement is significant: "The measure is 
 the first of several which good roads enthusiasts hoped to 
 have passed by this legislature." 590 When finally passed, 
 the bill was characterized as "one of the most important 
 road measures before the General Assembly ", including as 
 it did "many of the features of other bills concerning the 
 regulation of road work." 591 
 
 In concluding the discussion of road legislation of 1911 a 
 brief reference at least should be made to the new road drag 
 law and the so-called Kulp bill regulating motor vehicles, 
 levying license fees, and providing for the distribution of 
 the same. As originally introduced, the Kulp bill provided 
 for a registration fee of eight dollars on motor vehicles 
 having a rating of twenty horse power and less, and an 
 additional forty cents per horse power above that amount. 
 
254 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 After- the vehicle had been used four years the fee was to be 
 fixed at half the regular amount; and the rate on motor 
 vehicles used solely for commercial purposes was placed at 
 five dollars. Finally, all funds obtained under the pro- 
 visions of the act were to be distributed equally among the 
 counties and designated as the "County Motor Vehicle 
 Eoad Fund", which was to be used for the following pur- 
 poses only: "the dragging, graveling or macadamizing of 
 public highways outside of the limits of cities and towns, 
 and for the building of permanent culverts on such high- 
 ways. " 592 
 
 As finally enacted into law, the Kulp bill provided for the 
 payment of an annual fee of fifteen dollars for the registra- 
 tion or re-registration of any electric or steam motor 
 vehicle, also an annual fee of three dollars for the regis- 
 tration or re-registration of a motor bicycle or motor cycle. 
 In the statute as approved no distinction was made be- 
 tween ordinary motor vehicles and those used for com- 
 mercial purposes. The method of distributing the funds, 
 however, as provided in the law is very different from the 
 plan outlined in the original bill. Fifteen per cent of the 
 tax is now retained in the State treasury and the remaining 
 eighty-five per cent is "apportioned among the several 
 counties of the state in the same ratio as the number of 
 townships in the several counties bear to the total number 
 of townships in the state ", 593 
 
 As already suggested, this bill created much enthusiasm 
 among the friends of the good roads movement throughout 
 the State especially among owners of and dealers in 
 automobiles. Indeed, it received more publicity than any 
 other road measure considered by the Thirty-fourth Gen- 
 eral Assembly. In the consideration of the bill the chief 
 point of controversy was the distribution of the tax ob- 
 tained from this source. Some people wanted the whole 
 amount to be retained in the State treasury and used as a 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 255 
 
 State aid fund; others believed that all the tax should be 
 distributed among the counties as provided in the original 
 Kulp bill ; and still others desired a different plan. 
 
 Eegarding the desirability of retaining all of the tax in 
 the State treasury, an editorial in The Register and Leader, 
 entitled Automobile Taxation, contains the following in- 
 structive statement: 
 
 Apart from this legal reason for eliminating, the local taxes on 
 automobiles, there is this further reason : 
 
 All special sources of revenue, like automobile taxes, telephone 
 and telegraph taxes, railroad taxes, hunters' license taxes and 
 others that might be named, ought to be granted exclusively to the 
 state. . . . 
 
 If the state were given exclusively the revenue from these sources, 
 it would in time make unnecessary a state tax levy on other prop- 
 erty. 594 
 
 When the bill providing for a tax on automobiles was 
 pending before the General Assembly opinions were freely 
 expressed by almost every class of citizens. A gentleman 
 representing the Commercial Club of Des Moines declared 
 that "Des Moines is willing to pay her share of the expense 
 of improving Iowa roads if the money is expended ju- 
 diciously ". "I believe that 90 per cent of the auto owners 
 will sanction the Kulp bill," said a prominent dealer in 
 motor vehicles. 595 With reference to the method of dis- 
 tributing the funds, the following comment was made : 
 
 A generous slice of the automobile tax pie provided for in Repre- 
 sentative Kulp's automobile and good roads bill was reserved for 
 the state of Iowa yesterday afternoon by the members of the house 
 committee on ways and means. . . V; 
 
 Fifteen per cent of the fund is to go into the general fund of the 
 state as the bill stands with the amendment of the ways and means 
 committee. 596 
 
 Finally, "An Act to repeal chapter one hundred one (101) 
 of the laws of the thirty-third general assembly and to enact 
 
256 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 a substitute therefor relating to the dragging of public 
 highways and providing penalty for failure to perform such 
 duties ' ', should not be overlooked. This measure had been 
 introduced and ably supported by Eepresentative E. H. 
 Cunningham of Buena Vista County. 597 Briefly stated, the 
 law as finally passed made it the duty of township trustees 
 to divide the public roads of the township into permanent 
 road dragging districts, "designate what districts shall be 
 dragged, which must include all mail routes and all the main 
 traveled roads within the township ", and appoint a super- 
 intendent of dragging to serve for one year unless sooner 
 removed by the board. 598 The trustees were also required 
 to furnish suitable road drags for the township, paying for 
 the same out of the township road fund, it being further 
 stipulated that the superintendent of dragging shall "cause 
 all roads to be dragged that the township trustees may from 
 time to time direct at such times as in his judgment is most 
 beneficial. " 
 
 While the law as thus enacted was doubtless an improve- 
 ment upon previous legislation dealing with the subject, it 
 was still defective from two important standpoints : first, 
 the tax set aside for that purpose, being limited to fifty 
 cents per mile, is not adequate to produce satisfactory re- 
 sults ; and second, the superintendent of dragging should be 
 clothed with larger powers and authority and held directly 
 responsible for the work. 
 
 Again defeated in their efforts to place the administration 
 of roads and bridges on an economical and efficient basis, the 
 friends of the good roads movement were more determined 
 than ever before to reveal to the taxpayers of Iowa the real 
 condition of road affairs. While a number of organizations 
 were active along this line, the Des Moines Commercial 
 Club and the leading daily papers of that city proceeded to 
 make an investigation of the methods of building bridges 
 and supervising road work which had been employed in 
 Polk County by the board of supervisors. 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 257 
 
 After a preliminary investigation the Des Moines Com- 
 mercial Club commenced proceedings against a member of 
 the board of supervisors of Polk County under the Cosson 
 law. Space will not permit of a detailed account of this 
 important case. It may be noted, however, that the State 
 Highway Commission was employed to make a careful, de- 
 tailed study of all the bridges in Polk County, prepare a 
 map showing the location of all bridges, and file a report. 
 At the same time, an equally thorough investigation was 
 made of the records in the County court house. The follow- 
 ing statements from the Des Moines Daily Capital will give 
 the reader an idea of the charges made against the Polk 
 County supervisor at the time the suit was filed. 
 
 It is claimed that he practically turned the entire building inter- 
 ests of his district over to N. M. Stark, permitting the erection of 
 more than $100,000.00 worth of concrete structures during Ms 
 term, without ever asking a competitive bid, without ever requiring 
 the submission of plans, designs, specifications or estimates. It is 
 claimed that he never saw, let alone checked a single itemized bill 
 for a completed bridge; that no bridges were properly inspected 
 during the building; that he caused to be torn down good wooden 
 bridges to permit the erection of concrete bridges ; that lie neglected 
 scores of wooden bridges in his district, using up his bridge funds 
 on comparatively few concrete structures, the total number of con- 
 crete bridges being only about one-fifth of the total number of 
 bridges in his district ; that he caused concrete bridges to be erected 
 on spur roads with no outlet, presumably to favor some political 
 friends; that he neglected important bridges in dangerous condi- 
 tions on main traveled roads ; that he has kept no accurate records of 
 his bridges, their cost of construction, blue prints or any data or 
 records by which the people can determine what their money has 
 been paid out for or upon which they can determine the kind of 
 basis settlement was made with the N. M. Stark Company. 599 
 
 Professor Thomas H. McDonald, acting for the State 
 Highway Commission, made a survey of Polk County and 
 prepared a map and a report as requested by the Des 
 
 17 
 
258 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Moin.es Commercial Club. The result was a confirmation of 
 practically every one of the charges above outlined. In- 
 cidentally, Professor McDonald made the following sugges- 
 tions relative to the letting of contracts for bridge work 
 which are worthy of study : 
 
 The structure should be designed by a competent bridge engineer ; 
 the letting of the contract should be conducted under the super- 
 vision of said engineer; never ask contractors to bid on a bridge 
 where each contractor is bidding on his own plan; demand sealed 
 bids on one design only ; on small jobs have the county engineer put 
 in a bid on the work for the county itself ; consider only sealed bids 
 and require a substantial deposit with each proposal; see that the 
 county gets what it pays for; a competent inspector should be 
 maintained on the work who will see that the provisions of the plans 
 and specifications are rigidly enforced; each and every member of 
 the bridge must be inspected and particular attention must be given 
 to the following : a. concrete to see that it is properly propor- 
 tioned, mixed and deposited, b. pile driving to see that the 
 piles are of proper size and have sufficient penetration, c. all 
 tension members must be uniformly stressed. The bridge should 
 receive a test load in order to determine whether or not it is suf- 
 ficiently strong for the purpose intended ; in the event the bridge is 
 to be paid for on a percentage basis, complete and itemized accounts 
 should be furnished, showing materials used and labor performed, 
 and these should be carefully checked ; and a guarantee should be 
 required of the contractor. 600 
 
 The Polk County case, however, did not come to trial. 
 Consequently all of the evidence was not presented and 
 perhaps will never be known to the public. The supervisor 
 against whom the suit was filed resigned before the case 
 was brought to trial, giving to the press a detailed state- 
 ment of the reasons for his resignation, 601 and his example 
 was followed by another member of the board. 
 
 In this connection it may be noted that proceedings sim- 
 ilar to those instituted in Polk County were begun in 
 Clinton County in April, 1912. A petition signed by a num- 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 259 
 
 ber of citizens of that county requested the grand jury to 
 make a careful investigation of the letting of bridge con- 
 tracts during the last five years, "to ascertain whether the 
 prices were reasonable or excessive, and if excessive, to fix 
 the blame for such excess". 602 Grave irregularities have 
 repeatedly been charged against the supervisors of Clinton 
 County in connection with the alleged letting of bridge con- 
 tracts without competition to the Clinton Bridge and Iron 
 Works. 
 
 The State Highway Commission was promptly employed 
 to make an investigation of the bridges in Clinton County 
 similar to that made in Polk County. Field engineers were 
 set to work and a large amount of data was gathered. At 
 the same time the grand jury continued its investigations, 
 assisted by expert counsel and accountants. As a result 
 twelve men, including Mr. George E. Wilson, Jr. of the 
 Clinton Bridge and Iron Works, were indicted by the grand 
 jury on September 5th, and the case is now pending in the 
 courts. 603 
 
 In conclusion, an idea of the amount of money expended 
 in Iowa for road and bridge purposes during the period 
 under consideration can be gained from the following table : 
 
 TABLE II 
 EOAD AND BBIDGE EEVENUES 1903-1911 
 
 EOAD TAXES 
 
 YEAR BRIDGE TAX COUNTY TAX TOWNSHIP TAX 
 
 1903 $1,628,720.88 $547,309.92 $2,283,129.65 
 
 1904 1,947,423.53 559,409.42 1,749,395.23 
 
 1905 1,923,431.81 518,535.71 1,773,304.08 
 
 1906 1,967,546.02 520,779.54 1,804,483.83 
 
 1907 2,178,028.09 556,173.16 1,909,988.03 
 
 1908 2,180,381.45 575,374.39 1,890,573.04 
 
 1909 2,563,193.78 602,389.31 1,903,479.64 
 
 1910 2,756,659.45 618,666.52 2,028,096.47 
 
 1911 3,059,319.68 724,760.74 2,644,168.66 
 
 It should be noted, however, that the amounts given in 
 this table do not include the road tax paid in labor. There 
 is apparently no way of determining the amount thus paid, 
 since it seems that the amount of taxes worked out on the 
 
260 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 roads is not even certified to the county auditors, let alone 
 to the State Auditor. Furthermore, it should be noted that 
 the amount of township taxes given for the year 1903 really 
 included more than one year, on account of a change from 
 the labor to the cash system. 
 
 It is apparent that the last eight years of the history of 
 road legislation in Iowa have been characterized by two 
 distinct forces. First, there has existed a force the object of 
 which has been to amend and modify the Anderson law of 
 1902 which provided for the consolidation of road districts 
 on the basis of the civil township, the appointment of one 
 township road superintendent, and the payment of road 
 taxes in money. The chief result of the activities along this 
 line was the law of 1909, which authorized the division of a 
 township into road districts, the election of road district 
 supervisors, and the payment of one-half of the road tax in 
 labor. The other force has been the progressive good roads 
 movement which has had for its purpose the payment of all 
 property road taxes in money, the enlargement of the 
 county road fund, the appointment of a trained county 
 engineer, a State aid policy, and finally, the strengthening 
 of the powers of the State Highway Commission. Coupled 
 with this dual tendency toward progress on the one hand, 
 and reaction on the other, there appears a more distinct line 
 of separation between township and county functions, 
 judged from the standpoint of road supervision and control. 
 
 Indeed, it may be said that at the present time there are 
 at least three distinct spheres of authority in road matters 
 which will be generally recognized both by the practical man 
 and by the scientific investigator: first, State functions; 
 second, county functions ; and third, township functions. It 
 is hardly necessary to observe that the local road district, 
 or subdivision of a civil township, is an antiquated and 
 altogether useless relic of pioneer conditions. 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 261 
 
 The State Highway Commission and the leaders in the 
 good roads movement, however, have made continued ef- 
 forts to overcome the forces of opposition. The 1904 ses- 
 sion of the General Assembly not only defeated the 
 strenuous effort made to return to the sub-district system, 
 but it took a most important forward step by creating a 
 State Highway Commission. It will be generally admitted 
 that the law which established a State Highway Commission 
 marked an important turning point in the history of road 
 administration in Iowa. Up to the present time this Com- 
 mission has only been given authority to collect certain data 
 and furnish expert advice when requested to do so. While 
 the appropriation for the support of the Commission has 
 been wholly inadequate to produce the best results even 
 from the standpoint of expert service, it may be said that 
 a vast amount of useful work has already been accom- 
 plished. Since 1904 efforts have been made to enlarge the 
 powers of the Commission, to secure additional appropria- 
 tions, and in fact to provide a comprehensive system of 
 State aid. Indeed, State highway commissions have al- 
 ready become the leaders of reform along the line of ef- 
 ficient road administration in a large group of States. But 
 the good roads movement embraces vastly more than the 
 creation of a State Highway Commission. 
 
 The county is generally recognized throughout the United 
 States as being a very important unit of local government 
 along many lines, including the supervision of highways. 
 In fact the county is a necessary connecting link between the 
 civil township, which has always possessed large powers 
 and authority, and the State. Moreover, it is a sufficiently 
 large area and possesses enough taxable property to pur- 
 chase expensive road machinery, construct bridges, and 
 engage in the work of permanent highway improvement. 
 When it is considered that the township is too small a unit 
 of local government to undertake improvements which re- 
 
262 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 quire, large expenditures of money and the employment of 
 expert service, it is apparent that if these important func- 
 tions are to be kept close to the people, thus preserving the 
 maximum amount of local self-government, the county 
 should be made a more important unit of road and bridge 
 administration especially from a fiscal standpoint. 
 These considerations are at the basis of the demand which 
 has been made again and again for creating the office of 
 county road engineer. 
 
 In view of the vast sums of money which are annually 
 expended in every county of Iowa, either by the county 
 board of supervisors or by the various boards of township 
 trustees, and in view of the necessity of using this money 
 to the best possible advantage in constructing culverts, re- 
 enforced concrete bridges, and in building permanent roads, 
 the advantage of having a trained civil engineer and prac- 
 tical road builder to prepare plans and specifications and 
 supervise work must be apparent to every thoughtful per- 
 son. In fact, Professor J. W. Jenks, writing for the 
 American Economic Association nearly a quarter of a 
 century ago, recognized the obvious fact that it requires the 
 same engineering skill to construct bridges and build perma- 
 nent roads as to be a successful railroad engineer. Until 
 trained experts are employed, the townships and counties 
 will continue to waste at least one-half of the people's 
 money raised in the form of taxation for this class of work. 
 
 At the same time the important functions of the civil 
 township in road matters should neither be overlooked nor 
 underestimated. In view of the fact that except for the 
 short period from July 1, 1851, to February 2, 1853, the 
 township has possessed large powers and authority from 
 the very beginning of our Territorial history, it may 
 reasonably be assumed that it will continue to exercise a 
 large amount of influence for many years to come. Indeed, 
 it is a fact that the civil township has a logical sphere of 
 
THE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION 263 
 
 authority in the actual supervision of road work. Nor is 
 this sphere of authority any less important now than it has 
 been in the past. A careful historical analysis of Iowa road 
 legislation reveals the fact that the civil township has al- 
 ways been the important division of local government for 
 the maintenance of the public highways. In other words, 
 while the county has had charge of the laying out and the 
 opening of roads and now possesses considerable financial 
 authority, the township trustees have been responsible for 
 the actual direction of road work. 
 
 Furthermore, it should be stated in this connection that 
 actual road work in the past has almost universally meant 
 simply the maintenance of ordinary dirt roads and not the 
 building of what are generally known as permanent roads. 
 When it is considered that this road work is likely to remain 
 a very important function, it is evident that the township 
 will continue to occupy a position of substantial influence in 
 the future. The problem of reform along the line of road 
 administration does not consist, therefore, in subtracting 
 powers from the civil township, but rather in adding new 
 duties or new functions to the county on the one hand and 
 to the State on the other. Considered in the light of prac- 
 tical legislation this fact is of great significance, because it 
 undermines the force of the arguments which have been so 
 frequently advanced for the alleged preservation of local 
 self-government. In a system of highway administration, 
 reorganized along strictly scientific lines, it is believed that 
 the civil townships may exercise even larger functions than 
 they have been able to perform in the past. 
 
 Thus it is obvious that when one comes to differentiate 
 between township, county, and State functions, it will be 
 found that the civil township is destined to remain an 
 absolutely essential part of the more comprehensive state- 
 wide administrative organization. The appointment of a 
 township road superintendent responsible to the township 
 
264 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 trustees and having jurisdiction in the field of road main- 
 tenance especially the dragging of the public highways 
 is significant in this connection. It is believed that a 
 township road superintendent should be appointed by the 
 township trustees, that he should be clothed with larger 
 powers and authority, and that a larger fund should be 
 raised for the purpose of road dragging. These consider- 
 ations emphasize the important administrative duties of the 
 township duties which it is believed have a logical place 
 in a scientific system of road administration. 
 
 In conclusion, it may be noted that the recent investiga- 
 tions in Polk County and in Clinton County have thrown 
 some light upon the letting of bridge contracts. In fact, 
 these investigations are significant in view of the charges 
 which have been made from time to time that certain bridge 
 companies and other corporations producing road and 
 bridge materials have been active in opposing changes in 
 the road and bridge laws by declaring that these changes 
 threatened the right of local self-government. 
 
X 
 
 COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EOAD LEGISLATION 
 
 In the first general road congress which assembled at 
 Atlantic City late in September a large number of road 
 organizations national, State, and local cooperated in 
 making a thorough and comprehensive presentation of the 
 whole problem of road administration in the United 
 States. The main purpose of this convention, however, 
 was to discover ways and means of stopping the tre- 
 mendous expenditure of road revenues which is becoming 
 greater and greater every year without producing tangible 
 results in the form of permanent road improvement. 604 The 
 various sessions of the convention were devoted to the 
 highway and bridge problem in its various aspects 
 educational, economic, administrative, and engineering. 
 The deliberations of this congress afford an excellent op- 
 portunity for contrasting the intelligent and sympathetic 
 interest now manifested in the good roads movement with 
 the spirit of indifference which prevailed quite generally 
 only a few years ago. 
 
 As has been stated in the course of the preceding his- 
 torical study, the problem of road legislation throughout 
 almost the entire history of Iowa has been largely one of 
 local government and administration. The fact that road 
 improvement requires, on the one hand, a constant ap- 
 plication of the principles of engineering science and, on the 
 other, is closely related to almost every aspect of educa- 
 tional, social, and economic life did not occur to the pioneers 
 of Iowa nor, indeed, to the pioneers of any of the American 
 commonwealths. In a general way that which has been true 
 of Iowa has likewise been true of the older States. 
 
 265 
 
266 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The first road law enacted in America was passed by the 
 Virginia House of Burgesses in 1632 and was based on 
 English precedents. Other road laws followed including 
 one in 1662 which had for its object "the maintenance of 
 highways in good condition. " 605 Surveyors were appointed 
 to establish a system of highways, including convenient 
 roads to the church, to the court-house, to Jamestown, and 
 between the different counties. Each surveyor was as- 
 signed certain definite work to be performed, which was 
 done under the jurisdiction of the county court in coopera- 
 tion with the clerk and the church wardens of the parish 
 who were required to enforce the law. In other words, the 
 parish, which developed as a local unit of church adminis- 
 tration, exercised a large measure of jurisdiction over roads 
 and bridges. 
 
 Other colonies followed the example of Virginia by enact- 
 ing definite road laws. Maryland passed its first road act in 
 1666, although actual road building had commenced at a 
 much earlier date. Laws along the same line were also 
 passed in 1696 and 1704 the latter remaining in force 
 until after the Eevolutionary War. In New England the 
 oldest road connected Plymouth with Boston and was estab- 
 lished by the General Court in 1639. In New York, road 
 legislation dates from 1664, when the English under the 
 leadership of the Duke of York had possession of the colony. 
 In Pennsylvania it appears that William Penn placed roads 
 under the jurisdiction of the county courts, but in 1692 
 authority was transferred to the township. This in turn 
 was followed by an act in 1700 giving the county justices a 
 large measure of jurisdiction over the laying out, opening, 
 and maintaining of highways. Finally, roads were con- 
 structed and road legislation was enacted in the southern 
 colonies during the period just preceding the Revolution. 
 
 At the close of the Eevolutionary War the westward 
 movement of the American people began in earnest. The 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 267 
 
 settlement of larger and larger areas of land beyond the 
 Alleghany Mountains rendered necessary improved means 
 of communication between the East and the West. Even 
 before independence was realized some of our leading 
 statesmen realized the importance of building highways, 
 that is, of creating what George Washington and Benjamin 
 Franklin referred to as ties of commercial intercourse be- 
 tween the old and the new sections of the country. It soon 
 became evident to these men that without means of com- 
 munication the economic progress of the country would be 
 greatly retarded. In fact, during the period just following 
 the Revolutionary War national unity itself depended to a 
 large extent upon the building of a system of roads across 
 the mountains connecting the Ohio valley with the Atlantic 
 sea-board. 
 
 In the beginning the toll road that is, the so-called turn- 
 pike road, financed either by private corporations, by 
 States, or by the national government was the most 
 popular form of highway. During the first half of the nine- 
 teenth century the building of turnpike roads was quite 
 general throughout all of the States. As early as 1808 there 
 were in the State of New York sixty-seven turnpike com- 
 panies with a capital of about $5,000,000 nine hundred 
 miles of such highways being completed and two hundred 
 additional miles in process of construction. Twenty years 
 later Pennsylvania had one hundred and sixty-eight com- 
 panies, with 2380 miles of improved road already completed 
 at a cost of nearly $8,500,000. 606 
 
 During the same period the national government also 
 took a very active interest in the building of highways, and 
 numerous appropriations from time to time were made by 
 Congress for the purpose the total amount of such ap- 
 propriations being about $14,000,000. The so-called "Cum- 
 berland Pike" was the most important of these national 
 projects, extending as it did from Cumberland, Maryland, 
 
268 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 to a point which gradually moved westward until it reached 
 Illinois. It should be stated in this connection that there 
 was always more or less doubt in the minds of certain 
 statesmen as to the constitutionality of a system of internal 
 improvement supported by the general government. 
 
 The coming of the railroad as a practical factor in trans- 
 portation gradually supplanted the whole turnpike system 
 of highways. Although toll roads had never been a real 
 success from a financial standpoint for instance, it Was 
 claimed that none of the numerous toll roads of Pennsyl- 
 vania had yielded a profit the system was very beneficial 
 both to the agricultural and commercial interests before the 
 coming of the railroad. Many permanent highways were 
 constructed, making, in conjunction with canals and other 
 internal waterways, a fairly comprehensive system of trans- 
 portation without which the rapid and successful settlement 
 and improvement of free or cheap lands would have been 
 impracticable if not impossible. 
 
 After the Civil War the general government discontinued 
 its policy of participation in the work of constructing per- 
 manent highways. Congress was busy endeavoring to de- 
 vise means to pay off the national debt and seems to have 
 neglected entirely the question of roads and road adminis- 
 tration. In the second place, turnpike companies for rea- 
 sons already suggested had almost entirely passed out of 
 existence. Nor were the various States giving any serious 
 aid or attention to the subject. In a word, the adminis- 
 tration of highways ceased to be in any real sense either a 
 national or State function, but was transferred to the va- 
 rious local units of government. 
 
 Prior to the building of railroads the necessity of con- 
 structing permanent highways to serve as avenues of com- 
 mercial intercourse, first, between the different sections of 
 the whole country, and second, between different parts of 
 the same State, was evident to the general public. The 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 269 
 
 economic progress of the country and the preservation of 
 the Union itself depended upon easy means of transporta- 
 tion. Thus the necessity became apparent to both the 
 Federal Government and to the various States of taking an 
 active interest in promoting this work. But when the prob- 
 lem of transportation for long distances was solved by 
 highways of steel, the turnpike road, constructed either by 
 private corporations, by States, or by the national govern- 
 ment, naturally became a thing of the past. In other words, 
 road administration as a logical result of actual conditions 
 became merely a function of local government and was 
 destined to remain so until practically the close of the nine- 
 teenth century. 
 
 Eeferring to the fact that of the 2,151,000 miles of public 
 roads in use in the United States in 1904, only 7.14 per cent 
 was improved, and at a total expenditure for that year of 
 $79,000,000, Mr. Logan Waller Page says : 
 
 This entire fund was administered under the system of localized 
 control so long in vogue throughout the country, and it was largely 
 due to this system that so little in the way of good results was ac- 
 complished, for the reason that it fails to insure skilled supervision, 
 provides an inadequate revenue, depends upon a purely unskilled 
 and unreliable class of labor, and practically precludes any con- 
 struction of a permanent character. 607 
 
 One of the earliest, if not the first, comprehensive and 
 thoroughly scientific studies of road legislation in the 
 United States was made in 1889 by Professor Jeremiah W. 
 Jenks, at that time a member of the faculty of Knox College 
 at Galesburg, Illinois. In a monograph entitled Road Legis- 
 lation for the American State, published by the American 
 Economic Association, Mr. Jenks referred to the deplorable 
 condition of the highways and lamented the wasteful ex- 
 penditure of public moneys for this purpose both of 
 which conditions he attributed in a large measure to the de- 
 centralized and inefficient system of local administration. 
 
270 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Concerning the relation of the growth of railroad systems 
 to the tendency to neglect the improvement of highways, 
 Professor Jenks said : 
 
 The principal reason for this comparative neglect of the common 
 roads in nearly all countries is, of course, to be found in the aston- 
 ishing growth of the railway systems, and, since the invention of 
 the steamboat, of commerce by water. These have rendered un- 
 necessary long roads such as the ancient Aztecs and Romans found 
 it wise to build for commercial and military purposes. 608 
 
 The importance of paying road taxes in money rather 
 than in labor, the necessity of employing experts espe- 
 cially a connty engineer and a State highway commissioner 
 in order to make more efficient the whole system of high- 
 way administration, and the importance of a careful classi- 
 fication of roads on the basis of a definite scientific plan are 
 all clearly presented in this monograph. It is certainly an 
 interesting and instructive fact that nearly a quarter of a 
 century ago Professor Jenks advocated a State highway 
 commission and a county engineer that is to say, the em- 
 ployment of experts where experts are necessary for the 
 purpose of solving the road and bridge question. 
 
 Efficient administration of the law was recognized as the 
 only means of preventing needless waste in the expenditure 
 of public moneys and of gradually securing the construction 
 of a comprehensive system of permanent roads. f * To build 
 and repair to the best advantage all the main roads in any 
 fairly well settled county ", said Professor Jenks, "requires 
 certainly as much skill in an engineer as to lay out and 
 build a railroad through an ordinary county, and probably 
 more. The problem is not so much that of making good 
 roads, as that of making the best roads possible with the 
 limited means given ", 609 It was also stated in this same 
 connection that the intelligent administration of the county 
 road fund made the services of a skilled engineer indis- 
 pensable. In other words, expert service was necessary: 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 271 
 
 first, in order to secure the establishment of an equitable 
 system of taxation ; and second, for the purpose of ensuring 
 a wise and economical expenditure of public moneys. 
 
 At the time the monograph was written (1889) the road 
 commissioners of Illinois recognized that at least one-half 
 of the money tax expended for roads in that State was 
 wasted through ignorance or carelessness the same thing 
 being true also of a much greater portion of the labor tax. 
 In the judgment of Professor Jenks this criminal waste, 
 which amounted to more than $2,000,000, not including the 
 loss resulting from poor roads, could be largely prevented 
 by a State highway commission and a system of county road 
 engineers. 
 
 The cause of the deplorable conditions of the roads and 
 the almost criminal waste in public expenditure for highway 
 purposes are presented in terms which can not be misunder- 
 stood. "To our early circumstances then; to the compara- 
 tive lack of interest in local affairs; to the conservative 
 spirit of our people, combined with the influence of the form 
 of the law itself in hindering them from noting the changing 
 circumstances in their relation to such matters ; and to the 
 strong bent of our people toward the retention of local 
 powers, may, in great part, be attributed our present de- 
 fective system. " 61 
 
 Only two years after the publication of this instructive 
 monograph the policy of State aid for the construction of 
 permanent highways was first adopted by the State of New 
 Jersey which meant that a new movement along the line 
 of more centralized State administration of roads and 
 bridges had been inaugurated. Since the New Jersey State 
 Highway Department was established in 1891 one State 
 after another has followed the example, until today thirty- 
 seven out of the forty-eight States in the Union have 
 adopted this principle in one form or another. During the 
 last year four new States (namely, Alabama, Oklahoma, 
 
272 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 South Dakota, and Wyoming) have provided for State aid. 
 According to Mr. Page, the movement is still progressing 
 very rapidly, and nine of the eleven States not having 
 yet enacted laws on this subject have bills pending before 
 their respective legislatures. 611 
 
 It should be noted, however, that so-called State aid does 
 not always refer to actual money appropriated for the im- 
 provement of highways. A number of States, like Iowa, 
 merely provide highway departments for giving engineer- 
 ing advice and assistance. Other States furnish convict 
 labor; and still others supply some combination of money 
 aid, expert engineering service, and perhaps convict labor. 
 The important problem of State aid in whatever form it is 
 granted, together with a number of miscellaneous questions 
 connected with the general subject of road legislation and 
 administration, can, however, best be presented by making 
 a brief comparative study of the progress made in the 
 various States. A study of this character may be found in 
 an Appendix which follows this chapter. 
 
 It is evident from an examination of the different systems 
 of road administration in the various States, as outlined in 
 the Appendix, that the good roads movement has long since 
 passed the academic stage and become a practical reality. 
 In an article entitled Highway Improvements, Mr. Logan 
 Waller Page, Director of the United States Office of Public 
 Eoads, declares that the year 1911 witnessed the greatest 
 progress which has ever been made in a single year in the 
 matter of highway improvement. It is stated that the ex- 
 penditures for construction projects in 1911 were much 
 greater than those of any preceding year. 612 
 
 In order to furnish a definite idea of the present good 
 roads movement in the United States and what it means to 
 the country, nothing better can be done by way of con- 
 clusion than to present a brief outline of the following 
 important subjects: first, educational propaganda carried 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 273 
 
 on by chambers of commerce, commercial clubs, local, State, 
 and national good roads associations, and various other 
 similar organizations; second, revenue for the support of 
 roads and bridges ; third, State aid and what it has accom- 
 plished; fourth, the economic value of good roads; and 
 fifth, the importance of a more efficient, centralized admin- 
 istration in all the units of government from the township 
 up to the State. 
 
 According to Mr. Page, during the year 1911 numerous 
 county, State, and national road associations were organ- 
 ized. Many other associations, which up to that time had 
 taken no interest in road matters, appointed committees to 
 investigate the subject. Some organizations are working 
 for the improvement of certain special highways like the 
 ocean to ocean highway, the Pacific highway, or the River 
 to Eiver Road in our own State. In other words, some 
 organizations are nation wide, others State wide, still oth- 
 ers are interested in the roads of a county or similar area, 
 and finally there are others devoted to certain special 
 projects. 
 
 The reader will recall the interest taken by the railroads 
 and the running of special trains in Iowa to promote the use 
 of the road drag. Much was accomplished in that way and 
 certain definite legislation was the result. This sort of an 
 educational campaign, however, has not been confined to the 
 limits of Iowa, but has been carried on in other States. 
 During the year 1911 the Office of Public Roads of the 
 United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation 
 with different railroad companies, encouraged the good 
 'roads movement by operating special trains for that pur- 
 pose. The Pennsylvania Railroad, for example, ran a 
 special train over its lines between January 25th and March 
 28th. The State Highway Department of Pennsylvania and 
 the State College of Pennsylvania also cooperated in the 
 movement. Illustrated lectures were given, models of sta- 
 
 18 
 
274 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 tionary types of road construction showing the most im- 
 proved methods of building earth, sand-clay, gravel, brick, 
 and bituminous macadam roads, were exhibited, and in fact, 
 a school of instruction along scientific lines was conducted 
 from place to place. The Pennsylvania Eailroad supplied 
 the cars, the State Highway Department furnished the 
 views and lecturers, the State College had general charge of 
 the work, including publicity, and the United States Office of 
 Public Roads supplied the different models and bromide 
 prints to lecturers. Some excellent work of a similar char- 
 acter was also carried on in other sections of the country. 
 
 It would require a monograph to discuss adequately the 
 history of good roads associations and the excellent educa- 
 tional work which they have accomplished. One of the 
 standpoints from which both the scientific investigator and 
 the practical legislator should judge any important problem 
 is that of publicity. It is a well known fact that before any 
 substantial reform can be realized, public sentiment along 
 that line must first be created. The history of road legis- 
 lation in Iowa has proved over and over again the necessity 
 of conducting a vigorous campaign of education among the 
 people before any important constructive measure can hope 
 to receive a hearing, much less be adopted. The running of 
 special road trains, the holding of good roads conventions, 
 local, State, and national, and the publicity work carried on 
 by the different highway commissions are all very essential 
 from the important standpoint of creating an educated 
 public sentiment. 
 
 In the second place, it is necessary to consider the road 
 question or any similar question from the standpoint of 
 finance. It requires money to construct permanent roads 
 and build reinforced concrete bridges. In the past when the 
 labor system was practically the universal rule, the amount 
 of actual money required for the construction, main- 
 tenance, and repair of roads and bridges was reduced to a 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 275 
 
 minimum. With the gradual repeal of laws permitting road 
 taxes to be paid in labor, on the one hand, and the growing 
 necessity of constructing roads and bridges out of more 
 costly material, on the other, the need of greater revenue 
 obtained by taxes or the issue of bonds has become obvious. 
 It may be safely said that there will never be a time when 
 the revenue for road and bridge purposes in the various 
 States of the Union will be less than at the present moment. 
 In fact, the amount of money needed along this line has 
 increased by leaps and bounds and will continue to increase 
 and be an important factor in making imperative the grad- 
 ual establishment of more scientific revenue systems in the 
 various States of the Union. The reader can form some 
 idea of the magnitude and the increase of this expenditure 
 by a comparison of Tables III and IV. 
 
 It will be noted that in 1904 there were 2,151,579 miles of 
 wagon road in the United States, or in other words, approx- 
 imately ten miles of wagon road for every mile of railroad. 
 Of this amount 108,233 miles were surfaced with gravel, 
 38,622 with stone, and 6,807 with other materials, making a 
 total mileage of improved roads of 153,662. It appears that 
 the cost of construction, repair, and maintenance of this 
 vast mileage of highways was $79,771,417.87, of which sum 
 $53,815,387.98 represented property and poll taxes paid in 
 cash in the counties and minor civil divisions, $19,818,236.30 
 represented labor taxes, $3,530,470.93 was derived from 
 bonds issued by the counties and minor civil divisions, and 
 $2,607,322.62 was expended by the States on State aid roads. 
 
 An examination of Table IV, giving the road expenditures 
 for 1911, reveals a very different story. The State aid fund 
 had increased from only $2,607,322.66 in 1904 to the large 
 sum of $21,037,769.00 in 1911 ; local bond issues had also in- 
 creased from $3,530,470.93 to $18,503,356; and finally, the 
 total revenue from all sources expended for road purposes 
 had practically doubled in six years, increasing from 
 
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278 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 $79,771,417.87 to $141,291,125. While it should be noted that 
 these figures are not absolutely accurate, they nevertheless 
 point out in terms of cold dollars and cents the significance 
 of the present good roads movement. 
 
 In concluding this brief comparative study of the road 
 and bridge question from the standpoint of public revenue, 
 the labor tax, so called, should at least be mentioned. This 
 form of taxation for road purposes is universally con- 
 demned by men who have given serious thought to the 
 subject. Professor J. W. Jenks, in his able monograph on 
 Road Legislation for the American State, to which refer- 
 ence has already been made, advocated the desirability of 
 paying all road taxes in money rather than in labor. At 
 that time the labor tax was almost universally employed 
 throughout the Union and its evils were just becoming ap- 
 parent to students of road administration. It was destined 
 to require a great many years of experience to convince the 
 general public of the necessity of the cash system. 
 
 In the bulletin already noted, Mr. Maurice O. Eldridge 
 discusses the labor tax in connection with the subject of 
 improved highways. At that time (1904) twenty-five States 
 had the statute labor tax, while eleven other States levied 
 a poll tax payable in labor. In other words, some form of 
 statute labor taxation existed in thirty-six States. It is a 
 significant fact that only 6.15 per cent of the roads were 
 improved in the statute labor States, while 18.39 per cent 
 were improved in States where no such taxes were levied, 
 thus indicating that the statute labor system had far out- 
 lived its usefulness from the standpoint of permanent high- 
 way improvement. 613 
 
 In the third place, no comparative study of road legisla- 
 tion and administration would be complete without special 
 reference to the very important subject of State aid as a 
 definite plan of permanent highway improvement. While 
 in reality this is a logical division of the general question of 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 279 
 
 TABLE IV 
 APPBOXIMATE BOAD EXPENDITURES IN 1911 
 
 State 
 
 State Aid 
 
 Local Bond Issuesf 
 
 Local Revenues* Total 
 
 Alabama $ 
 
 i 154,000 
 
 $ 2,330,000 
 
 $ 1,000,000 
 
 $ 3,484,000 
 
 Arizona 
 
 150,000 
 
 
 175,000 
 
 325,000 
 
 Arkansas 
 
 
 
 2,450,000 
 
 2,450,000 
 
 California 
 
 2,067,500 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 3,500,000 
 
 7,067,500 
 
 Colorado 
 
 162,000 
 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,162,000 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 2,000,000* 
 
 
 2,275,000 
 
 4,275,000 
 
 Delaware 
 
 30,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 430,000 
 
 Florida 
 
 
 755,000 
 
 750,000 
 
 1,505,000 
 
 Georgia 
 
 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 Idaho 
 
 53,000 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 553,000 
 
 Illinois 
 
 65,000 
 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 5,065,000 
 
 Indiana 
 
 
 
 4,500,000 
 
 4,500,000 
 
 Iowa 
 
 
 
 3,500,000 
 
 3,500,000 
 
 Kansas 
 
 6,500 
 
 93,356 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 1,599,856 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 132,354 
 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,132,354 
 
 Maine 
 
 250,000 
 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 2,250,000 
 
 Maryland 
 
 1,250,000 
 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 2,250,000 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 3,500,000 
 
 Michigan 
 
 250,000 
 
 2,216,000 
 
 3,500,000 
 
 5,966,000 
 
 Minnesota 
 
 79,300 
 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 2,079,300 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 
 1,130,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 3,130,000 
 
 Missouri 
 
 300,000 
 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 2,800,000 
 
 Montana 
 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 Nebraska 
 
 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 Nevada 
 
 
 
 50,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 375,000 
 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,375,000 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 500,000 
 
 
 4,500,000 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 100,000* 
 
 
 200,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 New York 
 
 5,000,000* 
 
 
 7,000,000 
 
 12,000,000 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 5,000 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 4,505,000 
 
 North Dakota 
 
 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 Ohio 
 
 600,365 
 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 6,600,365 
 
 Oklahoma 
 
 5,000 
 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 1,505,000 
 
 Oregon 
 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 3,500,000 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 
 7,500,000 
 
 11,500,000 
 
 Ehode Island 
 
 97,000 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 597,000 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 
 100,000 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,100,000 
 
 South Dakota 
 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 
 1,400,000 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 3,900,000 
 
 Texas 
 
 
 1,600,000 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 7,600,000 
 
 Utah 
 
 355,750 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 855,750 
 
 Vermont 
 
 450,000 
 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,450,000 
 
 Virginia 
 
 300,000 
 
 2,454,000 
 
 1,250,000 
 
 4,004,000 
 
 Washington 
 
 900,000* 
 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 2,900,000 
 
 West Virginia 
 
 
 625,000 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,625,000 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 390,000 
 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 3,390,000 
 
 Wyoming 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 510,000 
 
 Total 4 
 
 521,037,769 
 
 $18,503,356 
 
 $101,750,000 
 
 $141,291,125 
 
 *Estimated. 
 
 tOther local bond issues, but information lacking. 
 
 California has just begun the expenditure of $18,000,000 State bond issue for 
 constructing State roads. 
 
280 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 finance it has assumed such large proportions in recent 
 years as to merit separate treatment. It will be recalled 
 that prior to the coming of the railroads to Iowa, the Terri- 
 tory and later the State took a very active interest in the 
 laying out, opening, and maintaining of public highways. 
 What was true of Iowa in pioneer days has been quite gen- 
 erally true of all the States before the era of railroad build- 
 ing. It has already been pointed out that this was a logical 
 development, because at that time highways were looked 
 upon not merely as a local convenience, but as a means of 
 transportation for long distances in large sections of the 
 country where water transportation was impossible or at 
 least impracticable. 
 
 The first result of railway transportation was to relegate 
 the whole question of roads to the local units of govern- 
 ment from the standpoint of both finance and administra- 
 tion. In recent years, however, it has come to be more and 
 more obvious that the railroad at best can only supplement 
 and not take the place of wagon roads. When it is remem- 
 bered that at the present time there are approximately ten 
 miles of wagon road to every mile of railroad and that 
 practically all produce must be hauled over wagon roads 
 before being transported by rail, it is very evident that the 
 whole system of transportation, considered as a unit, is ef- 
 ficient only in proportion to the extent to which the public 
 highways are improved and kept in good condition. Thus, 
 if it is vital to the economic interests of the country to have 
 one mile of the transportation system constructed of steel 
 and be put in the best condition that money and science can 
 afford, it is at least equally important to have the remaining 
 nine miles of the system improved and maintained on a 
 reasonably efficient basis. The recognition of this impor- 
 tant principle is in the last analysis the foundation of the 
 good roads movement of the present day and of the accom- 
 panying policy of State aid. 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 281 
 
 New Jersey was the first State in the Union to adopt the 
 system of State aid. At that time (1891) practically all 
 road work throughout the entire Union was in the hands of 
 local officials who could not possibly possess expert knowl- 
 edge, and the result was that the whole system was wasteful 
 and inefficient. Between 1891 and December 31st, 1910, the 
 various State aid appropriations in New Jersey amounted 
 to $3,059,882.70, with the result that 1562 miles or more than 
 ten per cent of the roads of that State were permanently 
 improved. 614 
 
 As has already been suggested, however, State aid does 
 not always consist in money. Some States appropriate 
 money for that purpose, some supply expert engineering 
 assistance, others provide convict labor in some form, and 
 still other States provide a combination of money aid, ex- 
 pert assistance, and convict labor. Georgia is perhaps the 
 leading example of State aid in the form of convict labor. 
 At the present time nearly five thousand convicts are at 
 work on its roads. Illinois operates a rock crushing plant 
 with convict labor, furnishing crushed stone to the various 
 counties throughout the State. A similar plan is followed 
 in California. Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, 
 Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, and Virginia 
 provide both convict labor and money aid ; while Wyoming, 
 Oklahoma, and Illinois furnish convict labor and engineer- 
 ing assistance. The remaining States which have adopted 
 the policy of State aid, namely, Alabama, Connecticut, Dela- 
 ware, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hamp- 
 shire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode 
 Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, give 
 money aid, together with advice and engineering assistance. 
 
 Money aid is generally the direct result of some form of 
 State taxation. The policy of issuing bonds for this pur- 
 pose, however, has already been adopted in a group of 
 States. There is a bond issue of $18,000,000 in California, 
 
282 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 $4,500,000 in Connecticut, $6,000,000 in Maryland, $2,500,000 
 in Massachusetts, $1,000,000 in New Hampshire, and $50,- 
 000,000 in New York, making a total of $82,000,000. It may 
 be stated that this plan of raising funds for the building of 
 roads has become well established. Indeed, at the present 
 time Ehode Island, Colorado, Alabama, and Pennsylvania 
 are agitating the question of providing bond issues, which 
 if adopted will amount to the enormous sum of $110,600,- 
 OOO. 615 
 
 Closely connected with the subject of State aid is the 
 question of expert administration and, in fact, of expert 
 service of any kind. As already noted, expert assistance 
 and advice is in reality one phase of the general policy of 
 State aid. In fact, the road and bridge question, judged 
 from the standpoint of political science, is one of efficient 
 centralized administration; and from the standpoint of 
 engineering science requires expert knowledge of the meth- 
 ods of dealing with various materials of construction to the 
 best advantage. Indeed, the good roads movement has now 
 reached a stage where as a problem of both economics and 
 political science, on the one hand, and of the fundamental 
 principles of engineering, on the other, it .demands the ser- 
 vice of the best trained minds. 
 
 During the last decade perhaps no point has received 
 greater emphasis in all intelligent discussion of the road 
 question than the desirability, in fact the absolute neces- 
 sity, of a more expert system of supervision and control. 
 This principle has been recognized again and again by the 
 Governors of Iowa and the various good roads associations, 
 as well as by the State Highway Commission. It has been 
 discussed in every State of the Union where comprehensive 
 reports have been submitted dealing with the road and 
 bridge question. 
 
 As already observed, Professor Jenks, in his monograph 
 written nearly a quarter of a century ago, referred to the 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 283 
 
 wastefulness of the old decentralized system of road admin- 
 istration and emphasized in that connection the importance 
 of vesting more authority in larger units of government. 
 "The general custom ", said Professor Jenks, " seems to be 
 to make small districts the unit of administration. In the 
 southern states, where the county is the unit, the county 
 authority, as a rule, limits its duties to dividing the county 
 into road districts and appointing over each district an 
 overseer. Of course this gives no system of roads more 
 than does the sole supervision by township authorities. In 
 the New England states, and those settled in large part 
 from New England, the township system is found, a system 
 which in itself prevents unity of administration, unless 
 some higher authority is especially empowered for this pur- 
 pose, a provision very seldom made. This local adminis- 
 tration under whichever form it is found would, of course 
 effectually prevent any thorough classification of the 
 roads ", 616 Of course the "higher power" to which refer- 
 ence is made is none other than that of the State, or the 
 State highway commission as now understood. 
 
 Space will not permit any detailed comparative study of 
 the question of expert centralized administration. A thor- 
 ough study of this one subject would require a special 
 monograph. The principles of State aid, expert engineer- 
 ing assistance, and efficient administration, which taken to- 
 gether represent the very essence of the good roads 
 movement, are so firmly established and so universally 
 endorsed by thinking men that at this time only brief refer- 
 ence will be made to the system employed in three or four 
 representative States. 
 
 The State Highway Commission of California early rec- 
 ognized the necessity of possessing a larger measure of 
 supervision and control in order to accomplish the best 
 results. In a recent report of the State Engineer may be 
 found the following statement : 
 
284 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 It was noted by those who observed the situation of a new depart- 
 ment of this nature, that it would be necessary to concentrate more 
 power into the department, that it might have proper effectiveness ; 
 that is to say, the powers of the various boards of managers to 
 award contracts, purchase materials, to make payments on day labor 
 work, and hire the day laborers, as they were enabled under the law 
 of 1907, gave unsatisfactory results, and it was therefore necessary 
 at the session of 1909 of the California Legislature to grant the 
 Department of Engineering those powers of buying, awarding con- 
 tracts, and doing all things necessary for the construction of the 
 various works of the State, and after their construction to turn them 
 over to the respective boards or institutions for which they were 
 constructed. . . . It is but reasonable to suppose that, where 
 the work is spread among a number of boards, that you cannot get 
 uniformity, and you cannot get the best results, nor can you get the 
 best economy. 617 
 
 The State Highway Commission of Illinois emphasized 
 the necessity of putting road work upon a business basis. 
 The following statement appears in their report : 
 
 This cannot be done until it is made one man's business in each 
 locality to do this work all the time ; not to have it done at odd times 
 as personal convenience may dictate. Those who have given the 
 question any close attention generally agree that it is no exaggera- 
 tion to say that twice as much road work can be done under a 
 business-like system and at no greater cost than is incurred by 
 present methods. To get such results the work must be done when 
 needed and in the right manner. The present law affords full op- 
 portunity to get such results, in that it is within the power of any 
 board of road commissioners to appoint a superintendent who may 
 have entire charge of the work and who should be on the work all of 
 the time, devoting his entire attention to it. Where this has been 
 tried and put into effective operation, the results have been nothing 
 less than marvelous. . . . 
 
 It must be evident that no system of improved roads that will 
 answer present needs can be built or maintained under township 
 units; the township unit is too small, and the fund that can be 
 raised therefrom inadequate for the work. 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 285 
 
 There should be larger areas of control in order to plan and con- 
 struct a system of roads such as is needed in practically every com- 
 munity. The county unit is the one that must naturally suggest 
 itself, and with some exceptions would answer more nearly the con- 
 ditions necessary for the development of a system of main roads 
 than any other areas bounded by present political boundaries. 618 
 
 In the northeastern States where the township is the 
 important unit of local government it is instructive to note 
 that the State Highway Commission of Maine believes that 
 the township rather than the small sub-district should be 
 the unit for actual highway work, thus endorsing the prin- 
 ciple of the so-called Anderson law passed in Iowa in 1902. 
 The following statement is significant : 
 
 We would like to see every town elect one road commissioner and 
 give him authority over the roads, subject of course to general 
 supervision by the selectmen but this supervision only to extend to 
 passing upon the expediency of unusual expenditure for specific 
 purposes, such as permanently improving certain sections of road, 
 and the general character of the improvement. This settled, the 
 road commissioner should be left unhampered to carry out the work 
 according to his own best judgment. 619 
 
 Finally, Wisconsin, the banner State in the field of social, 
 political, and economic reform during the last decade, has 
 taken a very positive stand on the subject of expert road 
 administration. A Special Joint Committee on Highways 
 in the legislature made an exhaustive investigation and sub- 
 mitted a report in 1910. The problem of distributing 
 authority among the different units of government State, 
 county, and local receives special attention by the com- 
 mittee. In this connection the report is a very sane, well 
 balanced document, recommending centralized power and 
 authority only when necessary and reserving to the local 
 units of government powers which ought to be placed under 
 their jurisdiction. The following statements are instruc- 
 tive: 
 
286 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The committee is of the opinion that the county and not the town 
 should be made the unit, and the people of our state universally 
 recognize this fact : that the town alone is too small and weak to do 
 effective work ; and that better results can be obtained by accepting 
 the county as a unit and adopting a county system. The county 
 system, with authority vested in the county board similar to that 
 contemplated in this bill has given satisfaction where tried. 
 
 Speaking of the work of drafting the highway bill the 
 committee reported as follows : 
 
 First of all there appeared to be very little, if any, dissent from 
 the proposition that the initiative in the matter of road construction 
 should be left with the town ; that the town and county should work 
 together, thus making the county the working unit ; it being agreed 
 that the town is too small and the state too large for that purpose. 
 The committee also found an equal unanimity upon the provision 
 that the town, county and state should bear the burden of the cost 
 of construction in approximately equal shares. 620 
 
 Even a brief study of the problem of State aid and cen- 
 tralized administration would be incomplete without calling 
 attention to the bearing of this program of reform upon the 
 fundamental principles underlying our democratic institu- 
 tions. The reader is well aware of the fact that the old-time 
 objection to a more centralized system of supervision and 
 control was that it destroyed local self-government. This 
 argument has been advanced over and over again not only 
 in Iowa, but in every State of the Union, and the fact that 
 it is frequently successful in preventing real progress is 
 well known to the friends of the good roads movement. 
 This being true, it is important to ascertain whether in 
 reality the argument rests on solid foundations or merely 
 consists of so much verbiage. 
 
 It is a well established principle of democratic govern- 
 ment that representation is the only logical and just basis 
 of taxation. This is true whether the unit of government 
 concerned is the State, the county, the township, the city, or 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 287 
 
 any other minor subdivision. To the extent that money is 
 voted and levied in a civil township it ought to be expended 
 in that township. Otherwise, there is an absence of either 
 pure democracy or representative government. To the ex- 
 tent that money is levied by the authority of the county 
 board of supervisors or any similar body it should be ex- 
 pended under the supervision and control of the county. 
 Finally, money levied by the authority of the State legis- 
 lature and paid by the people of the whole State should 
 be expended under the supervision and control of the State. 
 Otherwise the very fundamental principles of representa- 
 tive government are ignored. 
 
 Following this course of reasoning, it is obvious that 
 money secured either by the levy of State taxes, or by the 
 issue of State bonds, or in any other way by the State 
 should not be expended under the supervision and control 
 of either township or county authorities. To permit such a 
 practice would be to grant to officers in one township or 
 county the right to appropriate money which had been 
 raised in remote sections of the State. 
 
 A thoughtful, comparative study of road legislation and 
 administration, therefore, leads to three conclusions : first, 
 the problem of building permanent roads and constructing 
 the best type of bridges is one of expert engineering science, 
 on the one hand, and of expert administration, on the other, 
 requirements which can be met only by the larger units of 
 government, namely, the county and the State; second, 
 judged from the economic standpoint the amount of revenue 
 required to carry on these undertakings is so large as to 
 demand a more extensive taxable area, in some cases the 
 county, in others the State ; and finally, as a logical result of 
 these facts, if the time-honored principles of representative 
 institutions are to prevail, supervision and control should 
 go hand in hand with dollars and cents appropriated and 
 expert services rendered. 
 
288 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 In other words, authority over the construction and main- 
 tenance of roads and bridges must be a State function in 
 proportion to the amount of money levied on the people of 
 the entire State and paid out of the State treasury. In the 
 same way supervision and control of roads and bridges 
 should remain a county function or a township function in 
 proportion to the amount of money raised in those respec- 
 tive jurisdictions. Democratic institutions are not deter- 
 mined primarily by the size of the political unit, but rather 
 by the principle of responsible representation and the 
 judicious expenditure of public funds. 
 
 Finally, the reader will recall the fact that one of the five 
 important standpoints from which the subject of road legis- 
 lation must be judged is that of the economics of trans- 
 portation. This again offers a practically unlimited field 
 for investigation. Good road enthusiasts and representa- 
 tives of the press have indulged in much hasty general- 
 ization along this line, but very little scientific data has been 
 collected. 
 
 First of all, it should be recognized that the problem is a 
 complex one, involving careful research work in the sepa- 
 rate fields of political, economic, and engineering science. 
 Indeed, judged from the standpoint of research, the subject 
 of the economics of transportation is practically a virgin 
 field of investigation where the labors of the civil engineer 
 and the political economist will always be supplementary 
 and interdependent. This is true whether the problem is 
 approached from the standpoint of public expenditure, on 
 the one hand, or of traction resistance, on the other. 
 
 In Iowa it has been frequently alleged that at least half 
 of the revenue expended on roads and bridges is absolutely 
 wasted, largely as a result of the present careless and in- 
 efficient system of highway administration. This estimate 
 was made more than a quarter of a century ago by Gov- 
 ernors Gear and Sherman and it is now being repeated 
 
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROAD LEGISLATION 289 
 
 almost daily through the press of the State by business men, 
 lawyers, civil engineers, and practical road builders, in fact 
 by men in almost every walk of life. Yet if this is true it 
 means that the Commonwealth of Iowa is wasting $2,500,000 
 annually, or more than double the amount that is now being 
 expended to support the cause of higher education. 
 
 In order to determine the actual amount of the economic 
 waste resulting from the high traction resistance of our 
 roads and from the loose system of administration, it is 
 necessary to study the various materials of construction, 
 analyze the laws of strains and stresses, carry on experi- 
 ments for ascertaining the cost of hauling produce on dif- 
 ferent road-beds and up different grades, and consider 
 numerous other closely allied problems of an engineering 
 and economic character. The cost of structural steel, con- 
 crete and other materials of construction, also the wages of 
 labor are among the economic questions which the highway 
 engineer must always have in mind when preparing his 
 plans and specifications. 
 
 19 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 291 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 DATA RELATIVE TO ROAD ADMINISTRATION 
 IN THE UNITED STATES 
 
 The following data is presented for the purpose of 
 indicating briefly the systems of road administration em- 
 ployed in the various States of the Union, together with the 
 methods of State aid, and other information relative to the 
 construction of roads and bridges. 
 
 ALABAMA 
 
 The State Highway Commission consists of a professor 
 of civil engineering in the Alabama Polytechnic Institute 
 selected by the governing board of the Institute, the State 
 Geologist, and three civilians appointed by the Governor 
 for a term of four years. The Commission is required to 
 appoint a competent civil engineer to serve as State High- 
 way Engineer at an annual salary of not more than 
 $4,000. 621 
 
 An annual appropriation of $154,000 has been authorized 
 for State aid not including $10,000 for office expenses, 
 which sum may be increased to $20,000 at the discretion of 
 the Governor. The State Highway Engineer is required to 
 prepare and keep a general highway plan of the State, 
 collect statistics relative to the mileage, the character, and 
 the condition of highways and bridges, have general super- 
 vision of the construction and repair of all roads and 
 bridges improved under the State aid law, furnish where 
 needed during the progress of road construction in any 
 county a competent engineer who is required to see that all 
 work is done according to plans and specifications, and 
 
 293 
 
294 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 finally make a map within two years of such of the main 
 highways in the State as should be improved and main- 
 tained at the expense of the State in cooperation with the 
 counties. All contracts must be let to the lowest responsible 
 bidder, subject to the approval of the State Highway Com- 
 mission. Indeed, the Commission is clothed with very large 
 powers and authority both as to the improvement and as to 
 the maintenance of all public highways which receive the 
 benefit of State aid. 
 
 Since in the southern States the county is the important 
 unit of local administration it is not surprising that in 
 Alabama public roads, bridges, and ferries are placed under 
 the jurisdiction of what is called the court of county com- 
 missioners, who may divide the county into a convenient 
 number of road districts, each district being placed under 
 the jurisdiction of an overseer, and may also appoint a 
 county supervisor of roads, who shall be a competent civil 
 engineer, to prepare surveys, maps, plats, and plans of the 
 public roads and superintend the work of overseers, con- 
 tractors, employees, and road hands. 622 
 
 All able-bodied men between eighteen and forty-five years 
 of age, unless exempt by law, are liable to work on the high- 
 ways not to exceed ten days a year or commute for the same 
 by the payment of not more than ten dollars in money. The 
 statutes further provide that counties may also be divided 
 into road districts for the purpose of ordering an election 
 on the question of levying special road taxes. While a 
 majority vote decides this question, the court of county 
 commissioners does not have the authority to levy a tax of 
 more than one-fourth of one per cent on the assessed value 
 of property for road purposes. Finally, convict labor in 
 any county or municipality is provided for by the statutes of 
 Alabama and the court of county commissioners is author- 
 ized to transfer from the county treasury any surplus not 
 needed for general purposes. 
 
APPENDIX 295 
 
 AEIZONA 
 
 A State Highway Engineer is appointed by the Governor 
 with the consent of the Council for two years and receives 
 an annual salary of $3,000. The State Board of Control, 
 composed of the Governor, Auditor of State, and one other 
 person, must require the State Engineer to make maps and 
 furnish estimates of the cost of State highways and at the 
 same time designate such roads as are deemed proper and 
 expedient to be improved and maintained as State high- 
 ways. 623 All work on State highways must be let by con- 
 tract to the lowest responsible bidder, subject to the 
 approval of the Board of Control. All State highways and 
 bridges are constructed and maintained entirely at the cost 
 of the State out of a fund obtained by the levy of a tax of 
 not more than one-fourth of one per cent on all the taxable 
 property of the State. 
 
 For the purpose of local administration the county board 
 of supervisors is required to appoint a county superintend- 
 ent of roads, who shall have charge of all public highways 
 in the county subject to the control of the board of super- 
 visors. Aside from the State levy already noted, revenue 
 for the support of roads and bridges is obtained by a poll 
 tax of two dollars, payable in cash, and a county levy of not 
 more than one-fourth of one per cent on the assessed value 
 of all real and personal property. 624 
 
 AEKANSAS 
 
 The public roads are placed under the supervision of the 
 county court, which is given authority to divide the county 
 into road districts, appointing one overseer for each dis- 
 trict. 625 In counties where a road tax is levied or where the 
 county prisoners are required to work upon the public high- 
 ways the working of roads may be let by contract to the 
 lowest responsible bidder and a county road commissioner 
 appointed and paid a reasonable salary. When this system 
 
296 HISTORY OP ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 is adopted the roads are classified by the county road com- 
 missioner, who is also required to prepare plans and speci- 
 fications for bridges and for any permanent improvements 
 that may be necessary. In counties adopting the contract 
 system all contracts are awarded by the county judge and 
 county road commissioner. Finally, it should be stated that 
 the county court also has the option of declaring each town- 
 ship a road district, the road overseer to be elected in the 
 same manner as other township officers. 
 
 In addition to the property tax levied for road purposes, 
 all able-bodied men within certain ages are required to work 
 on the roads of their township four days out of each year or 
 commute for the same at the rate of one dollar per day. 
 The levy of road taxes must be submitted to a vote of the 
 people at the time of the regular election of county officers. 
 If a majority vote is cast in favor of such a tax the county 
 court, together with a majority of the justices of the peace, 
 may levy not less than two and one-half nor more than 
 three mills on each dollar of taxable property in the county. 
 
 One unique provision of the road legislation of Arkansas 
 is that giving the county court power to establish road 
 improvement districts. 626 Before this can be done, however, 
 it is necessary to file a petition signed by a certain number 
 of the land owners of the county. Where road improvement 
 districts are established three directors are elected by the 
 land owners and are given general supervision and author- 
 ity to construct and maintain, by contract or otherwise, all 
 roads in their district and to expend for this purpose an 
 amount not to exceed twenty-five per cent of the value of 
 the property in their district. They are also authorized to 
 issue bonds, the amount of which shall not exceed twenty 
 per cent of the value of the property. This act, however, 
 applies only to thirty-eight out of the seventy-five counties. 
 Finally, the General Assembly of Arkansas in 1911 created 
 the office of County Highway Engineer. This officer is ap- 
 
APPENDIX 297 
 
 pointed by the county court and is vested with general 
 supervision of all the public roads of the county. 627 
 
 CALIFOENIA 
 
 In 1907 the legislature created a State Highway Depart- 
 ment to consist of the Governor, the State Engineer as chief 
 executive officer of the department, the chief superintendent 
 of state hospitals, and the chairman of the board of harbor 
 commissioners of San Francisco. The State Engineer is 
 appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of 
 the Senate, for a term of four years, receives a salary of 
 $4,800, and is given complete charge of the engineering 
 work of the department. 628 
 
 The State Department of Engineering has full control of 
 all so-called State highways and of all moneys expended by 
 the State for the improvement of roads. It supplies, with- 
 out charge, information to road authorities upon request, 
 collects data regarding suitable road material, publishes 
 the same in bulletin form, may obtain rights of way by pur- 
 chase or condemnation, and finally may appoint superin- 
 tendents of State highways. 
 
 Prior to 1910 California had made no direct provision for 
 State aid, although the State had built roads through the 
 mountains and sparsely settled districts where the people 
 were not able to meet the expenses of construction. In 1909, 
 however, the legislature passed an act submitting to the 
 people at the general election of 1910 a proposition to vote 
 bonds to the amount of $18,000,000 for the building of per- 
 manent State roads. The bond issue was approved, thus 
 placing California near the top of the list of good road 
 States. 
 
 The general control of highways is vested in the county 
 board of supervisors, which may form road districts for 
 permanent improvements, issue bonds, and levy special 
 taxes to pay the expenses of such work. 629 The county 
 
298 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 supervisors are also given power to appoint a competent 
 person to act as engineer. It should be noted, however, that 
 the power of the board to establish such road improve- 
 ment districts and to construct gravel, macadamized, oil, or 
 otherwise improved roads, can not be exercised in case an 
 objection is made by a majority of the land owners. 
 
 Bonds may be issued to promote permanent improve- 
 ments, the same to extend twenty years, bear not to exceed 
 seven per cent interest, and be paid for out of funds secured 
 partly by the county and partly from a special district tax. 
 In other words, the county board in such cases must trans- 
 fer from the general county fund to each improvement 
 district an amount which in their judgment is a fair pro- 
 portion of the road fund of the supervisorial district in 
 which the improvement is located. All highway taxes are 
 required to be paid in cash and the county board of super- 
 visors may levy an annual property tax of not to exceed 
 four mills on the dollar on assessable property. In addition 
 to the property tax every male citizen between the ages of 
 twenty-one and fifty years is required to pay a road poll tax 
 of three dollars unless specifically exempted by law. 
 
 In the report of the State Engineer dated 1910 it is stated 
 that the law creating the State Highway Department enact- 
 ed in 1907 was so amended as to concentrate more power 
 and authority in the hands of the State department. " It is 
 but reasonable to suppose", reads the report, "that, where 
 the work is spread among a number of boards, that you can- 
 not get uniformity, and you cannot get the best results, nor 
 can you get the best economy. " 63 Reference is also made 
 to the necessity of granting the Department of Engineering 
 the full power of awarding contracts for the construction of 
 the various works of the State. Indeed, the large powers 
 granted the State Highway Commission, on the one hand, 
 and the issue of $18,000,000 in bonds, on the other, have 
 been primarily responsible for the great improvement of 
 the public highways in California. 
 
APPENDIX 299 
 
 COLOEADO 
 
 In 1909 the legislature of Colorado created a State High- 
 way Department, the commission to consist of three mem- 
 bers appointed by the Governor for six years, the eastern, 
 central, and western sections of the State each having a 
 representative on the board. The commission employs a 
 secretary who must be a trained civil engineer, at an an- 
 nual salary of $2,500, and is given authority to apportion 
 the State aid fund among the counties, to prepare maps 
 showing the location of all State aid roads as well of all 
 public roads, to ascertain the location of road materials, to 
 prepare rules and regulations for the improvement and 
 maintenance of State roads, to make all necessary changes 
 in any surveys, plans, and specifications prepared by the 
 various boards of county commissioners, to exercise general 
 supervision over all local boards, approve contracts for 
 work upon State roads before being let by the county com- 
 missioners, and finally, to receive annual reports from all 
 of the various county boards. 631 
 
 According to the provisions of the same act, the county 
 commissioners are required to prepare a map of their 
 county showing the roads considered sufficiently important 
 to receive State aid, a copy of said map being filed with the 
 State Highway Commission. Accompanying the map must 
 also be a statement of the location of suitable road materials 
 within the county. Not later than January 1, 1912, the law 
 requires that the highway commission must have completed 
 a road map of the entire State showing all open public 
 roads, and, in a different color, all roads considered by the 
 commission of sufficient public importance to receive State 
 aid. This work being accomplished it is made the duty of 
 the commission to divide State aid roads into two classes, 
 primary and secondary, the primary roads to be improved 
 first. For the purpose of State aid the sum of $50,000 was 
 appropriated. 
 
300 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The board of county commissioners has control of county 
 roads, may divide the county into suitable road districts 
 from time to time, appoint annually a road overseer for 
 each district, and may levy a maximum property tax of one 
 dollar for every one hundred dollars of valuation for road 
 purposes. The county commissioners are further clothed 
 with authority to create an indebtedness for the building of 
 roads and bridges when the same is authorized by a ma- 
 jority of the voters of the county. All property taxes must 
 be paid in cash, but the road poll tax of three dollars may be 
 paid by performing two days labor on the highways. 
 Finally, State prison authorities are authorized to work 
 convicts on State roads. 
 
 It should be noted, however, that properly organized road 
 districts, so called, are made bodies corporate. In counties 
 organized on that basis the office of road overseer, already 
 noted, is abolished and in lieu thereof the county commis- 
 sioners are authorized to appoint a superintendent of roads 
 and bridges who is given charge of the construction and 
 maintenance of bridges and of those roads coming under 
 the jurisdiction of the commissioners. Furthermore, what 
 amounts to a third system of local administration is pro- 
 vided for in case a petition is filed, signed by a majority of 
 the qualified electors. The county commissioners may 
 organize any county into road districts, three directors be- 
 ing elected by popular vote for each district, who are given 
 supervision of all roads and bridges except those under the 
 jurisdiction of the commissioners themselves. 
 
 CONNECTICUT 
 
 The State of Connecticut has been very progressive in the 
 matter of providing for good roads and an efficient system 
 of road administration. The State Highway Department is 
 under the supervision of a highway commissioner appointed 
 by the Governor for a term of four years, who must be an 
 
APPENDIX 301 
 
 experienced road builder and who receives an annual salary 
 of $5,000, together with his actual and necessary traveling 
 expenses. The highway commissioner is required to ap- 
 point one deputy, eight division engineers, and such other 
 assistants as from time to time may be necessary to make 
 surveys, plans, specifications, and maps. The State is di- 
 vided into eight highway districts, one division engineer 
 being assigned to each district. 632 
 
 It is made the duty of the highway commissioner to 
 designate highways to be constructed or improved in towns 
 where the same are desired; keep in repair roads built by 
 the State, one-fourth of the cost of such work being charged 
 to the town ; maintain in good condition all State aid roads ; 
 and let contracts for permanent road improvements. In 
 case the selectmen refuse to carry out the vote of their town 
 for a State aid road, the highway commissioner is vested 
 with authority to enter the town and perform this duty, a 
 power which obviously represents a large measure of cen- 
 tralized control. As an additional example of State super- 
 vision and control it should be noted that prior to 1907 all 
 contracts for State aid roads had been let by the selectmen 
 of the towns, but under the new law this very important 
 power was vested in the State Highway Department. In 
 other words, from the standpoint of letting contracts, build- 
 ing permanent roads, and keeping the same in repair, Con- 
 necticut within recent years has developed a very large 
 measure of State supervision and control of highways. 
 
 Connecticut also provides very liberally in the way of 
 taxes for the support of roads. As has already been sug- 
 gested the salary of the highway commissioner is $5,000 per 
 annum. In addition to this he is allowed $8,000 annually for 
 office expenses. An appropriation of $29,000 has been made 
 for the salary, traveling and office expenses of the highway 
 commissioner; $50,000 for engineers, deputies, and inspec- 
 tors; $5,000 for the operation and maintenance of State 
 
302 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 crushing plants ; and $50,000 for making repairs on public 
 roads. 633 
 
 Considering the fact that in addition to the liberal appro- 
 priations for expert services in road building, the State has 
 also authorized the issuing of $4,500,000 in bonds to be ex- 
 pended under the direction of the State Highway Depart- 
 ment at the rate of not to exceed $750,000 per annum it is 
 apparent that Connecticut should be placed in the list of 
 good road States. The relative appropriations given to the 
 towns by the State for the construction of State aid roads 
 has also increased. Prior to 1907 the State had paid two- 
 thirds or three-fourths of the cost, depending upon the 
 taxable valuation of the town, but under the new law the 
 State now pays three-fourths of the cost in towns having 
 a taxable valuation of over $1,250,000 and seven-eighths of 
 the cost in towns having a lower taxable valuation. 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration, authority is 
 vested partly in the counties and partly in the several town- 
 ships. Towns at their annual meetings provide for the 
 repair of highways. If the towns, however, neglect to re- 
 pair their highways the county commissioners have the 
 power to order the repairs made, and in case the selectmen 
 refuse to do the work the same may be done by the county 
 authorities and the cost collected from the town. Any town 
 is authorized to issue bonds if it has incurred an indebted- 
 ness of more than $10,000, but the rate of interest must not 
 exceed six per cent. Finally, the State requires that all 
 property taxes shall be paid in cash. 
 
 DELAWARE 
 
 There are only three counties in the State of Delaware : 
 Kent, Sussex, and New Castle. The Governor, subject to 
 the approval of the Senate, appoints one State highway 
 commissioner for New Castle County and also one for Kent 
 County, each at an annual salary of $1,000. The Levy 
 
APPENDIX 303 
 
 Court of New Castle County also appoints a county com- 
 missioner at a salary of $2,500 per annum. This rather 
 unique arrangement is obviously the result of certain local 
 conditions prevailing in Delaware. In all three counties 
 general authority or jurisdiction over highways is vested in 
 the levy courts which are required to appoint one road 
 supervisor for each hundred, a local unit of government 
 which in a measure resembles the civil township. In New 
 Castle County the State Highway Commission and the Levy 
 Court have joint supervision and control of both State and 
 county roads. 634 
 
 The highway commissioner reports biennially to the legis- 
 lature, is required to give his consent before State aid 
 money is paid, has charge of all work after the contract has 
 been awarded, and appoints a supervisor of construction 
 whose salary is paid by the Levy Court. It is further made 
 the duty of the commissioner to investigate the most prac- 
 ticable methods of constructing roads, make an estimate of 
 cost, and prepare plans and specifications. One-half of the 
 cost of all State aid roads is paid by the county and the 
 other half by the State, the present annual appropriation 
 being $30,000. All road taxes levied in New Castle County 
 must be paid in cash. 
 
 FLORIDA 
 
 Jurisdiction over roads and bridges is vested in the board 
 of county commissioners, each commissioner's district be- 
 ing considered a road district. 635 The county board ap- 
 points three persons in each road district as commissioners 
 of roads and bridges, and may appoint a county road super- 
 intendent to supervise and direct the building and repairing 
 of all public roads in the county. It is made the duty of the 
 road commissioners to lay off the roads in their respective 
 districts and to appoint overseers for each subdivision of 
 the same. 
 
304 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The county commissioners in each county are authorized 
 to levy a road tax not to exceed five mills on the dollar of 
 assessed valuation of real and personal property, provided, 
 however, that in counties not constructing paved, macadam- 
 ized, or hard surfaced roads an additional road tax of not 
 exceeding three mills may be levied to be used solely for 
 the purpose of constructing roads. 636 Counties are also 
 authorized to issue bonds for road purposes, and every 
 able-bodied male citizen not exempt by law is required to 
 work five days each year on the public highways or com- 
 mute for the same at the rate of one dollar per day. 
 
 A law passed in 1911 authorized the formation of road 
 improvement districts on a petition signed by not less than 
 twenty-five per cent of the registered voters. 637 In case 
 said special road and bridge improvement district is formed, 
 the board of county commissioners is required to prepare 
 plans and specifications and let the contract for work to the 
 lowest responsible bidder. Eevenue may be obtained either 
 by a special tax or by the issuing of bonds as determined 
 upon by the people themselves. Finally, it should be stated 
 that convict labor on the public highways is authorized by 
 the laws of Florida, and the road legislation of 1911 pro- 
 vided for a progressive license tax on motor vehicles, to be 
 paid into the road and bridge funds of the various counties. 
 
 GEORGIA 
 
 The board of county commissioners or the so-called 
 ordinary of the county court has jurisdiction over the roads, 
 divides the county into road districts and appoints three 
 commissioners for each road district, who in turn are re- 
 quired to appoint road overseers. 638 It is made the duty of 
 road overseers to superintend the work on the highways. 
 A separate law, however, providing for what is known as 
 the alternative road system, may be adopted by any county 
 on the recommendation of the grand jury. In counties 
 
APPENDIX 305 
 
 adopting this system, the board of county commissioners 
 appoints a superintendent of public roads, together with 
 necessary overseers and guards. All male citizens not ex- 
 empt by law are liable to road duty not exceeding ten days 
 per year, which tax may be commuted at the rate of fifty 
 cents per day. 
 
 The convict labor law enacted in 1908 has received con- 
 siderable publicity and should be briefly outlined. This 
 measure provides that all male felony convicts not required 
 to be kept at the State farm may be employed by the author- 
 ity of the several counties and municipalities upon the 
 public roads, bridges, or other public works. It is made the 
 duty of the Prison Commission to communicate with the 
 county authorities and ascertain those counties desiring to 
 use convict labor. The convicts are apportioned among the 
 counties largely on the basis of population, but under cer- 
 tain conditions there may be exceptions to this rule. The 
 commission is also authorized to purchase road machinery, 
 appliances, and teams to organize road working forces. 
 The county in which convicts are employed shall pay the 
 expenses, including the cost of maintenance and equipment 
 and all material required for the work which must be done 
 in the county. All convicts are placed under the direct 
 supervision of the Prison Commission, which is required to 
 prescribe rules and regulations for governing the same, 
 subject to the approval of the Governor. 
 
 The convict labor law of Georgia has been responsible for 
 a great deal of valuable work on the highways of that State. 
 From the standpoint of the construction and maintenance 
 of permanent roads, there is much to be said in favor of the 
 plan. It should be stated, however, that prison reform 
 workers and humanitarians in general have offered some 
 very serious objections to this very important convict law, 
 or perhaps more particularly to the manner in which it has 
 actually been administered. 
 
 20 
 
306 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The public road fund is made up of the so-called com- 
 mutation tax and a levy of not more than two mills on the 
 dollar of taxable valuation, as determined by the commis- 
 sioners of roads. All able-bodied men, unless exempt by 
 law, are subject to work on the public highways not exceed- 
 ing fifteen days in a year. 
 
 IDAHO 
 
 Jurisdiction over roads and bridges in Idaho is vested: 
 first, in a State Highway Commission composed of the 
 Governor, the State Engineer, and the State Mining In- 
 spector; second, in the boards of county commissioners of 
 the respective counties ; and finally, in road overseers elect- 
 ed from road districts, the boundaries of which are deter- 
 mined by the county board. The members of the highway 
 commission serve without any salary, but are allowed their 
 actual and necessary expenses incurred while performing 
 their official duties. 639 
 
 The State Highway Commission has general supervision 
 of all highways constructed in whole or in part out of the 
 State aid fund and is required to make an itemized report 
 each year to the State Auditor of all disbursements, con- 
 tracts, and transactions. In case the county commissioners 
 refuse or fail to make repairs on any road subject to the 
 jurisdiction of the highway commission, the latter may 
 establish such road as a toll road for a period not exceeding 
 five years. 
 
 Aside from the ordinary road districts determined upon 
 by the board of county commissioners and placed under the 
 control of road overseers, the law provides that any portion 
 of a county with twenty-five or more resident taxpayers may 
 be organized into a special road district. Special districts, 
 as thus defined, are organized by the board of county com- 
 missioners after the project has been approved by the peo- 
 ple at a district election. In special road districts three 
 
APPENDIX 307 
 
 i 
 
 resident good roads commissioners are elected and required 
 to supervise the road work within their districts. The 
 legislature in 1911 authorized the appointment of a county 
 road supervisor by the board of county commissioners. 640 
 
 An annual property tax of not less than one nor more 
 than six mills is levied for road purposes by the board of 
 county commissioners. The board, however, may also levy 
 a special road tax not exceeding ten mills on the dollar on 
 all taxable property for road purposes. 
 
 In road districts, with the consent of two-thirds of the 
 qualified electors, the road commissioners are given author- 
 ity to issue bonds not to exceed twenty-five per cent of the 
 assessed valuation of all real property within the district. 
 Every male inhabitant between the ages of twenty-one and 
 fifty is required to perform two days labor annually on the 
 road or commute for the same by the payment of four dol- 
 lars. All road taxes in contract road districts must be paid 
 in cash and the board of county commissioners may require 
 convicts to perform labor on the highways under certain 
 conditions. Finally, it should be noted that by recent acts 
 appropriations have been made by the legislature to build 
 certain special highways, as for instance an appropriation 
 of $5,000 to complete the Atlantic road. 
 
 ILLINOIS 
 
 The State Highway Commission is composed of three 
 persons appointed by the Governor, with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Senate, to hold office for the term of two years 
 and receive no compensation except for actual and neces- 
 sary expenses. The commission is required to appoint a 
 State Engineer, carries on experimental work in road build- 
 ing, investigates methods of construction, kinds of road 
 material and systems of drainage best adapted to meet cer- 
 tain conditions, and prepares a uniform system of blanks 
 to be used by local commissioners of highways. 641 
 
308 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 State aid is therefore given in the form of expert service, 
 but in addition the State supplies stone, crushed at the peni- 
 tentiary and reformatory institutions, and also road ma- 
 chinery. Local highway commissioners may apply for 
 State aid, but if aid is granted they are required to use the 
 material and machinery according to rules formulated by 
 the highway commission. 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration a dual sys- 
 tem of supervision and control prevails in Illinois. In 
 counties having the township-county system three highway 
 commissioners are alternately elected for a term of three 
 years. In counties having the county-township system of 
 local government the county board creates road districts of 
 convenient size, three highway commissioners being elected 
 in each district. The highway commissioners, in either 
 case, have general charge and supervision of the construc- 
 tion and maintenance of the roads and bridges of their 
 respective townships or districts. 
 
 From the standpoint of revenue, Illinois also has a dual 
 and somewhat complicated system. About one-half of the 
 townships of Illinois require the payment of road taxes in 
 cash, while the other half still permit payment in labor. In 
 townships under the cash system highway commissioners 
 may levy an annual tax of not to exceed six mills, while in 
 townships under the labor system the tax limitation is four 
 mills. A township may also vote on the question of borrow- 
 ing money for constructing hard roads by issuing bonds, 
 which bonded debt, however, is not to exceed the sum of 
 $35,000. Finally, the Board of Prison Industries may be 
 required by the highway commission to employ convicts in 
 the manufacture of tile and culverts suitable for draining 
 the wagon roads of the State, in the preparation of road 
 material, and in the manufacture of machinery, tools, and 
 other necessary appliances for the building and repair of 
 highways. 
 
APPENDIX 309 
 
 INDIANA 
 
 Jurisdiction over highways in the State of Indiana is 
 vested in the board of county commissioners and the town- 
 ship trustees. 642 It is made the duty of the township trus- 
 tees to divide their townships into four or six road districts 
 depending upon the area. A road supervisor is elected an- 
 nually for each district. Said officer is required to construct 
 and maintain roads and bridges according to the directions 
 of the township trustees and to see that roads are properly 
 dragged whenever their condition makes it advisable. 
 
 The system of raising revenue for highway purposes is 
 somewhat complicated. A general tax of three mills is 
 levied annually by the township trustees and an additional 
 tax of one mill may be levied for bridges, subject to the 
 approval of the board of county commissioners. A tax of 
 one mill may also be levied for every ten miles of free, 
 gravel, macadamized, turnpike roads completed in any 
 county, provided that counties having less than fifty miles 
 of such roads may be authorized to levy a three mill tax for 
 road purposes in a sum not exceeding four per cent of the 
 assessed valuation of the county. Both the poll and prop- 
 erty road tax may be paid in either money or labor. 
 
 Bonds may be issued by the board of county commission- 
 ers to an amount not exceeding two per cent of the assessed 
 valuation of the county. Free gravel roads may be con- 
 structed either by assessment, according to benefits re- 
 ceived, or by taxation. If constructed on the basis of 
 benefits received, the board of county commissioners ap- 
 points three disinterested freeholders as viewers and a 
 competent engineer to lay out the proposed highway and 
 assess both the benefits and damages; provided, however, 
 that no lands shall be assessed for benefits that are more 
 than two miles from the contemplated improvement. Indi- 
 ana has practically an unlimited amount of stone and 
 gravel and, largely as a result of this fact, has a very high 
 per cent of permanent roads. 
 
310 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 KANSAS 
 
 The State of Kansas does not have a highway commis- 
 sion, but has created the office of county engineer, and the 
 State Engineer at the Agricultural College gives advice and 
 prepares plans and specifications for roads and bridges. 
 The county engineer inspects all road work, classifies roads, 
 investigates road materials in different sections of the 
 State, and prepares plans and specifications for bridges and 
 permanent highway improvements. 643 
 
 When sixty per cent of the abutting land owners file a 
 petition, the board of county commissioners may author- 
 ize the improvement of the highways under the direction of 
 a superintendent appointed by them. In such cases seventy- 
 five per cent of the expense is paid by the land owners and 
 twenty-five per cent by the township; although under cer- 
 tain conditions the county may pay a portion of the expense. 
 The township, in fact, is given considerable authority in 
 road matters. All roads are under the control of the town- 
 ship board, subject to the authority of the county engineer. 
 In other words, there is a dual system of township and 
 county supervision in Kansas, much the same as there is in 
 Iowa. 
 
 From the standpoint of revenue for road purposes, both 
 the township and the county are granted substantial author- 
 ity. The county commissioners may levy an annual road 
 tax of not more than three mills except on real estate in 
 certain cities. In the second place the county commissioners 
 may also levy a tax of not more than one mill on all taxable 
 property in each township ; and at the same time the town- 
 ship board may levy a road tax of not more than three mills 
 to improve the roads in the township. Moreover, what is 
 called a good roads tax of not more than one mill may be 
 levied by the county commissioners for a period of not less 
 than five years, subject to the approval of a majority of the 
 voters in the county, the income from which tax must be 
 
APPENDIX 311 
 
 expended for the construction of hard surfaced roads. 
 Finally, certain special assessments are authorized, county 
 road bonds may be issued up to twenty per cent of the con- 
 struction price of a permanent improvement, and a road 
 poll tax of three dollars is levied which may be paid either 
 in money or in labor. 
 
 KENTUCKY 
 
 The fiscal court, so called, of each county has general 
 supervision of roads and bridges. The county judge divides 
 his county into road precincts, and appoints a resident over- 
 seer to have general charge of the work in each precinct. 
 In counties where the funds for the working of the roads 
 are raised by taxation, the fiscal court may appoint a county 
 supervisor, a plan similar to the system adopted in Iowa in 
 the Code of 1851. The county road supervisor thus appoint- 
 ed lets contracts to the lowest bidder, inspects all road 
 work, and may hire men to work under his own supervision 
 in case he desires not to let the work on contract. It is 
 made the duty of the overseers to assist the county super- 
 visor and to look after the roads in their respective road 
 districts. 644 
 
 The tax levy is placed in the hands of the fiscal court, 
 which may levy a tax of not more than five mills annually 
 for road and bridge purposes, and also a per capita tax of 
 not more than one dollar for the support of the same fund. 
 In addition, the court may require all male citizens not ex- 
 empt by law to work on the roads not more than six days in 
 the year, and finally, provision is made for convict labor on 
 the public highways. 
 
 An amendment to the Constitution of Kentucky author- 
 izes the State to extend credit to any county for public road 
 purposes, but limits the amount of indebtedness which a 
 county may incur for this purpose to five per cent of the 
 value of all taxable property located therein. 
 
312 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 LOUISIANA 
 
 According to the provisions of an act passed in 1910 the 
 State Board of Engineers is authorized and required to 
 appoint a competent State Highway Engineer and fix his 
 salary at a sum not to exceed $5,000 per annum. 645 The 
 State Board of Engineers is also required to appoint such 
 assistant engineers and other help as may be necessary to 
 establish, construct, and maintain public highways and 
 bridges. Among other things the State Engineer is given 
 the right to reject any or all bids if a good cause exists. 
 Otherwise he is supposed to award the contract to the low- 
 est responsible bidder, the same to be subject to the ap- 
 proval of the police jury or of the mayor and council or 
 other governing authority. With the approval of the State 
 Board of Engineers he may also purchase for the State 
 rock crushers, steam rollers, and other road machinery, 
 tools, implements, and draft animals which may be needed 
 for the purposes of highway construction. It is thus ap- 
 parent that Louisiana has made great progress in the 
 important work of road administration and at the present 
 time is entitled to be placed in the list of good road 
 States. 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration, public roads 
 are placed under the jurisdiction of the police juries, who 
 are required to divide their parishes into road districts and 
 appoint an overseer for each district. 646 Police juries are 
 authorized to levy special taxes for road purposes on all real 
 and personal property in the parishes, said tax to be limited 
 to fifteen dollars per annum on each person. Under certain 
 conditions negotiable bonds may be voted by a drainage dis- 
 trict, parish, or municipal corporation for the purpose of 
 paving and improving roads. Finally, all able-bodied male 
 citizens, unless exempt by law, are required to work not to 
 exceed twelve days per annum on the public roads or com- 
 mute for the same at the rate of one dollar per day. 
 
APPENDIX 313 
 
 MAINE 
 
 A State Highway Department was created in 1907, the 
 Governor being legally authorized, with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Council, to appoint one commissioner of high- 
 ways who must be a civil engineer, holds office for a term of 
 four years, and receives a salary of $2,500 per annum. 647 
 
 The commissioner of highways is clothed with large pow- 
 ers and authority. First of all, he must give his approval 
 before work is commenced on any State road and no State 
 aid is paid until the work has been performed to his satis- 
 faction. All bids are subject to his approval and he may 
 appoint inspectors to supervise the construction of all roads 
 which are built on the contract basis. Finally, the State 
 Highway Commissioner is required to compile statistics, 
 prepare maps, plats, and in various other ways disseminate 
 information as to the best methods of highway construction. 
 In this connection he conducts annual meetings in each 
 county to discuss the question of good roads. 
 
 A very comprehensive system of State aid has also been 
 worked out in Maine. A State tax of one-third of one mill 
 is levied on all property in the State, which tax in 1910 
 amounted to about $131,000. In order to receive State aid, 
 towns and other subdivisions of the State are required 
 each year to set aside a certain part of the road fund for the 
 permanent improvement of highways under the supervision 
 of the State Highway Commissioner. The amount thus re- 
 quired depends upon the taxable valuation. For every 
 dollar thus set apart by the various subdivisions of local 
 government, the State gives from seventy-five cents to two 
 dollars, depending also upon the taxable valuation. Where 
 the taxable valuation is $100,000 or less, the State will give 
 two dollars for every dollar locally raised; where it is be- 
 tween $100,000 and $200,000 the State will give $1.50 ; where 
 it is between $250,000 and $500,000 the State will give $1.25 ; 
 and finally, where the taxable valuation is between $500,000 
 
314 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 and $1,000,000 the State will give seventy-five cents for 
 every dollar locally raised. 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration, jurisdiction 
 over county roads is vested in the court of county commis- 
 sioners, and over town roads in the selectmen or municipal 
 officers. The county commissioners are given authority to 
 designate State roads, but upon petition signed by a ma- 
 jority of the local voters of a certain town this matter may 
 be brought before the State Highway Commissioner. State 
 roads, the same as other roads, when once completed, are 
 maintained by the cities and towns through which they pass. 
 The county commissioners, however, may repair highways 
 at the expense of the town if the latter declines or neglects 
 to do so. Each town at its annual meeting elects from one 
 to three road commissioners, who are required to go over 
 the roads of their town and see that they are in good con- 
 dition and keep an accurate account of all expenditures 
 made by them. Funds for the building and repair of roads 
 and bridges are raised annually at the town meeting. All 
 property taxes must be paid in cash and county convicts 
 may be used to break stone for the repair of the public 
 highways. 
 
 MAEYLAND 
 
 The State Highway Department is composed of three 
 competent persons paid a regular annual salary ranging 
 from $2,000 to $2,500 per annum, and the Governor and 
 two men from the State Geological and Economic Sur- 
 vey as ex-officio members. The latter receive no com- 
 pensation. The commission is authorized to appoint a chief 
 engineer and as many assistants as are necessary. 648 
 
 Large powers and authority are conferred upon the high- 
 way commission, including the preparation of a definite 
 plan or system of State roads, a map of the State which 
 must be filed with the county commissioner of every county, 
 
APPENDIX 315 
 
 plans and specifications for permanent highway construc- 
 tion which must also be furnished to the county com- 
 missioners. Finally, the commission is authorized to let 
 contracts, supervise the work of construction, and must 
 keep all State roads in good condition. 
 
 Bonds have been issued in the sum of $6,000,000, not more 
 than $1,000,000 of which may be expended in any one year. 
 It is also stipulated that not more than one-half of the cost 
 of building a highway shall be paid out of the State treas- 
 ury, the amount received by each county depending upon 
 its mileage of roads as compared with the total mileage in 
 the State. Local revenues for road purposes are levied by 
 the boards of county commissioners. Some counties levy 
 special taxes for road purposes and others use the general 
 county fund for the building of roads. All property taxes 
 must be paid in cash and the boards of county commission- 
 ers may authorize the working of county prisoners on the 
 public highways. Finally, the license tax on automobiles 
 is paid into the State treasury, one-fifth of the same being 
 expended in Baltimore and the remaining four-fifths being 
 distributed among the counties for repairs on State aid 
 roads. 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 Perhaps no State in the Union has made greater progress 
 in the construction of permanent roads than Massachusetts. 
 The State Highway Commission consists of three members 
 appointed by the Governor for a term of three years, at an 
 annual salary of $2,500, except the chairman who receives 
 $3,500 per annum. The members are required to devote all 
 of their time to the work, receive their necessary traveling 
 expenses, and may appoint as many clerks and expert en- 
 gineers as are necessary. 649 
 
 Among other duties, the commission is required to pre- 
 pare maps showing both the location of public roads and the 
 
316 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 places where the best road materials may be found. It is 
 given full control over State highways, prepares plans and 
 specifications for the same, accepts or rejects all bids, and is 
 required to hold at least one meeting in each county annual- 
 ly for the purpose of discussing the question of good roads. 
 
 In 1907 a bond issue of $2,500,000 was authorized, not 
 more than $500,000 to be expended in any one year. In 
 addition to this large amount of money for the building of 
 permanent roads, Massachusetts has made very liberal pro- 
 vision for the same purpose by taxation. For example in 
 1908 the legislature appropriated $150,000 for maintenance, 
 in addition to $85,000 which at the same time was available 
 from the motor vehicle fees. The engineers of the com- 
 mission estimated that over $600,000 was necessary to put 
 the State highways in good condition. In 1909 the legis- 
 lature appropriated $250,000 and during the same year 
 $154,000 was collected in motor vehicle fees. In 1910 the 
 sum of $316,000 was available from the tax on motor ve- 
 hicles and the total amount spent for various permanent 
 improvements was $504,000, of which amount $200,000 was 
 available from the regular tax levy. In 1911 the commis- 
 sion received a direct State appropriation of $200,000 for 
 the maintenance of State highways and it also had available 
 $300,000 from motor vehicle fees for the same purpose. 
 
 A county, city, or town desiring State aid is required to 
 make application for the same, whereupon the commission 
 prepares a plan which is filed with the local authorities. 
 One-fourth of any money expended by the State for the 
 construction of State roads must be returned to the State 
 treasury with interest at the rate of three per cent, the 
 money thus returned being applied to the regular appro- 
 priation to be expended by the commission. Not more than 
 fifty dollars per mile is assessed upon the town or city where 
 a State road is located, to be applied for the purpose of 
 maintaining and repairing the same. 
 
APPENDIX 317 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration the county 
 commissioners have general authority over the highways of 
 the various counties. At the same time the selectmen of the 
 towns exercise both original and concurrent jurisdiction 
 with the county commissioners over all highways located 
 therein. Each town may annually elect a road commis- 
 sioner or a surveyor of highways, the latter having ex- 
 clusive control in the matter of repairs of roads and bridges 
 without being subject to the authority of the selectmen. 
 Local funds for road purposes are appropriated at the 
 annual town meeting and the counties are required to assess 
 on the towns the amount necessary to meet the State appro- 
 priation. No statute labor tax exists in Massachusetts, but 
 convict labor may be employed within the various prisons 
 under certain conditions and limitations. 
 
 MICHIGAN 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner of Michigan is nom- 
 inated and elected by the people for a term of four years 
 and receives an annual salary of $2,500. The reader will 
 note that this is an exception to the general rule which 
 provides for the appointment of such officials, a method 
 which, it is believed, is much better adapted to the peculiar 
 functions and responsibility of such a department. The 
 highway commissioner may appoint a civil engineer and 
 such other assistants as may be necessary. 650 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner possesses a large 
 measure of supervision and control over the highways of 
 the State. He may require local officials to report from 
 time to time such facts as he may deem necessary, furnishes 
 plans and specifications for State aid roads, prepares maps 
 showing the location of highways and of road materials, 
 inspects road work, holds road conventions or institutes in 
 the various counties which are attended by county and 
 township highway commissioners, gives expert advice, and 
 
318 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 sends engineers to the various townships and counties when 
 the same is justified by the importance of the work. 
 Finally, the highway commissioner may withhold State aid 
 if roads are not kept in good condition. 
 
 A regular system of State aid has been established. A 
 county or township, or both acting together, may under 
 certain conditions petition the highway commissioner for 
 the improvement of a certain road or roads. The allotment 
 to any township or county, however, is not paid until the 
 work has been inspected and found to be up to the standard 
 required by law. State aid is paid on the following basis : 
 for clay gravel, $250 ; for gravel, $500 ; for stone gravel or 
 gravel stone, $750 ; and for stone roads, $1,000 per mile. No 
 township is permitted to receive State aid in any one year 
 for the construction of more than two miles of road. 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration, jurisdiction 
 over highways is vested partly in township and partly in 
 county authorities. The so-called county road system may 
 be adopted by a vote of the people. Where this system, 
 which represents a larger measure of administrative cen- 
 tralization, is adopted not more than three county road 
 commissioners are elected in a county. These county road 
 commissioners are vested with large powers over all roads 
 located within their county, including the right to determine 
 what are county highways, to macadamize, drain, or im- 
 prove any road under their control, fix the amount of tax to 
 be levied for road purposes, with certain restrictions and 
 limitations, disapprove the expenditures planned by the 
 board of road supervisors, and be responsible for keeping 
 the roads in good condition. In other words, counties 
 adopting this centralized plan of road supervision would 
 seem to be placed upon a very efficient basis from the stand- 
 point of obtaining the best practical results for the amount 
 of money expended. 
 
 The law also authorizes two or more organized townships 
 
APPENDIX 319 
 
 or any one or more townships and one or more contiguous 
 villages or cities to form a good roads district. Thus, 
 Michigan has adopted a somewhat complicated system of 
 supervision and control of highways, having had in view, 
 however, the importance of some system of efficient, central- 
 ized administration. 651 
 
 A large amount of revenue, both State and local, is pro- 
 vided for the building and maintaining of roads and bridges. 
 In the first place the State has made an annual appropria- 
 tion of $250,000, of which amount $10,000 is set aside for the 
 support of the State Highway Department, the remainder 
 to constitute the State road fund. Counties which have 
 adopted the so-called county road system may levy taxes 
 for highway purposes on the following basis : not more than 
 three mills where the assessed valuation does not exceed 
 $20,000,000 ; two mills where the assessed valuation is more 
 than $20,000,000, but less than $50,000,000; one mill where 
 the assessed valuation is more than $50,000,000 ; and finally, 
 where the assessed valuation is more than $100,000,000, the 
 tax is limited to fifty cents on each $1,000 of assessed valu- 
 ation. 
 
 In the civil townships two distinct taxes are levied for 
 road purposes : one, known as the road repair tax, which is 
 limited to five mills except under certain special conditions ; 
 and the other, known as the highway improvement tax, 
 which varies from one to five mills depending upon the as- 
 sessed valuation. Provision is also made by law for the 
 issue of both county and township bonds for road purposes, 
 the issue by the county not to exceed three per cent and that 
 of the township not to exceed five per cent of the assessed 
 valuation. 
 
 Statute labor has been abolished in Michigan, but under 
 certain conditions the board of supervisors of any county 
 may require convicts to work upon the public roads under 
 the direction of the township highway commission, the pris- 
 oners being under the control of the sheriff. 
 
320 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 MINNESOTA 
 
 The State Highway Commission of Minnesota is com- 
 posed of three members appointed by the Governor for a 
 term of three years, not more than two members to belong 
 to the same political party. The commissioners serve with- 
 out compensation, but are authorized to appoint a secretary 
 who must be a civil engineer and practical road builder, 
 and such other assistants as from time to time may be 
 necessary. 652 
 
 The commission must inquire into the best methods of 
 road construction in other States, hold public meetings 
 throughout the State for the purpose of discussing the good 
 roads question, ascertain the location of road materials, 
 report annually to the Governor the number of miles of 
 State road constructed during the year, distribute the State 
 aid fund among the counties, prepare rules and regulations 
 for the construction and improvement of State roads, and in 
 fact exercise general supervision and control of the public 
 highways of the State. The State Engineer, when it is 
 practicable, is required to make all necessary surveys and 
 prepare plans and specifications for State roads. In cases 
 where plans, specifications, and surveys are not made by the 
 State Engineer, the same must be reported to him. In fact, 
 much of the authority in such cases is vested in the county 
 board, subject to the general supervision of the State High- 
 way Commission. 
 
 Minnesota has provided very liberally for the various 
 road and bridge funds. A tax of one-fourth of a mill on 
 each dollar of assessed valuation is set aside as a State aid 
 fund. No county may receive less than one-half per cent or 
 more than three per cent of this fund. In addition to this 
 amount the sum of $300,000 is annually appropriated to aid 
 in the construction of bridges, not more than one-third of the 
 cost of building any bridge to be paid out of the State aid 
 fund. The last General Assembly made an annual appro- 
 
APPENDIX 321 
 
 priation of $150,000 for State aid and the expenses of the 
 commission. The county board makes an annual levy of not 
 more than one mill on the taxable valuation for general road 
 and bridge purposes, and the township authorities may also 
 levy a tax of not more than one mill on the dollar of as- 
 sessed valuation, which tax, however, may be paid in labor. 
 Finally, both townships and counties may issue bonds under 
 certain conditions and restrictions. 
 
 In 1907 a law was enacted providing for a more central- 
 ized system of road administration. A county superintend- 
 ent of roads and a township inspector were given general 
 supervision and control of highways in counties having less 
 than 200,000 inhabitants. 653 This law, however, which no 
 doubt would have been a great step in advance, was declared 
 unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on the ground that 
 the classification adopted was purely arbitrary. 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration, therefore, 
 the present system in Minnesota provides simply for 
 ordinary township overseers except in townships that have 
 voted to pay all road taxes in cash. In such cases a town- 
 ship highway inspector is appointed who must be a com- 
 petent road builder, but the cash system now prevails in not 
 more than one-fourth of the townships of the State. 
 
 MISSISSIPPI 
 
 The State of Mississippi has not provided for a highway 
 commission and, in common with the majority of the south- 
 ern States, has not made very great progress in the good 
 roads movement. Each county is divided into five districts 
 for the election of members of the county board of super- 
 visors. The supervisor of each district is given general 
 supervision over the public highways and the board of 
 supervisors is authorized to divide the county into what is 
 termed road links and appoint one overseer to have general 
 charge of the road work. 654 The board of county super- 
 
 21 
 
322 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 visors, however, may employ a competent person to serve 
 as a county road and bridge commissioner thus providing 
 for a somewhat more definite system of responsible admin- 
 istration. The board may also wort the public roads by 
 contract. 
 
 Eevenues for the road and bridge fund are provided for : 
 first, by what is called a commutation tax; second, by a 
 property tax of not more than three mills on all taxable 
 property within that part of the county subject to the con- 
 tract system ; third, by an additional tax of not more than 
 one mill on all taxable property levied under certain special 
 conditions ; and fourth, by bonds which may be issued to an 
 amount not to exceed five per cent of the assessed property 
 valuation of the county. 655 The county supervisor may 
 order a road to be macadamized, provided that one-third of 
 the cost shall be paid by the owners of the lands benefited. 
 All male citizens not exempt by law are required to work on 
 the public highways not more than ten days or pay in lieu 
 thereof the sum of five dollars. Finally, convict labor is 
 also provided for by the statutes of Mississippi. 
 
 MISSOUEI 
 
 Missouri belongs to the small group of States which give 
 the county court jurisdiction over the public highways in 
 counties not under township organization. The court may 
 divide the county into road districts, appointing a road 
 overseer for each district, but is required to appoint a 
 county highway commissioner to inspect aiid supervise all 
 the roads of the county. In counties under township organ- 
 ization the county engineer has supervision over all the 
 public roads and over the road overseers of the civil town- 
 ships. 656 
 
 Eevenue for the support of the road and bridge funds is 
 derived from the following sources : first, all money accru- 
 ing to the State from any levy for road purposes constitutes 
 
APPENDIX 323 
 
 the State road fund and must be used for the construction 
 of permanent highways ; second, the county courts may levy 
 a tax of not more than two mills on the dollar of assessed 
 valuation; third, a special tax of not more than two and 
 one-half mills may be levied in counties not under township 
 organization for road and bridge purposes; fourth, town- 
 ship boards may also levy a tax of not more than two and 
 one-half mills on the assessed valuation; and fifth, bonds 
 may be issued by the county court after being authorized by 
 a two-thirds vote of the people at a special election, pro- 
 vided that the total debt of the county does not exceed five 
 per cent of the assessed valuation of all property in the 
 county. 657 Special road districts, however, may be formed 
 and authorized to issue bonds. Finally, the county court 
 in all counties not under township organization may levy a 
 poll tax of not less than three dollars nor more than six 
 dollars which may be worked out or paid in cash. 
 
 In the construction of permanent roads Missouri pos- 
 sesses a very unique system of tax distribution. The State 
 pays one-half, the citizens benefited pay one-fourth, and the 
 county or other local district pays the remainder. The ap- 
 portionment of the State fund is based on the assessed valu- 
 ation, but no county may receive more than three per cent 
 of this fund in any one year. 
 
 MONTANA 
 
 Montana, in common with practically all of the States 
 west of the Missouri River, has the commissioner system of 
 county government. The county boards have general super- 
 vision over the highways, divide their counties into suitable 
 road districts, and appoint supervisors for the same. 658 
 The county commissioners may let by contract the con- 
 struction and improvement of highways and bridges when 
 the amount of work required costs more than two hundred 
 dollars. 
 
324 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 The revenue for the improvement of highways and the 
 construction and repair of bridges is provided for by a tax 
 of not less than one nor more than three mills on all taxable 
 property and by a special road tax of two dollars which 
 may be paid by one day's labor on the roads. Finally, the 
 board of county commissioners is authorized to issue bonds 
 for the construction of bridges and highways. 
 
 NEBRASKA 
 
 The county boards of commissioners have jurisdiction 
 over the public roads where the township organization does 
 not exist, and are required to divide their respective coun- 
 ties into convenient road districts, one road overseer being 
 elected for each district. 659 In counties under township 
 organization, however, jurisdiction over township roads is 
 vested in the township board. The county board may ap- 
 point a county highway commissioner, who must be an 
 experienced road builder, and who is given general super- 
 vision of district road overseers, and is further required to 
 have all main traveled roads dragged regularly at a cost of 
 not more than one dollar per mile for each dragging. 660 
 
 From the standpoint of the distribution of road funds the 
 laws of Nebraska are very instructive. The county levy, so 
 called, includes a tax of not more than five mills for road 
 purposes and four mills for bridge purposes, a special tax of 
 not more than five mills to pay outstanding road warrants, 
 and on the petition of interested parties a road improve- 
 ment levy may also be made. One-half of all money col- 
 lected constitutes the county road fund and is divided 
 equally among the commissioner districts. The other one- 
 half makes up what is called a district road fund and must 
 be expended in the road district where it was collected. 
 
 The civil townships are also authorized to levy a tax of 
 not more than ten mills on the dollar for roads and two mills 
 on the dollar for bridges. Every male inhabitant, unless 
 
APPENDIX 325 
 
 exempt by law, is required to pay a poll tax of two dollars 
 and fifty cents which, together with all other road taxes, 
 must be paid in cash. Finally, bonds may be issued by any 
 county, township, precinct, city, or village for constructing 
 a State boundary road after the same has been approved by 
 three-fifths of the voters at a special election ; and State aid 
 is also given for constructing roads under certain con- 
 ditions. 
 
 NEVADA 
 
 Jurisdiction over highways in the State of Nevada is 
 vested in local road inspectors or supervisors, the board of 
 county commissioners, and a State Engineer. 661 The county 
 board is required to district the county and may appoint one 
 road inspector for each district. In any county polling 
 three thousand votes or more at the last general election, 
 however, the board of county commissioners shall divide the 
 county into road districts and appoint one road supervisor 
 in each district to serve during the pleasure of the board. 
 
 Revenue for the support of roads and bridges is secured 
 through taxes levied by the board of county commissioners, 
 a tax of not more than two and one-half mills being levied 
 for highway purposes ; but upon the petition of a majority 
 of the property holders of any district an additional levy of 
 three mills may be made, which tax may either be paid in 
 cash or worked out on the highways. Finally, a poll tax of 
 three dollars is also levied for the use of the State and 
 county, and a system of convict labor is provided. 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE 
 
 The Governor and Council constitute the State Highway 
 Commission of New Hampshire. 662 The commission is 
 authorized to appoint a State Engineer, fix his salary, and 
 must make a biennial report to the legislature embodying 
 a statement of expenditures. The Governor and Council, 
 
326 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 acting as a highway commission, are also required to fur- 
 nish the services of any engineer in the employ of the State 
 for consultation and advice, must provide plans and specifi- 
 cations for any work paid for partly out of State funds, and 
 make rules and regulations governing the question of State 
 aid. The law requiring all State aid work to be done ac- 
 cording to specifications furnished by the highway com- 
 mission was enacted in 1907. 663 
 
 Each town desiring State aid must make application for 
 the same through the board of county commissioners and set 
 apart a certain amount for the improvement of its main 
 highways under the advice and direction of the State En- 
 gineer. The amount 'that must be set apart varies from 
 twenty-five cents to one dollar for every $1,000 of valuation, 
 depending upon the total assessed valuation of the town; 
 and the amount in turn appropriated by the State varies 
 from twenty cents to three dollars for each dollar set apart 
 by the locality, also depending upon the assessed valuation 
 of the town. The amount thus apportioned by the State and 
 the localities for the building of permanent roads is known 
 as the joint fund. No part of this fund may be expended 
 within the " compact portion" of a city or village of more 
 than 2500 population, and it is further stipulated that all 
 highways improved by the joint fund must be kept in good 
 repair at local expense in a manner satisfactory to the State 
 Highway Commission. 
 
 From the standpoint of local supervision, jurisdiction 
 over highways is vested in the commissioners of the counties 
 and in the selectmen of the towns. In common with the 
 other New England States, the township is a very important 
 unit of local government in New Hampshire. Ee venue is 
 obtained from both State and local taxes and by the issuance 
 of bonds. The State annually appropriates $125,000 as a 
 permanent highway fund, and bonds have also been issued 
 to the amount of $1,000,000. Furthermore, each town at its 
 
APPENDIX 327 
 
 annual meeting raises and appropriates a sum not less than 
 one-fourth of one per cent of the valuation of all polls and 
 rateable estate on which taxes are paid. Each town, how- 
 ever, may raise as much more as is necessary, but not to 
 exceed fifty dollars per mile, for the repair of roads and 
 bridges. Finally, the law provides that sixty-five per cent 
 of the fees and fines collected from the motor vehicle law 
 shall be used for the maintenance of trunk line roads and 
 thirty-five per cent for the maintenance of roads which are 
 not trunk lines. 
 
 NEW JEESEY 
 
 A commissioner of public roads is appointed by the Gov- 
 ernor, with the consent of the Senate, for a term of three 
 years and receives an annual salary of $5,000. An addi- 
 tional allowance for clerk hire and the employment of super- 
 visors and engineers is made. The commissioner of 
 highways collects data regarding the improvement and 
 construction of roads, makes an annual report to the legis- 
 lature, awards contracts for the improvement of roads 
 constructed partly out of State aid, must approve all plans 
 and specifications, and may reject either the contract itself 
 or the plans and specifications if he believes that the best 
 interests of the county require it. In other words, plans 
 and specifications for so-called county roads are prepared 
 by the board of freeholders of the county, but must be ap- 
 proved by the State Highway Commissioner. 664 
 
 The method of distributing road taxes in New Jersey is 
 also worthy of careful study. One-third of the cost of 
 building county roads is paid by the State, fifty-six and two- 
 thirds per cent by the county, and ten per cent by the town- 
 ship. New Jersey was the first State in the Union to begin 
 the policy of State aid, establishing that policy in 1891, and 
 since that time the sum of $3,301,595.10 has been paid out of 
 the State treasury for this purpose. The effect of the State 
 
328 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 aid policy and the more centralized plan of road adminis- 
 tration has been very marked. Out of a total of 14,842 
 miles of public highway, 3377 miles have been improved. 
 About 1562 miles were improved under the State aid law 
 down to December 31, 1910. 
 
 From the standpoint of local supervision, the county 
 board of chosen freeholders has jurisdiction over county 
 roads and the township committee of each township has 
 jurisdiction over the township roads. The boards of chosen 
 freeholders of the various counties are authorized to con- 
 struct and repair certain county roads and pay for the same 
 by levying a special tax, securing temporary loans, or by 
 issuing bonds to be met by a special tax levy. Such bonds, 
 however, must not run more than thirty years and bear not 
 to exceed five per cent interest. All road taxes are required 
 to be paid in cash. 
 
 At the present time the General Assembly annually 
 appropriates about $400,000 for what is known as new 
 construction work. Up to October 31, 1911, the amount 
 received from the motor vehicle tax and distributed for road 
 repair work was about $200,000. Indeed, the annual ex- 
 penditure for the construction and repair of roads by both 
 State and counties now exceeds $200,000, exclusive of the 
 large amount expended by townships, boroughs, and cities. 
 
 NEW MEXICO 
 
 The State Highway Commission of New Mexico is com- 
 posed of three members : the Governor, the Commissioner 
 of Public Lands, and the State Engineer, all of whom serve 
 without compensation. 665 The commission has general 
 supervision of all highways and bridges in the State con- 
 structed or maintained either in whole or in part out of the 
 State aid fund. The State Engineer also has supervision of 
 all county bridges built by contract, the cost of which is 
 more than $1,000. 
 
APPENDIX 329 
 
 In the various counties the highways are placed under the 
 jurisdiction of the county commissioners who are required 
 to divide their counties into road districts and appoint a 
 road overseer for each district. 666 In 1907 the road law 
 was so amended as to prevent any county from having more 
 than three road districts. 
 
 The State road fund is obtained by levying an annual tax 
 of not more than one mill on each dollar of taxable property 
 in the State. The boards of county commissioners are 
 authorized to levy a tax for road purposes of not more than 
 three mills on the dollar. All able-bodied men not exempt 
 are required to pay a road poll tax of three dollars, or in 
 lieu thereof work three days on the public highways. 
 Finally, convict labor is provided for under certain restric- 
 tions and limitations. 
 
 NEW YOEK 
 
 The Department of Highways is composed of three com- 
 missioners appointed by the Governor with the consent of 
 the Senate for a term of six years at salaries ranging from 
 five to six thousand dollars. At least one commissioner 
 must belong to the minority party and one is required to be 
 a civil engineer and an experienced road builder. 667 
 
 The State Highway Commission of New York is clothed 
 with very large power and authority, which fact is primarily 
 responsible for the great progress of the good roads move- 
 ment in that State during the last few years. The com- 
 mission has supervision over all highways and bridges 
 improved either in whole or in part out of State funds j 
 prescribes rules relating to the duties of division engineers, 
 district, county or town superintendents of highways ; aids 
 local road officers in establishing grades and drainage sys- 
 tems ; prepares plans and specifications for both roads and 
 bridges when requested to do so by local authorities; in- 
 vestigates methods of road construction; and holds annual 
 
330 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 meetings in each county or district throughout the State in 
 order to furnish information regarding the best methods of 
 highway construction and the proper interpretation of the 
 highway law. Finally, it is made the duty of the State 
 Highway Commission to divide the State into not more than 
 six divisions, assigning to each a division engineer who 
 must also be an experienced road builder. 
 
 New York has established a very liberal State aid policy. 
 Eecently $50,000,000 in bonds was issued for that purpose. 
 Application for State aid must be made through the county 
 board of supervisors. If the consent of the highway com- 
 mission is obtained, plans and specifications are prepared 
 by the division engineer and submitted to the proper district 
 or county superintendent of roads for examination. The 
 board of supervisors may make changes in the plans with 
 the consent of the highway commission. 
 
 The amount of State aid granted to the several townships 
 varies from fifty to one hundred per cent of the amount of 
 taxes raised in said township, depending upon the assessed 
 valuation. The cost of building State roads is borne en- 
 tirely by the State; while fifteen per cent of the cost of 
 building county roads is borne by the town, thirty-five per 
 cent by the county, and fifty per cent by the State. In other 
 words, the State pays all the cost of constructing State 
 roads, fifty per cent of the cost of constructing county roads, 
 and distributes aid among the civil townships on the liberal 
 basis outlined above. 
 
 The boards of supervisors of the respective counties have 
 general jurisdiction over the roads of their counties, while 
 the commissioners of highways of the civil towns have the 
 care and supervision of all highways and bridges located 
 therein. Towns that have adopted the so-called money 
 system raise a tax for road purposes equivalent to at least 
 one-half of the value at the commutation rates of the high- 
 way labor which would be assessed under the labor system. 
 
APPENDIX 331 
 
 In addition every able-bodied male not exempt by law is 
 required to pay an annual road poll tax of one dollar. In 
 towns retaining the labor system the number of days as- 
 sessed annually must not be less than three times the num- 
 ber of taxable inhabitants in the town. It is therefore 
 apparent that from a financial standpoint both the township 
 and the county are important units of road administra- 
 tion, 668 having the power to levy taxes and borrow money 
 for road purposes. 
 
 In conclusion it should be noted that all property road 
 taxes must be paid in cash, that convict labor may be em- 
 ployed to a very limited extent, and that the county super- 
 intendent of roads may be removed from office by the 
 highway commission, which from the standpoint of respon- 
 sible administration is an important power to be vested in 
 the State. The fiscal authority of the town board is ap- 
 parent from the following list of taxes which it is authorized 
 to levy : first, the amount levied and collected for the repair 
 and improvement of highways must equal thirty dollars per 
 mile outside the limits of incorporated villages ; second, not 
 more than fifteen hundred dollars may be levied in any one 
 year for the repair and construction of a bridge unless 
 authorized by the town meeting ; third, the purchase of more 
 than five hundred dollars worth of road machinery must 
 also be authorized in the same manner; and fourth, the 
 town meeting must give its consent to the expenditure of 
 more than fifteen hundred dollars for the repair or re- 
 building of any highway or bridge which has been damaged 
 or destroyed. Other important powers both of the township 
 and county might be mentioned. 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 The North Carolina Geological Board through the State 
 Geologist may make investigations and experiments con- 
 cerning the best methods of road construction and the best 
 
332 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 kind of road materials, and disseminate this information 
 by means of bulletins, reports, or lectures, thus acting to a 
 certain extent as a State highway commission. The sum of 
 $5,000 is annually appropriated for carrying out the pro- 
 visions of this particular act. Indeed, the system of State 
 supervision in North Carolina is quite similar to that which 
 now prevails in Iowa. 
 
 The State of North Carolina has a dual system of town- 
 ship and county supervision and control of highways, which 
 varies more or less in the different counties throughout the 
 State. 669 Jurisdiction over highways is vested partly in the 
 justices of the peace in each township, who have control of 
 the public roads and are known as the township board of 
 supervisors of public roads; and partly in the board of 
 county commissioners. The township board of supervisors, 
 thus constituted, is required to divide the township into 
 road districts and appoint road overseers for the same. It 
 should be noted, however, that the jurisdiction of township 
 authorities within the respective townships is subject to the 
 direction of the board of county commissioners. 
 
 From the standpoint of revenue for the support of roads 
 and bridges, the county is the important unit of local gov- 
 ernment, the county commissioners having authority to levy 
 a tax of not more than double the amount of the State tax. 
 All male citizens not exempt by law are required to work on 
 the public highways not more than six days each year, ex- 
 cept in the counties west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 
 where ten days work may be required. Finally, the county 
 commissioners may employ convict labor according to the 
 rules and regulations prescribed by law. 
 
 NORTH DAKOTA 
 
 In 1909 a Good Eoads Experiment Station was estab- 
 lished at Bismarck for the purpose of investigating the most 
 practical, economical method for the construction and main- 
 
APPENDIX 333 
 
 tenance of the public roads of the State. 670 The State En- 
 gineer is required to furnish plans and specifications, and 
 also to supervise the construction and maintenance of roads 
 constructed under the provisions of this act. It should also 
 be noted that in 1911 a concurrent resolution was adopted 
 providing for an amendment to the Constitution of the 
 State, which if ratified will enable the State to grant aid for 
 the construction of highways. 
 
 The supervision and control of highways in North Dakota 
 depends upon the character of local government prevailing 
 in the different counties. In counties not under township 
 organization the board of county commissioners is required 
 to divide the county into road districts and appoint a road 
 supervisor for each district. In counties under township 
 organization the township supervisors are required to 
 divide the townships into suitable road districts, an over- 
 seer being elected for each district, said overseer being 
 subject to the general supervision and control of the board 
 of county commissioners. Finally, it should be noted that a 
 recent statute gave the board of county commissioners 
 authority to appoint a county superintendent of highways 
 and deputy road superintendents to take the place of the 
 local road overseers, a law quite similar to that enacted by 
 the General Assembly of Iowa in 1911. 671 
 
 The county levy is limited to five mills for the support of 
 roads and two mills for the construction and repair of 
 bridges ; while the township road tax may not exceed eight 
 mills and the bridge tax not more than two mills on each 
 dollar of assessed valuation. Every male inhabitant not 
 exempt by law is required to pay a road poll tax of one dol- 
 lar and fifty cents which may be paid by one day's labor on 
 the roads; and in 1911 a license fee of three dollars was 
 levied on owners of motor vehicles, the revenue thus de- 
 rived to be placed in the county road fund. 
 
334 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 OHIO 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner is appointed by the 
 Governor for a term of four years at an annual salary of 
 $2,500. The highway commission is required to cooperate 
 in the building of roads in those counties which comply with 
 the provisions of the act. The State Highway Commis- 
 sioner approves all applications, prepares plans and speci- 
 fications, submits estimates of the cost of work, advertises 
 for bids, and apportions the cost among the State, county, 
 township, and abutting property. 672 
 
 Ohio gives a substantial amount of State aid for highway 
 purposes. Application for the same may be made by the 
 boards of county commissioners or by abutting property 
 owners. The State aid fund consists of an annual appro- 
 priation of $158,000, which must be equitably distributed 
 among the counties, the State paying fifty per cent of the 
 cost of State aid roads, the county twenty-five per cent, the 
 township fifteen per cent, and the owners of abutting prop- 
 erty ten per cent. The township trustees are authorized to 
 apportion the amount to be paid by the owners of abutting 
 property on the basis of benefits received. All State aid 
 roads must be kept in good condition by the county com- 
 missioners, but in case of failure to do so the State Highway 
 Commissioner may do the work and take the cost from any 
 fund apportioned to said county. 
 
 Local jurisdiction over roads is vested in the board of 
 county commissioners for county roads and in the township 
 trustees for township roads, the county and township road 
 supervisors being independent of each other. Good roads 
 districts, however, may be formed, the board of county 
 commissioners being given authority in such cases to ap- 
 point road commissioners, who in turn may appoint an 
 engineer to do the necessary work. A township, with the 
 approval of the people at a special election, may also be 
 organized into a good roads district with power to appoint 
 road commissioners to superintend the work. 
 
APPENDIX 335 
 
 The revenue system of Ohio, judged from the standpoint 
 of road administration, is very complicated. Money is de- 
 rived for roads and bridges from the following sources: 
 first, a tax varying from one-half to five and one-half mills, 
 depending upon the assessed valuation, levied by the board 
 of county commissioners; second, an additional tax of not 
 more than five-tenths of a mill for the creation of a State 
 and county improvement fund, also levied by the board of 
 county commissioners ; third, county bonds which may run 
 not more than three years ; fourth, township bonds to pay 
 for road improvements ; fifth, so-called district bonds issued 
 in a good roads district, with the approval of the voters, to 
 an amount not exceeding $100,000; and sixth, a township 
 tax of not more than six mills on each dollar of assessed 
 valuation in the township. In addition to this, all male 
 citizens not exempt by law are required to perform two 
 days' labor on the highways or commute for the same by 
 the payment of three dollars. All property taxes must be 
 paid in cash and convicts may be required to crush stone 
 and manufacture road materials. 
 
 OKLAHOMA 
 
 The Constitution of Oklahoma directs the legislature to 
 establish a Department of Public Highways and also grants 
 authority to create improvement districts for the building 
 and maintaining of public roads. Such a department has 
 been created, the Governor having authority to appoint, 
 with the approval of the Senate, a State Highway Com- 
 missioner who holds office for a term of four years and 
 receives an annual salary of twenty-five hundred dollars. 673 
 The State Highway Commissioner is required to prepare 
 standard specifications for the construction and main- 
 tenance of roads, also a general highway plan for the State, 
 and collect information as to the mileage, character, and 
 
336 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 condition of highways throughout the State. All local road 
 officials are required to furnish the commissioner any in- 
 formation which he may require concerning the cost of 
 building and maintaining highways in their particular juris- 
 dictions. Finally, a motor vehicle tax of one dollar an- 
 nually is levied for the support of the State Highway 
 Department. 
 
 The county commissioners have jurisdiction over what 
 are termed county roads and the township board has gen- 
 eral supervision over township roads. Township boards 
 acting as township highway commissioners divide their 
 townships into a convenient number of road districts, ap- 
 pointing supervisors to take charge of the work therein. 
 The county commissioners may appoint a county engineer 
 who shall be the same person as the county surveyor if the 
 latter possesses a practical knowledge of civil engineering. 
 
 In 1905 an act was passed whereby on petition of not less 
 than one hundred freeholders the board of county commis- 
 sioners of any county is required to submit to a vote of the 
 people the question of adopting a system of county super- 
 visors of highways. In counties adopting this system the 
 office of county surveyor is abolished and that of county 
 engineer created in lieu thereof. Road improvement dis- 
 tricts of not less than eighteen square miles may be created 
 in any county upon a written petition signed by fifteen per 
 cent of the qualified electors of a proposed district, seventy- 
 five per cent of the cost of road improvement to be paid by 
 the district and twenty-five per cent by the county. 
 
 Eevenue for roads and bridges is obtained from township 
 and county levies, also by the issue of county and township 
 bonds. The township board may levy a township road and 
 bridge tax of not more than five mills on the dollar. County 
 bonds for highway purposes may be issued not in excess of 
 two per cent of the assessed valuation of the county if the 
 same has been approved by a three-fifths vote of the people. 
 
APPENDIX 337 
 
 Under the same conditions the township may issue bonds 
 not to exceed three per cent of the assessed valuation. 
 Every male citizen not exempt by law is required to work 
 four days on the public roads or commute for the same by 
 the payment of five dollars in money. The law also author- 
 izes the working of convicts on the highways. 674 
 
 OEEGON 
 
 The public roads of Oregon are under the general super- 
 vision of the county courts, as is also the case in Kentucky 
 and Missouri. The court is required to divide the county 
 into road districts, appointing a road supervisor for each 
 district, and may appoint a county road master or masters 
 who must devote their whole time to the work, which is done 
 either by contract or by hired labor. 
 
 Revenue is obtained for road and bridge purposes by a 
 levy of not more than ten mills in any road district if the 
 same has been approved at a meeting of .at least ten per 
 cent of the taxpayers of the district making the levy. 675 
 Fifty per cent of the money levied by the county is appor- 
 tioned among the several road districts, and the tax must 
 be paid in cash. A poll tax of three dollars must also be 
 paid in money by every male citizen not exempt by law. 
 Finally, a system of convict labor is provided and in 1911 
 the Legislative Assembly passed a law fixing a graduated 
 license fee on motor vehicles, the proceeds of which are to be 
 paid into the State treasury and known as "The Motor 
 Vehicle Fund." 676 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner is appointed by the 
 Governor with the consent of the Senate for a term of four 
 years. He must be an experienced road builder, receives an 
 annual salary of $8,000, and is required to furnish a bond in 
 the sum of $50,000, to be approved by the Governor, for the 
 
 22 
 
338 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 faithful performance of his duties. The Governor also is 
 required to appoint two Deputy State Highway Commis- 
 sioners, each at a salary of $6,000 per annum, an expert 
 accountant at a salary of $3,000 per annum, and a chief 
 engineer at a salary of $7,000 per annum. The State High- 
 way Commissioner in turn shall appoint one assistant to 
 the chief engineer at a salary of $3,600 per annum, fifty 
 superintendents of highways, and fifteen additional civil 
 engineers at liberal salaries. 677 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner prepares plans and 
 specifications, makes necessary surveys and estimates of 
 the cost of work, apportions the State aid fund, determines 
 the standard of construction in the various localities, and 
 may reject any and all bids if the prices are materially 
 higher than his own estimates. He is also required to com- 
 pile highway statistics, investigate road building, and may 
 be consulted by the various local highway authorities. 
 
 On petition by the supervisor of any township and appli- 
 cation by the board of county commissioners State aid may 
 be obtained for the building of permanent highways. In 
 such cases, however, the township is required to levy a cash 
 road tax and may issue bonds to pay its share of the ex- 
 pense. The sum of $6,356,232.47 was appropriated to carry 
 out the provisions of this act. The expense of improving 
 highways is paid on the following basis: three-fourths by 
 the State, one-eighth by the county, and one-eighth by the 
 township. It should also be noted that ten per cent of the 
 amount available for State aid is set apart for the main- 
 tenance of highways and distributed among the localities by 
 the State Highway Commissioner on a mileage basis. 
 
 From the standpoint of local supervision and control 
 Pennsylvania has a somewhat complicated system. Largely 
 as the result of geographical and historical development, 
 local government is an instructive mixture of the township 
 and county principles. The roads of the county are under 
 
APPENDIX 339 
 
 the jurisdiction of the county commissioner. In order to 
 improve roads, however, the consent of the grand jury and 
 the court of quarter sessions is required. In townships 
 having a population of less than three hundred, three road 
 supervisors are elected, who serve for a term of three years, 
 and who divide their respective townships into road dis- 
 tricts containing not less than five miles of road and appoint 
 a road master for each district. 
 
 Eevenue for road and bridge purposes is obtained from 
 the following sources : first, a county levy of not more than 
 two mills on the dollar for improving important county 
 roads ; second, a township levy of not more than ten mills on 
 the dollar for constructing and repairing bridges ; third, an 
 additional levy of ten mills may be levied by the court of 
 quarter sessions upon petition of the township board of 
 supervisors ; fourth, by the issue of road bonds under cer- 
 tain conditions and limitations ; and fifth, by the State tax 
 levy already noted. All road taxes must be paid in cash, 
 although it is provided that townships at their annual meet- 
 ing may by a majority vote adopt the labor system. Convict 
 labor may also be employed when deemed expedient. 
 
 EHODE ISLAND 
 
 A State Board of Public Roads consisting of five qualified 
 electors, one from each county in the State, is appointed by 
 the Governor for a term of four years, each receiving an 
 annual salary of $1,000, but not being required to give their 
 full time to the work. 678 This board, acting as a highway 
 commission, makes an annual report to the General Assem- 
 bly on the subject of roads. No work, aside from prelim- 
 inary surveys, is done until the report of the commission has 
 been approved by the General Assembly and an appropria- 
 tion of money made for the purpose of the proposed road 
 improvement. State roads are constructed entirely at State 
 expense, no aid being given by counties or minor divisions. 
 
340 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 In 1906 a bond issue of six hundred thousand dollars was 
 authorized to provide for a highway construction fund, and 
 a second bond issue of the same amount was made in 1909 to 
 complete the system of State roads. The proceeds of a 
 graduated license fee on motor vehicles are used for the 
 repair of State highways under the supervision of the 
 State Board of Public Roads. 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration the town- 
 ship is the important unit of local government. The town 
 council is required to divide the town into not more than 
 four districts, annually electing one surveyor of highways 
 for each district. Each town at the regular town meeting 
 should annually raise and appropriate such sum as may be 
 deemed necessary for the construction and maintenance of 
 highways and bridges. All road taxes must be paid in cash. 
 
 SOUTH CAEOLINA 
 
 In the eight counties of South Carolina where the town- 
 ship system of road supervision prevails, the township 
 board, with the approval of the county commissioners or the 
 supervisors of the county, is required to divide the township 
 into a convenient number of road districts and appoint an 
 overseer for each district. In all the remaining counties 
 jurisdiction over the public roads is vested in the board of 
 county commissioners and the county supervisor. In coun- 
 ties under this -system the township constitutes the highway 
 district and the board of county commissioners, acting with 
 the county supervisor, is authorized to appoint an overseer 
 for each township. 679 In 1909, however, certain counties 
 were authorized to adopt the contract system and to employ 
 superintendents and engineers and lay out a plan of road 
 construction. 680 
 
 Revenue for road and bridge purposes is raised by the 
 county or township, depending upon the system of local 
 government as above outlined, the regular levy being lira- 
 
APPENDIX 341 
 
 ited to one mill on the dollar. The township board may 
 make an additional levy of not more than two mills when 
 the same has been approved by a vote of the people. All 
 male citizens not exempt by law are required to perform not 
 less than two nor more than eight days labor on the public 
 highways or commute for the same by the payment of not 
 less than one dollar nor more than three dollars per day. 
 Some counties require all road taxes to be paid in cash. 
 Finally, a system of convict labor is provided by the laws 
 of South Carolina. 
 
 SOUTH DAKOTA 
 
 General jurisdiction over highways is vested in the board 
 of county commissioners, which divides the county into a 
 suitable number of road districts and appoints a road super- 
 visor for each district. In counties under township 
 organization, however, the township authorities have super- 
 vision over all roads located therein and are required to 
 divide each township into road districts and appoint an 
 overseer for each district. In other words, two distinct 
 systems of local supervision and control of highways pre- 
 vail in South Dakota much the same as in Illinois. 681 
 
 Revenue is obtained by a county levy of not more than 
 two mills, a township levy of not more than five mills, and 
 a poll tax of one dollar and fifty cents which may be paid 
 in money or by one day's labor, unless the township has 
 adopted the cash system, in which case road work is let by 
 contract. 
 
 TENNESSEE 
 
 The State Highway Commission of Tennessee consists of 
 three members appointed by the Governor, one from each 
 grand division of the State, who serve for a term of three 
 years without compensation. 682 It does not appear, how- 
 ever, that this commission has been granted any substantial 
 power or authority. 
 
342 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Jurisdiction over public highways and bridges is vested 
 in the county court, which is required to divide the county 
 into one or more road districts and elect a road commis- 
 sioner for each district. The county court may also elect a 
 board of three turnpike commissioners, the chairman of the 
 court to be ex-officio chairman of the board, the other two 
 members being freeholders of the county, but not members 
 of the court. 
 
 Revenue for roads and bridges is obtained from the fol- 
 lowing sources : first, a road poll tax of not less than four 
 nor more than eight days, which may be commuted by pay- 
 ing seventy-five cents per day in cash ; second, a levy of two 
 mills by the county court on all property outside of in- 
 corporated towns and cities, provided any person may work 
 out two-thirds of this tax where his property is situated; 
 third, an ad valorem tax of not less than one nor more than 
 three mills on all property in the county outside of incor- 
 porated towns and cities ; fourth, county bond issues author- 
 ized by special acts of the legislature and approved by the 
 people; and fifth, a bridge tax of two mills on the dollar 
 levied by the county court. The road tax of incorporated 
 towns and cities is levied by the proper municipal author- 
 ities. Finally, convicts may be worked on the public high- 
 ways subject to the direction of the county court. 
 
 TEXAS 
 
 The county commissioners have jurisdiction over the 
 public highways, each commissioner being a road super- 
 visor within his own district. They have power to divide 
 the county into precincts and appoint an overseer to super- 
 vise the work in each precinct. The commissioners' court, 
 however, may appoint one county road superintendent, who 
 shall have supervision over all the public roads in his county 
 and over all county convicts working on the roads. 683 
 
 The commissioners of each county may levy a road tax 
 
APPENDIX 343 
 
 of not more than one and one-half mills on the taxable valu- 
 ation, and an additional road and bridge tax of not more 
 than one and one-half mills if agreed to by a majority of the 
 taxpayers. In 1907 an act was passed authorizing any 
 county or political subdivision thereof to issue bonds for 
 constructing and maintaining public roads with the ap- 
 proval of the people by a two-thirds vote. The bonds so 
 issued must not exceed twenty-five per cent of the assessed 
 value of real property, may extend forty years, and bear 
 interest not to exceed five and one-half per cent, a tax of not 
 more than one and one-half mills being levied to pay the 
 interest and principal of said bonds. All male citizens not 
 exempt by law are required to work on the roads not more 
 than five days in each year or commute for the same by the 
 payment of one dollar for each day. 
 
 UTAH 
 
 The State Highway Commission serves without compen- 
 sation, being composed of the Governor, the State Engineer, 
 the State Treasurer, one member of the faculty of the Utah 
 Agricultural College selected by its Board of Trustees, and 
 one member of the faculty of the University of Utah selected 
 by its Board of Regents. The commission thus constituted 
 is clothed with authority to select the roads comprising the 
 system of State highways, prepare a map of the roads thus 
 designated, furnish plans and specifications on the appli- 
 cation of county commissioners, prepare a road manual for 
 the assistance of local road officials, and in fact exercise a 
 substantial supervision and control over the highways of 
 the State. 684 
 
 In 1911 the legislature of Utah made an annual appro- 
 priation of $60,000 for a State road fund to be available for 
 the construction of State roads in each county of the State 
 in equal proportions. 685 
 
 Jurisdiction over the highways is vested in the boards of 
 
344 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 county commissioners, who divide their respective counties 
 into road districts, appointing biennially a road supervisor 
 for each district. The county commissioners may also 
 divide their counties into special districts for the purpose of 
 constructing permanent roads. 
 
 No special limit is placed upon the amount of taxes to be 
 levied for road purposes, the county commissioners being 
 authorized to appropriate such sums as they deem neces- 
 sary. Bonds may be issued by the commissioners when 
 approved by a majority vote of the people, and a special 
 road tax may be levied for the construction of permanent 
 highways. When a special tax, however, is levied for this 
 purpose the taxable property is divided into three equal 
 sections, the first section adjacent to the road bearing fifty 
 per cent of the cost, the middle section thirty per cent, and 
 the section most remote twenty per cent. Finally, a road 
 poll tax of two dollars is levied and must be paid in cash. 
 
 VEEMONT 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner is appointed by the 
 Governor, with the consent of the Senate, and is clothed 
 with authority to direct the expenditure of all moneys ap- 
 propriated by the State or appropriated to towns or incor- 
 porated villages for highway purposes. The commissioner 
 shall also make rules and regulations governing the expend- 
 iture of highway funds and, with the advice and consent of 
 the Governor, shall annually appoint not to exceed one 
 supervisor for each county to assist him in the performance 
 of his duties. 686 
 
 While the county, therefore, is an important unit of gov- 
 ernment from the standpoint of State administration, it has 
 no local supervision or control of highways as such. In 
 Vermont the town is the unit of local administration, the 
 selectmen being granted a substantial amount of power and 
 authority. In addition to other functions, the town is the 
 
APPENDIX 345 
 
 unit for the maintenance of highways constructed by the 
 State. 
 
 Eevenue for road and bridge purposes is obtained by a 
 State highway tax of five mills, a town tax of five per cent 
 on the grand list, and a license tax on motor vehicles. An 
 appropriation of $150,000 was made in 1910 for permanent 
 highway improvements. The automobile tax now amounts 
 to $60,000 a year and is used as a maintenance fund. 
 
 VIRGINIA 
 
 A State Highway Commissioner who must be a civil en- 
 gineer is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the 
 General Assembly in joint session. His term of office is six 
 years and his salary $3,000 per annum. The State Highway 
 Commissioner and the professors of civil engineering in the 
 University of Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute, and 
 the Virginia Agriculture and Mechanical College and Poly- 
 technic Institute constitute the State Highway Commission. 
 The commission prepares plans, specifications, and esti- 
 mates of the cost of permanent highway improvements, 
 surveys proposed State roads, has supervision of the con- 
 struction and repair of main traveled roads, is required to 
 supply technical information to local authorities, and ap- 
 proves or disapproves contracts after the same have been 
 let by local authorities. 687 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration Virginia in 
 common with a great many other States has a somewhat 
 complicated system. Some counties operate under special 
 road laws. In general, however, the supervision of high- 
 ways is vested in county boards of supervisors, county 
 superintendents of roads, road sub-district boards and road 
 sub-district surveyors. The board of county supervisors 
 appoints biennially a county superintendent of roads who 
 must be experienced in road building or preferably a civil 
 engineer. This officer superintends the work of opening, 
 
346 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 repairing, and maintaining county roads and bridges. If 
 deemed necessary the superintendent of roads, with the 
 approval of the county board of supervisors, may divide 
 the county into road districts each of which usually consists 
 of at least one magisterial district. 
 
 State aid is granted on application of the proper county 
 authorities, provided one-half of the expense of construc- 
 tion is paid by the county. The sum of $250,000 is annually 
 appropriated for this purpose. The road authorities of 
 each county are also clothed with authority to determine 
 what part of the fifty per cent borne by the county shall be 
 paid by the small road divisions or by private contribu- 
 tions. 688 
 
 In addition to the State appropriation already noted the 
 board of supervisors of each county may levy a tax of not 
 more than four mills on a dollar of assessed valuation, also 
 a tax of not more than four mills on all taxable property in 
 the several magisterial districts, and finally, counties where 
 no special road law is in force may be divided into road sub- 
 districts by the board of supervisors, and a tax of not more 
 than five mills levied, with the approval of a majority vote 
 of the qualified electors. Aside from the taxes thus levied 
 bond issues are authorized to an amount which would be 
 met by the imposition of an annual tax of not more than two 
 mills on a dollar, providing the same has been approved by 
 a vote of three-fifths of the qualified voters. Finally, con- 
 vict labor is provided for by the laws of Virginia. 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner of Washington is ap- 
 pointed by the Governor for a term of four years and re- 
 ceives an annual salary of $5,000. The State Highway 
 Board is composed of the Governor, the Auditor, the State 
 Treasurer, the State Highway Commissioner, and a member 
 of the State Eailroad Commission to be selected by the 
 
APPENDIX 347 
 
 Governor. The ex officio members of the Board serve with- 
 out compensation. The State Highway Commissioner is 
 required to compile statistics relating to public highways 
 throughout the State, may be consulted by county officers, 
 shall assist local road officials when requested to do so, and 
 is required to submit a report ninety days before each 
 session of the legislature. 689 
 
 The unit of local administration is the county, the board 
 of county commissioners having general charge of road 
 work and the levying of taxes for road and bridge purposes. 
 The commissioners are required to divide their respective 
 counties into not more than twenty-four districts and ap- 
 point one road supervisor for each district. The county 
 surveyor is elected to office, must be a competent civil en- 
 gineer, and is given substantial authority in road and bridge 
 matters. 
 
 In 1911, however, a law was passed permitting counties to 
 adopt township organization. In counties which take ad- 
 vantage of this option, the township supervisors may divide 
 their townships into road districts and appoint a road 
 overseer for each district, thus representing a somewhat 
 reactionary tendency toward administrative decentraliza- 
 tion. 690 
 
 Eevenue for road and bridge purposes is obtained from 
 the following sources : county bonds issued in an amount not 
 exceeding five per cent of the taxable valuation; a tax of 
 not to exceed four mills on all the taxable property in the 
 county levied by the board of county commissioners ; a tax 
 of not more than two mills on the dollar of all taxable 
 property in each road district also levied by the county 
 commissioners for the district road and bridge fund; a 
 license fee of two dollars on motor vehicles ; and finally, a 
 State tax of one mill on all taxable property in the State. 
 Washington also provides for a somewhat comprehensive 
 system of convict labor on the public highways. 
 
348 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 WEST VIRGINIA 
 
 The State Highway Commissioner is appointed by the 
 Governor for a term of four years and receives an annual 
 salary of $3,000. The commissioner distributes bulletins 
 concerning the construction and maintenance of roads, 
 makes biennial reports to the Governor and legislature 
 recommending advisable legislation, exercises general 
 supervision over all roads constructed, improved or main- 
 tained either in whole or in part by State money, prepares 
 rules and regulations for county engineers, holds public 
 meetings for the discussion of all questions relating to the 
 general subject of roads, examines and approves plans and 
 specifications for State aid roads, causes tests of road ma- 
 terials to be made, and finally examines all accounts and 
 records made by various road officials. 691 
 
 From the standpoint of local administration, jurisdiction 
 over roads is vested in the county court, which appoints a 
 competent man as a road supervisor for each magisterial 
 district, who under the direction of the court divides his 
 district into convenient road precincts. In lieu of this sys- 
 tem, however, the court may appoint a county road engineer, 
 who is given supervision of all road work in the county. 
 
 State aid is granted if plans and specifications prepared 
 by the county engineer have been approved by the county 
 court and by the State Highway Commission. The county 
 court advertises for bids, but it should be noted that the 
 contract must be approved by the State Highway Commis- 
 sioner. The State pays one-third of the cost of constructing 
 county roads out of a fund created by levying a tax of not 
 more than one mill on a dollar. In addition to the State aid 
 fund the county court is authorized to levy such taxes as 
 may be necessary for the construction and maintenance of 
 roads. What is called a district tax of one dollar may be 
 levied on every male inhabitant not exempt by law. Finally, 
 counties, cities, towns, and villages are authorized to issue 
 
APPENDIX 349 
 
 bonds for the purpose of improving roads. All road taxes 
 are paid in the same manner as other county and State 
 taxes and the county road engineer is authorized to employ 
 convict labor on the highways. 692 
 
 WISCONSIN 
 
 The State Highway Commission consists of the Dean of 
 the College of Engineering of the State University, the 
 State Geologist, and three other members appointed by the 
 Governor, all of whom serve without compensation. The 
 commission has authority to employ, remove, and fix the sal- 
 aries of engineers and experts as well as the regular clerical 
 force of the office. 693 The law of 1911 made an annual ap- 
 propriation of $350,000 for road and bridge construction 
 and $40,000 additional for engineering and other expenses 
 of the commission. 
 
 The county board of each county is required to appoint 
 a competent man as county highway commissioner. The 
 new law provides for a continuous system of county roads 
 or prospective State aid highways. These roads may be 
 constructed by the township, county, and State acting joint- 
 ly, each paying one-third of the cost. Improvements are 
 made by the county highway commissioner under the gen- 
 eral supervision of the State Highway Commission. 
 Counties may pay two-thirds or four-fifths of the cost, the 
 State paying the remaining one-third or one-fifth in cases 
 where townships have not petitioned for improvement. 
 Bridges and improved stone or gravel roads are maintained 
 by the counties, but ordinary dirt roads are maintained by 
 the townships. Finally, the cost of bridges over six feet in 
 span is paid two-fifths by the township, two-fifths by the 
 county, and one-fifth by the State. 
 
 It would seem, therefore, that the distribution of author- 
 ity in road and bridge matters has been worked out on a 
 somewhat complex but scientific basis. At the head of the 
 
350 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 system is the State Highway Commission which exercises 
 supervision and control through county highway commis- 
 sioners appointed by the various county boards of super- 
 visors. Jurisdiction over township roads is vested in the 
 township board composed of three members elected an- 
 nually, who divide their township into small road districts, 
 appointing a road superintendent or road master for each 
 district. 
 
 Revenue is obtained from the following sources: a poll 
 tax of one dollar and fifty cents which may be worked out ; 
 a county levy of not more than two mills for the purpose of 
 building county roads ; a township levy of not less than one 
 nor more than seven mills ; an additional levy of not more 
 than fifteen mills if the same has been authorized by a vote 
 of the town meeting ; a special tax of not less than one-half 
 nor more than one mill may be voted at the annual township 
 meeting for the construction of permanent highways; an 
 issue of township or county bonds; and finally, the State 
 appropriation already mentioned. 
 
 WYOMING 
 
 The county commissioners have jurisdiction over the 
 public highways and may divide the county into a conveni- 
 ent number of road districts, one road supervisor being 
 elected for each district. If a county is not divided into 
 road districts, a county road supervisor is elected by the 
 people. 694 
 
 Revenue for the support of roads and bridges is derived 
 from an annual county levy of not more than twelve mills on 
 the dollar. A road building tax of two dollars may also be 
 levied by the county commissioners, which may be paid in 
 cash or worked out on the roads. Finally, in 1911 a law was 
 passed establishing a regular system of State highways and 
 providing for the construction, repair, and maintenance of 
 the same by convict labor. 695 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 
 
 35) 
 
NOTES AND KEFEKENCES 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 1 NewhaU's A Glimpse of Iowa in 1846, p. 12. 
 
 2 The facts concerning the roads of early Iowa here presented are 
 taken largely from an article by Jacob Van der Zee on The Roads 
 and Highways of Territorial Iowa in The Iowa Journal of History 
 and Politics, Vol. Ill, pp. 175-225. 
 
 3 Van der Zee's The Hollanders of Iowa, p. 136. 
 
 4 Iowa Historical Record, Vol. XII, pp. 405, 406. The writer was 
 Judge George G. Wright. 
 
 5 Shambaugh's Documentary Material Relating to the History of 
 Iowa, Vol. II, p. 283; Vol. Ill, pp. 266, 267. 
 
 6 Aurner's History of Township Government in Iowa, Chapter 
 XVII. This monograph is in manuscript form in the possession of 
 the State Historical Society of Iowa which plans to publish it 
 during the coming year. 
 
 7 Aurner's History of Township Government in Iowa, Chapter 
 III. 
 
 8 Acts of the State of Ohio, 1st Session, 3rd General Assembly, 
 1804-1805, pp. 364, 365; Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, 
 p. 48. 
 
 9 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 428 ; Laws of the 
 Territory of Michigan (Lansing: 1874), Vol. Ill, p. 1211; Laws of 
 the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 175. 
 
 10 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, pp. 115, 133; 
 Chase's Statutes of Ohio, Vol. Ill, pp. 1850-1859. 
 
 11 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 820. 
 
 12 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 848. 
 
 13 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1045. 
 
 23 353 
 
354 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 14 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 982. 
 
 15 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1038. 
 
 16 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1326. 
 
 17 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1049. 
 
 18 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1050. 
 
 19 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1050. 
 
 20 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, pp. 1051, 1052. 
 
 21 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1053. 
 
 22 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, pp. 1054, 1055. 
 
 23 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1055. 
 
 24 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, pp. 1056, 1057. 
 
 25 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, pp. 1057, 1058. 
 
 26 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, pp. 1058, 1059. 
 
 27 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836, p. 64. 
 
 28 The three Territorial roads established in the Iowa country by 
 the Legislative Assembly of the original Territory of Wisconsin 
 were as follows: 
 
 1. From Farmington on the Des Moines River to Prairie du 
 Chien, via MoffiVs mill, Burlington, Wapello, and Dubuque. Laws 
 of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836, p. 73. 
 
 2. From Bloomington (now Muscatine) to the forty-mile point 
 on the Cedar River, via Geneva, Moscow, and Rochester. Laws of 
 the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 191. 
 
 3. From Dubuque to the settlement in Delaware County west 
 of Andrew Bankston's, via Whiteside's mill on the Little Maquo- 
 keta. Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 192. 
 
 29 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836, p. 73. 
 
 30 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836, pp. 73-75. 
 
 31 The plats and field notes of all, or at least, of a large number 
 of the early Territorial roads provided for by special act are now on 
 file in the Land Office records in the office of the Secretary of State 
 at Des Moines. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 355 
 
 32 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836, p. 75. 
 
 33 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, pp. 175, 176. 
 
 34 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 263. 
 
 35 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, pp. 138-144. 
 
 36 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 263. 
 ^Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 264. 
 
 38 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 264. 
 
 39 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 266. 
 
 40 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 267. 
 
 41 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 269. 
 
 42 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, pp. 270-272. 
 
 43 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 270. 
 
 44 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, pp. 270-272. 
 
 45 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, pp. 272, 273. 
 
 46 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1837-1838, p. 275. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 47 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. I, p. 82. 
 
 48 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, pp. 428, 429. 
 
 49 Chase's Statutes of Ohio, Vol. Ill, pp. 1847-1850. 
 
 50 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 87. 
 
 51 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 165. 
 
 52 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, pp. 254, 255. The 
 toll rates specified in this act were as follows for each ten miles of 
 road: 
 
 "For every four-wheeled carriage, wagon, or other vehicle, drawn 
 by two horses, or oxen, twenty-five cents ; and for each horse, or ox, 
 in addition, six cents. 
 
 "For every two- wheeled carriage, wagon, or other vehicle, drawn 
 by two horses, or oxen, twenty cents; and for each horse, or ox, in 
 addition, six cents. 
 
356 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 "For every horse and rider six and a fourth cents. 
 
 "For every horse, mule, or ox, led or driven, three cents. 
 
 "For every head of neat cattle, two cents. 
 
 "For every head of sheep, or hogs, one cent. 
 
 * ' For every four-wheeled pleasure carriage, drawn by two horses, 
 forty cents. 
 
 "For every two-wheeled pleasure carriage, drawn by one horse, 
 twenty-five cents. 
 
 "For every four-wheeled pleasure carriage, drawn by one horse, 
 twenty-five cents. 
 
 "For every chaise, riding chair, gig, sulkey, or cart, or other two 
 wheeled carriage of any kind, drawn by one horse, twelve and a half 
 cents. " 
 
 53 See below, p. 58. 
 
 54 The acts creating Territorial roads may readily be found by 
 consulting the four bound volumes of the session laws of the Legis- 
 lative Assembly from 1838 to 1846. For a general discussion of 
 Territorial roads, see Van der Zee's The Roads and Highiuays of 
 Territorial Iowa in The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. 
 Ill, pp. 175-225. 
 
 55 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 435. 
 
 56 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, pp. 47, 48. 
 
 57 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 48. 
 
 58 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, pp. 50, 51. 
 
 59 Chase's Statutes of Ohio, Vol. Ill, p. 1854. 
 
 60 Laws of the Territory of Iowa,, 1839-1840, pp. 115-120, 133- 
 138. 
 
 ^Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 133; Chase's 
 Statutes of Ohio, Vol. Ill, p. 1850; Acts of the State of Ohio, 3rd 
 General Assembly, 1804-1805, p. 435. 
 
 62 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 133. 
 
 63 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, pp. 134, 135. 
 
 64 See above, p. 16. 
 
 5 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 135. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 357 
 
 66 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 135. 
 
 7 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, pp. 135, 136. 
 
 68 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 138. 
 
 69 p or references to these special acts see Laws of the Territory of 
 Iowa, 1840-1841, Index, pp. 133, 134. 
 
 70 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, Extra Session, 1840, p. 19. 
 
 71 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1840-1841, p. 43. 
 
 72 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1840-1841, p. 92. 
 
 73 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 115. 
 
 74 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1840-1841, p. 38. 
 
 75 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1840-1841, p. 35. 
 
 76 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, pp. 69, 70. 
 
 77 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, p. 26. 
 
 78 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, pp. 27, 28. 
 
 79 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, pp. 97, 98. 
 
 80 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1841-1842, p. 31. 
 
 81 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1841-1842, p. 75. 
 
 82 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, pp. 69, 70. 
 
 83 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1841-1842, p. 85. 
 
 84 Brindley's History of Taxation in Iowa, Vol. I, p. 26. 
 
 85 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, p. 69. 
 
 86 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, pp. 69, 70. 
 
 87 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, p. 70. 
 
 88 The Moss substitute for section 5 was as follows : 
 
 * ' That it shall be the duty of each supervisor to have the money 
 expended upon the road or roads, in his district, raised for that 
 purpose, as provided in the first section of this act; and if found 
 to be insufficient to put the road or roads in good order, and keep 
 them in such condition, it shall be the duty of such supervisor, to 
 order out every person in his district, subject to labor on roads, as 
 many days as, in his opinion, shall be necessary to put such road 
 
358 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 or roads in good repair. And if any person shall fail or refuse, 
 without good cause, to obey the summons of said supervisor, and 
 work, as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of one dollar 
 and fifty cents, for each and every refusal or neglect; to be re- 
 covered by action before any Justice of the Peace, in the same man- 
 ner as other debts are recoverable ; and in case of any such refusal 
 or neglect of any person to attend, as aforesaid, without good cause, 
 to make complaint to any Justice of the Peace, in the name of such 
 road district, and further attend to the collection of such forfeit, 
 which said sum shall be expended on the roads in his district. 
 
 "That such supervisor shall be accountable in damages, to all 
 and every person who shall receive special damage by traveling on 
 any of the said roads in his district, by his neglect : Provided, how- 
 ever, that no supervisor shall be accountable for any damage sus- 
 tained by any temporary obstruction that may be thrown in the 
 way, and of which said supervisor has not had at least three weeks ' 
 notice. 
 
 "And the question being put, Will the House adopt the substi- 
 tute ? Was determined in the negative. ' ' Journal of the House of 
 Representatives, 1841-1842, p. 86. 
 
 "Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, p. 26. 
 
 90 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1839-1840, p. 133. 
 
 91 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, p. 27. 
 
 92 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1841-1842, pp. 27, 28. 
 
 93 See below, pp. 55, 123. 
 
 94 Laws of the Territory of Iowa (Local), 1842-1843, pp. 124- 
 126. 
 
 95 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1842-1843, pp. 
 519-525. 
 
 96 The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. Ill, No. 9, February 2, 
 1843. 
 
 97 Iowa Capitol Reporter (Iowa City), Vol. II, No. 3, December 
 24, 1842. 
 
 98 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1842-1843, pp. 
 618, 619. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 359 
 
 99 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1842-1843, pp. 
 623-625. 
 
 100 See below, pp. 183, 263, 264. 
 
 101 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1843-1844, pp. 213-219. 
 
 102 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1843-1844, p. 25. 
 
 108 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, Extra Session, 1844, p. 7. 
 
 104 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, Extra Session, 1844, pp. 9- 
 11. 
 
 105 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, pp. 47, 48. 
 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, pp. 48, 49. 
 
 107 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, pp. 27-30. 
 
 108 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1845, p. 10. 
 
 109 See above, p. 47. 
 
 il( > Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, p. 28. 
 
 111 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, p. 47. 
 
 112 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, p. 48. 
 
 113 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, p. 48. 
 
 11 4 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, pp. 48, 49. 
 
 115 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 33. 
 
 116 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, pp. 41, 42. 
 
 117 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 40. 
 
 118 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, pp. 145, 146. 
 
 119 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 42. 
 
 120 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 352. 
 
 121 Van der Zee's The Roads and Highways of Territorial Iowa 
 in The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. Ill, pp. 221, 
 222. 
 
 122 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 670. 
 
 123 Irish's History of Johnson County Iowa in The Annals of 
 Iowa, Vol. VI, p. 607. See also Van der Zee's The Roads and 
 
360 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Highways of Territorial Iowa in The Iowa Journal of History 
 and Politics, Vol. Ill, p. 221. 
 
 124 Aurner's History of Johnson County, Chapter X. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 125 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, pp. 250, 251 ; Laws of Iowa, Ex- 
 tra Session, 1848, p. 114. 
 
 12 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 116. 
 
 127 Laws of Iowa, Extra Session, 1848, p. 44. 
 
 128 The special acts establishing State roads may readily be found 
 by consulting the bound volumes of the session laws. 
 
 129 Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. IV, p. 72. 
 
 130 Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, pp. 52-55. 
 *Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, pp. 52, 53. 
 
 132 Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, p. 53. 
 
 133 Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, p. 54. 
 
 134 See "An Act to authorize General Incorporations", approved 
 February 22, 1847. Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 101. 
 
 *Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, p. 55. 
 
 136 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, pp. 53-55. 
 
 137 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, pp. 54, 55. 
 
 138 Tn e acts providing for these graded or plank roads may be 
 found in Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, pp. 52, 126, 159 ; 1850-1851, 
 pp. 42, 53, 72, 78, 97, 139, 159, 161, 180; 1852-1853, p. 43. 
 
 139 Autobiographical Manuscript and Papers of James Harlan. 
 
 140 Van der Zee's The Hollanders of Iowa, p. 91. 
 
 Through the kindness of Mr. Ralph B. Smith of Keokuk the 
 following interesting facts concerning the plank road leading from 
 Keokuk up the valley of the Des Moines River have been secured : 
 
 The road ran from the corner of Fourteenth and Main Streets 
 in Keokuk to a point about thirteen miles to the northwest of the 
 city. The original plan seems to have been to build the road 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 361 
 
 through to Fort Des Moines (the present city of Des Moines), but 
 the construction of the first thirteen miles exhausted the funds of 
 the company. The road was financed by a stock company, but it 
 has not been possible to discover the names of the stockholders. 
 
 The road was built in the years 1850 and 1851, the contractors 
 being the firm of Brownell and Sprott, of whom William Brownell 
 of Keokuk was the senior partner. "The road was constructed of 
 stringers and planks cut from the surrounding timber. There were 
 three stringers six by six of black walnut and the planks were eight 
 feet long, two inches thick and of whatever breadth they squared. ' ' 
 It seems that at first the planks were laid on loose, but that later 
 they were spiked down to the stringers. There were at least two 
 toll gates: one at the city limits of Keokuk, and the other about 
 four miles out, opposite where the present County Home stands. 
 
 The road finally came into the possession of Harry Fulton, a 
 former Deputy United States Marshal for that district, who later 
 sold it to Lee County after a long controversy. The board of 
 supervisors took up the planks and sold them for fire wood, and 
 thus the existence of the road as a plank road came to an end. The 
 route, however, was not abandoned, but is still the principal high- 
 way into Keokuk from the northwest. 
 
 In this connection it is believed that the following estimate of 
 the cost of a proposed plank road from Keokuk to Montrose is 
 illustrative of the cost of plank road construction in Iowa in gen- 
 eral: 
 
 "A single track, for one mile, will require one hundred and 
 forty thousand and eight hundred feet. This, at $15 per thousand, 
 will be $2,112. Engineering, gates, bridges and contingencies, say 
 $500 ; making in all $2,612 per mile, or the entire distance $31,344. 
 Putting the toll at 3 cents per mile, (the usual charge) and the 
 travel at fifty teams daily, the road will earn during the year 
 $6,570. Deducting a dividend of 10 per cent, on the capital in- 
 vested will leave $3,436 to keep up repairs and pay charges. " 
 Keokuk Register, Vol. II, No. 38, February 8, 1849. 
 
 Furthermore, an excellent idea of the methods of constructing 
 plank roads is to be found in the following extract from a report 
 made by H. W. Starr of Burlington at a meeting of citizens called 
 to consider the question of building the plank road from Burlington 
 to Mt. Pleasant : 
 
362 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 "In the construction, steep inclinations are to be avoided, 
 never ascending more than one foot in thirty or forty. The road 
 should be graded wide enough for two tracks. Two stringers, 
 twelve by three, four feet apart, and centre to centre, are laid 
 down flatwise and well imbedded in the earth. Across these at 
 right angles, three inch plank, eight feet long, are laid. The earth 
 is then to be well packed up to them, and the earth track sloped 
 toward the ditches, and the road is complete. Many minor points, 
 such as fastening down the planks, breaking joints, carrying off the 
 water, preventing ruts alongside &c., are to be attended to, and 
 readily occur to an observer. 
 
 "As to durability, experience is limited. One set of stringers 
 will outlast two or three coverings of plank. The wear of the first 
 year is equal to the next six. On one road, the passage of 16,000 
 teams wore a hemlock plank down one inch. Oak or pine is thought 
 to be better than hemlock/' Keokuk Register, Vol. II, No. 38, 
 February 8, 1849. 
 
 141 ;p or the special acts relative to these roads the reader is re- 
 ferred to the statute laws. 
 
 142 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 35, August 
 27, 1850. 
 
 143 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 65, Novem- 
 ber 5, 1850. 
 
 144 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 80, Decem- 
 ber 10, 1850. 
 
 145 The Muscatine Journal, Vol. II, No. 28, December 7, 1850. 
 
 146 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 85, Decem- 
 ber 21, 1850. 
 
 147 The Muscatine Journal, Vol. II, No. 28, December 7, 1850. 
 
 148 The following is a statement from a contemporary source : 
 "In that excellent little treatise on plank roads by the Hon. 
 
 Robert Dale Owen, the author, by way of illustrating some of the 
 benefits arising to farmers and land holders upon the line of 
 these roads, alludes to a farmer named Wilson, whose lands are 
 divided by the road, built under the direction of Mr. 0, running 
 from New Harmony to Mt. Vernon. Mr. W. owns a thousand acres 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 363 
 
 of land, one hundred and fifty of which are cleared and under 
 cultivation while the remaining eight hundred and fifty acres, rich, 
 and heavily timbered, are still in a state of nature. The nearest 
 available market to Mr. Wilson is Mt. Vernon, seven miles distant ; 
 to haul his wood thither on the old road required a four horse team, 
 and in long days could make but two loads, one cord each, a day, 
 which for family use would bring $1.50 a cord; allowing $2.50 a 
 day for the hauling and added to this the price of chopping the two 
 cords of wood at 40 cents a cord, Mr. W. would sink by the operation 
 30 cents a day. 
 
 "But how does the account stand by the use of the improved 
 road? He can now haul with four horses upon a properly con- 
 structed wagon three cords of seasoned wood as easily as he could 
 haul one on the old road, and can make his two trips a day at all 
 seasons of the year, and in considerably shorter time than he could 
 on the unimproved road. Each day, then, a single four-horse team 
 can deliver six cords of wood, which, as before, is $1.50 ; chopping 
 six cords at 40 cents is $2.40 ; add to the tolls, 30 miles at 3 cents 
 per mile, 90 cents; making the cost of the six cords of wood de- 
 livered $5.80. These six cords of wood bring $9, leaving a daily 
 profit of $3.20. 
 
 "Now for the results. "While the old road without toll gates, was 
 the only medium of transportation, Mr. Wilson's cord-wood, as an 
 article of commerce, was worthless, while his land for agricultural 
 purposes was entirely unavailable, except at a very considerable 
 additional cost for clearing. But, by the use of the improved 
 taxed road, the same worthless incumbrance becomes at once of so 
 much value that it will pay more than twice over for clearing and 
 fencing the land on which it stands, or allowing the usual quantity 
 of wood which may be cut from such land, the clear profits arising 
 from the wood from 100 acres may be put down at one thousand 
 dollars. The author then continues: 
 
 " 'Let us suppose that he keeps two four-horse teams regularly 
 running between his farms and Mount Vernon, conveying thither 
 twelve cords of wood a day. To chop and haul this wood, he must 
 employ regularly ten or twelve hands. 
 
 "Here, then, we have a mere improvement in a road creating 
 permanent employment and giving lucrative business, furnishing 
 
364 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 a livelihood to eight or ten additional laborers on a single farm, and 
 returning to the owner of that farm a clear profit from this newly 
 created business of $700 or $800 annually. " Muscatine Journal, 
 Vol. II, No. 28, December 7, 1850. 
 
 149 The Burlington Tri-WeeTdy Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 84, Decem- 
 ber 19, 1850. 
 
 150 Constitution of Iowa, 1846, Art. II, Sec. 18. 
 
 151 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 84, Decem- 
 ber 19, 1850. 
 
 152 The editorial in full reads as follows : 
 
 ' ' To show, in some measure, the necessity of a general plank road 
 law for the State of Iowa, we must consider that plank road com- 
 panies are now being organized all over the State, none of which 
 have the power of acquiring the right of way, and which can only 
 carry out their objects by buying the land over which the road 
 runs. This amounts to a denial of power to construct the road in 
 many instances, and companies are to be put to great expense, 
 trouble and delay in locating the routes of their roads. 
 
 "At the last session of the Ohio Legislature charters were granted 
 to forty-eight companies to construct plank roads, in addition to 
 several charters granted to turnpike companies, with permission to 
 use plank to construct their roads, if found desirable. All this 
 special legislation might have been avoided by a liberal and properly 
 guarded general plank road law, such as exists in New York. In 
 the latter State, 213 plank road companies had been organized up 
 to the 15th of October last, with an aggregate of 2600 miles of 
 plank road, and with a capital employed of more than $4,500,000. 
 
 ' ' In a general plank road law for our State, in our opinion there 
 are several things that should be specially provided for. The pro- 
 visions may be made applicable to all roads constructed by incor- 
 porated companies, whether rail roads, turnpike roads or plank 
 roads; we only speak of the latter for facility of illustration. In 
 the first place the law should provide that any incorporated road 
 company may acquire the right of way through the land of any 
 proprietor living on the proposed route, and the compensation 
 awarded for damages sustained by such proprietor should be as- 
 sessed by a jury, summoned under a writ of ad quod damnum. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 365 
 
 This writ may be issued to the Sheriff of the county from the office 
 of the clerk of the district court, and the proceedings of the Sheriff 
 and jury might be returned to the office to undergo the supervision 
 of the court at its next session. 
 
 1 'The law should further provide that in assessing the damages 
 of any proprietor through whose land the road is to run, the jury 
 shall be sworn to take into consideration any damage or inconveni- 
 ence the owner may sustain, including the building of additional 
 fences, as well as the benefit he is to derive from the road, including 
 the increased value of his land and greater facilities in getting to 
 market. 
 
 1 'All roads should further be declared public highways, and the 
 offence of injuring or obstructing them should be made highly 
 penal. The corporation building the road may be a private one, 
 and the road may be private property, but in another sense the 
 roads are public property and are for the public use. As a private 
 association, the road company might not have the power to acquire 
 the right of way under the constitution, even by paying compensa- 
 tion; but if the roads are declared public highways and set apart 
 for the public use, no such constitutional questions can possibly 
 arise. The Constitution of our State provides that 'private prop- 
 erty shall not be taken for public use without just compensation/ 
 The right of a road company to take private property for their 
 use, even for a just compensation, may well be doubted, and 
 to obviate the objection, we have made the above suggestions. Such 
 a provision will not at all interfere with the right or power to 
 collect tolls ; for if the State would itself have the power to collect 
 tolls on any public improvement, it may well grant such power to 
 any company incorporated under a general law to construct a 
 public road. 
 
 "The provisions above as to roads, should also include bridges. 
 Ample inducements should be held out to our citizens to encourage 
 their erection, and to capitalists abroad to invest their money in 
 them. 
 
 "This may all be done by a general law; such may easily be 
 framed, and such we hope the legislature will pass this winter. Its 
 provisions should be liberal on the one hand and strictly guarded 
 on the other. Let it lend the aid and countenance of the State to 
 
366 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 every species of internal improvement, and at the same time let it 
 put on every necessary restraint to prevent the possibility of abuse 
 or fraud." The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 85, 
 December 21, 1850. 
 
 133 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 98, Janu- 
 ary 21, 1851. 
 
 154 In the editorial referred to in the text, which is entitled 
 "Burlington and Louisa County Plank Road", it was claimed that 
 the people residing along the route of the proposed highway had 
 contributed $10,000, and that $18,000 of the capital stock had to be 
 subscribed before it was possible to establish a permanent organ- 
 ization. The city of Burlington was urged "to show some tangible 
 evidence of their appreciation of the importance of this under- 
 taking." The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 98, 
 January 21, 1851. 
 
 155 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 118, March 
 8, 1851. 
 
 156 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. Ill, Febru- 
 ary 20, 1851. 
 
 15 ? Constitution of Iowa, 1846, Art. IX, Sec. 1. 
 
 158 Constitution of Iowa, 1846, Art. IX, Sec. 2. 
 
 159 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 91, Janu- 
 ary 4, 1851. 
 
 160 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 91, Janu- 
 ary 4, 1851. 
 
 161 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 99, Janu- 
 ary 23, 1851. 
 
 162 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 85, Decem- 
 ber 21, 1850. 
 
 163 Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Art. Ill, Sec. 30. 
 
 164 Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Art. VIII. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 165 The members of the Code Commission were Stephen Hemp- 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 367 
 
 stead, Charles Mason, and "Wm. G. "Woodward. For a discussion of 
 the Code of 1851 see Powell 's History of the Codes of Iowa Law in 
 The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. X, pp. 3-69. 
 
 lee Brindley's History of Taxation in Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 35^41. 
 
 167 Brindley's History of Taxation in Iowa, Vol. I, p. 40. 
 
 168 See above, p. 4. 
 
 iG9 jn or instance see The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. 
 I, Nos. 84 and 86, December 19 and 24, 1850. 
 
 170 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 87, Decem- 
 ber 26, 1850. 
 
 171 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 87, Decem- 
 ber 26, 1850. 
 
 172 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 88, Decem- 
 ber 28, 1850. 
 
 173 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 88, Decem- 
 ber 28, 1850. 
 
 174 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 88, Decem- 
 ber 28, 1850. 
 
 175 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 89, Decem- 
 ber 31, 1850. 
 
 176 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 92, Janu- 
 ary 7, 1851. 
 
 177 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 90, Janu- 
 ary 2, 1851. 
 
 178 The Burlington Tri-Weekly Telegraph, Vol. I, No. 89, Decem- 
 ber 31, 1850. 
 
 179 The Muscatine Journal, Vol. II, No. 33, January 11, 1851. 
 See also Powell's History of the Codes of Iowa Law in The Iowa 
 Journal of History and Politics, Vol. X, p. 27. 
 
 180 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 21. 
 
 181 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 90. 
 
 182 Code of Iowa, 1851, pp. 90-98. 
 
368 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 183 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 91. 
 
 184 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 91. 
 
 185 Code of Iowa, 1851, pp. 91, 92. 
 
 186 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 92. 
 
 187 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 93. 
 
 188 Code of Iowa, 1851, pp. 94, 95. 
 
 189 Code of Iowa, 1851, pp. 95, 96. 
 
 190 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 96. 
 
 191 Code of Iowa, 1851, pp. 98-100. 
 
 192 Code of Iowa, 1851, p. 100. 
 
 193 The Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. VIII, p. 505. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 194 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 *Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, pp. 79-83. 
 
 196 See above, pp. 86, 87. 
 
 1 97 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 80. 
 
 198 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, pp. 81, 82. 
 i" Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 82. 
 
 20 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, pp. 82, 83. 
 
 201 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 82. 
 
 202 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, pp. 174-185. 
 
 203 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. I, p. 463. 
 
 204 Journal of the Senate, 1854-1855,- pp. 213, 214. 
 2 5 Journal of the Senate, 1854-1855, p. 214. 
 
 20 Journal of the Senate, 1854-1855, p. 215. 
 
 207 Journal of the Senate, 1854-1855, p. 216. 
 
 208 Burlington Tri-Weekly Hawk-Eye, Vol. I, No. 38, February 
 6, 1855. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 369 
 
 209 Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, pp. 320-322; also Laws of Iowa, 
 Extra Session, 1856, p. 116. 
 
 210 Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 217. 
 
 211 Laws of Iowa, 1856-1857, pp. 168, 169. 
 
 212 Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. IV, p. 73. 
 
 213 See above, pp. 45, 48. 
 
 214 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. II, p. 41. 
 
 215 Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Art. Ill, Sec. 30. 
 
 216 Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Art. VIII, Sees. 1-12. 
 
 217 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. II, p. 55. 
 
 218 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 163. 
 
 219 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. II, p. 57. 
 
 220 See above, pp. 4, 27. 
 
 221 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 222 Journal of the House, 1858, pp. 88, 89. 
 
 223 Journal of the Senate, 1858, pp. 96, 97. 
 
 224 Journal of the Senate, 1858, p. 99. 
 
 225 Journal of the House, 1858, pp. 136, 137. 
 
 226 The Daily Gate City (Keokuk), Vol. IV, No. 282, January 28, 
 1858. 
 
 227 Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 290-296, 330-340. 
 
 228 Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 330-340. 
 
 229 Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 331, 332. 
 
 230 Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 333, 334. 
 
 231 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 334. 
 
 232 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 335. 
 
 233 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 335. 
 
 24 
 
370 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 234 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 336. 
 
 235 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 338. 
 
 236 Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 339, 340. 
 287 Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 290-296. 
 
 238 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 290. 
 
 239 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 291. 
 
 240 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 294. 
 
 241 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 295. 
 
 242 7 Iowa 248. 
 
 243 Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Art. I, Sec. 18. 
 
 244 9 Iowa 202, 203 
 
 245 9 Iowa 203. 
 
 246 9 Iowa 450. 
 
 247 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, pp. 70, 71, 178, 179. 
 
 248 9 Iowa 450, 451. 
 
 249 The opinion of the court is explained more fully by the fol- 
 lowing extract: 
 
 "We have seen that neither of these propositions can be sus- 
 tained. That on the contrary thereof, the city by virtue of the 
 dedication by the United States, took no title to the streets; that 
 it has no right to use them for its own purposes, nor to employ 
 them for any purpose different from that for which they were 
 designed; that, subject to the public easement, the owner of the 
 adjoining lots is the absolute owner of the soil of the streets, and 
 retains his exclusive right in all mines, quarries, springs of water, 
 timber and earth, for every purpose not inconsistent with the 
 public right of way. 
 
 "Neither the city, nor any individual had the right, against the 
 will or without the consent of the owner of the adjoining lot, to 
 construct a cistern under the street or sidewalk ; and if the defend- 
 ant for his own convenience, or to suit his own purpose, excavated 
 the earth from the sidewalk opposite his lot, and in so doing in- 
 jured or destroyed the cistern, there is no principle on which he 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 371 
 
 can be made liable, in any action by the city, to recover damages 
 for the injury. " 9 Iowa 459-461. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 250 See above, p. 6. 
 
 251 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 252 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 253 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 254 House File, No. 113. Journal of the House of Representa- 
 tives, 1860, pp. 161, 162. 
 
 255 House File, No. 33. Journal of the House of Representa- 
 tives, 1860, p. 90. 
 
 256 House File, No. 185. Journal of the House of Representa- 
 tives, 1860, p. 259. 
 
 257 House File, No. 295. Journal of the House of Representa- 
 tives, 1860, p. 450. 
 
 258 Journal of the Senate, 1860, p. 438. 
 
 259 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860, pp. 161, 162. 
 
 260 House File, No. 113, in the Department of Public Archives 
 (Des Moines). 
 
 261 House File, No. 113, Sec. 23, in the Department of Public 
 Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 262 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860, pp. 161, 162. 
 
 263 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860, p. 211. 
 
 264 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860, p. 261. 
 
 265 Senate File, No. 95 was introduced as a substitute for Senate 
 Files, Nos. 45, 46. Journal of the Senate, 1860, pp. 248, 249. 
 
 266 Journal of the Senate, 1860, pp. 249, 250. 
 
 267 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860, p. 387. 
 
 268 Journal of the Senate, 1860, p. 412. 
 
 269 Journal of the Senate, 1860, pp. 438, 439. 
 
372 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 270 p or instance see Journal of the Senate, 1860, pp. 440, 441. 
 
 271 The following is a copy of an amendment by Senator Wilson 
 of Dubuque providing for the election of Supervisors on the basis 
 of population : 
 
 "But if the population of any such township exceeds four thou- 
 sand, and is less than eight thousand, there shall be elected an 
 additional Supervisor from such township, or townships, and one 
 additional Supervisor for each four thousand inhabitants over and 
 above eight thousand, the number of inhabitants to be determined 
 by the last preceding State or Federal Census, each of which Super- 
 visors, &c." Journal of the Senate, 1860, p. 455. 
 
 272 Journal of the Senate, 1860, p. 456. 
 
 273 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860, p. 430. 
 
 274 "The bill substituting the Supervisor system for the present 
 County Judge system, has passed both branches of the Legislature, 
 and we presume has received the signature of the Governor. We 
 regard this as the most important measure of the session not 
 excepting the new Code. It works a much needed and radical re- 
 form. It subverts and dethrones just as many little kings or petty 
 despots, or possible despots, as there are Counties in the State. It 
 restores to the people the powers, and the exercise of powers which 
 never should have been taken from them, and which it is dangerous 
 for them to part with. It restores that principle and system of local 
 self-government which was the germ of our municipal Republican 
 institutions, and, in all ages of English civilization, the bulwark of 
 individual liberty. 
 
 "The system is essentially democratic in the true sense of the 
 term. It gives to the people of every organized locality a voice in 
 the control of their own affairs, and thereby develops a true civic 
 life, and trains up each individual in the practice of the duties of 
 citizenship. Close representation and direct responsibility secure 
 a faithful management of County affairs. As the people become 
 acquainted with the system, they will like it, and will rejoice that 
 the 'County King' is dethroned. He, at least, can no longer use, 
 abuse, and distribute the vast patronage of the County for the per- 
 petuation of his own power." The Daily Gate City (Keokuk), 
 Vol. VII, No. 18, March 21, 1860. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 373 
 
 275 The Burlington Daily Hawk-Eye, February 29, 1860. 
 
 276 Revision of I860, pp. 133-147. 
 
 277 Revision of I860, p. 53. 
 
 278 Revision of 1860, p. 146. 
 
 279 Revision of 1860, p. 53. 
 
 280 Revision of 1860, pp. 48-53. 
 
 281 See above, pp. 129-132. 
 
 282 Revision of 1860, pp. 50, 51. 
 
 283 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 334. 
 
 284 12 Iowa 506. 
 
 285 12 Iowa 507-509. 
 
 286 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. II, p. 314. 
 
 287 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 288 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 289 Laws of Iowa, 1862, pp. 106-108. 
 
 290 Laws of Iowa, 1862, pp. 192, 193. 
 
 291 Laws of Iowa, 1862, p. 107. 
 
 292 Laws of Iowa, 1862, pp. 107, 108. 
 
 293 Laws of Iowa, 1862, p. 192. 
 
 294 See above, p. 116. 
 
 295 Laws of Iowa, 1862, p. 193. 
 
 296 Laws of Iowa, 1864, pp. 82, 83 and 89. 
 
 297 Laws of Iowa, 1864, p. 89. 
 
 298 House File, No. 64. Journal of the House of Representa- 
 tives, 1866, p. 109. Also House File, No. 86, Journal of the House 
 of Representatives, 1866, p. 123 ; and Senate File, No. 124, Journal 
 of the Senate, 1866, p. 251. 
 
 299 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1866, p. 129. 
 
 300 Iowa Daily State Register (Des Moines), Vol. V, No. 6, Janu- 
 ary 24, 1866. 
 
374 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 301 For an account of the debate in the House of Representatives 
 on the Brown resolution relative to the proposed change in local 
 government see the Iowa Daily State Register (Des Homes), Vol. 
 V, No. 6, January 24, 1866. 
 
 302 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1866, p. 208. 
 
 303 Laws of Iowa, 1866, p. 80. 
 
 304 Revision of I860, p. 51. 
 
 305 Laws of Iowa, 1866, p. 80. 
 
 306 Laws of Iowa, 1866, pp. 135-137. 
 3 7 Laws of Iowa, 1866, p. 136. 
 
 308 21 Iowa 409. 
 
 309 21 Iowa 415, 416 
 
 310 Petitions on file in the Department of Public Archives (Des 
 Moines). 
 
 311 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 312 House Files, Nos. 8, 9, 24, and 25. Journal of the House of 
 Representatives, 1868, pp. 65, 75. 
 
 313 A copy of House File, No. 9, introduced by Mr. Dudley may 
 be found in the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 314 See Journal of the House of Representatives, 1868, pp. 544, 
 545; Journal of the Senate, 1868, pp. 85, 161, 209, 248, 249. 
 
 315 Laws of Iowa, 1868, pp. 39, 40. 
 
 316 23 Iowa 531. 
 
 317 Laws of Iowa, 1868, p. 53. 
 
 318 Laws of Iowa, 1868, p. 102. 
 
 319 Revision of 1860, p. 143. 
 
 320 Laws of Iowa, 1868, pp. 221, 223. 
 
 321 Laws of Iowa, 1868, p. 138. 
 
 322 L aws O f Iowa, 1868, p. 139. 
 
 323 Laws of Iowa, 1868, p. 152. 
 
 324 Laws of Iowa, 1868, p. 207. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 375 
 
 325 Laws of Iowa, 1868, p. 114. 
 
 326 Laws of Iowa, 1866, p. 135. 
 
 327 25 Iowa 540. 
 
 328 25 Iowa 546-549. 
 
 329 34 Iowa 421. 
 
 330 Revision of I860, p. 53. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 331 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 332 Petitions in Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 333 Journal of the Senate, 1870, p. 31. 
 
 334 Journal of the Senate, 1870, p. 36. 
 
 335 A copy of Senate File, No. 7, as introduced by Senator Mur- 
 ray may be found in the Department of Public Archives (Des 
 Moines). 
 
 336 A copy of Senate File, No. 18, as introduced by Senator 
 Campbell may be found in the Department of Public Archives (Des 
 Moines). 
 
 337 Journal of the Senate, 1870, p. 69. 
 
 338 Journal of the Senate, pp. 75, 93, 118, 120, and 124-126. 
 
 339 Daily Iowa State Register, Vol. VIII, No. 338, February 3, 
 1870. 
 
 340 Senator Patterson submitted the following facts concerning 
 Floyd County: 
 
 "There are in Floyd County three townships lying on the Shell 
 Rock River : Rockgrove, with a population of 914, Rockf ord, with a 
 population of 599, and Union, with a population of 831. There are 
 also three townships lying on the Cedar River : Floyd, with a popu- 
 lation of 1,267, St. Charles, with a population of 2,671, and River- 
 ton, with a population of 776. A majority of the townships are in 
 the west side of the county, near the Shell Rock." Daily Iowa 
 State Register (Des Moines), Vol. VIII, No. 338, February 3, 1870. 
 
 341 Journal of the Senate, 1870, p. 126. 
 
376 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 342 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1870, p. 186. 
 
 343 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 187. 
 
 344 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 186. 
 
 345 Laws of Iowa, 1870, pp. 186, 187. 
 
 346 Dubuque Daily Herald, Vol. XVI, No. 5397, February 5, 1870. 
 The following editorial entitled The Supervisor System also ap- 
 peared in the Dubuque Daily Herald: 
 
 "The voice of the press of all parties, so far as we have noticed, 
 is unanimous against the bill that has passed the senate abolishing 
 the supervisor system and re-establishing the old county commis- 
 sioner system. There are more papers in the state than there are 
 members of the legislature, and we believe taken as a whole they 
 are better exponents of public opinion in their several localities. 
 And yet we see the entire press a unit against the bill that has 
 passed the senate and is now pending in the house. 
 
 "At the same time, the present system undoubtedly needs some 
 amendments, but would it not be better that those be made rather 
 than abolish the whole system and adopt one which is much more 
 open to objection and faulty?" Dubuque Daily Herald, Vol. XVI, 
 No. 5407, February 17, 1870. 
 
 347 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 20. 
 
 348 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 37. 
 
 349 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 85. 
 
 350 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 87. 
 
 351 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 185. 
 
 352 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 229. 
 
 353 Laws of Iowa, 1870, pp. 37, 38. 
 
 354 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 85. 
 
 355 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. Ill, p. 377. 
 
 356 See above, p. 64. 
 
 857 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. IV, p. 20. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 377 
 
 358 Laws of Iowa, 1872 (Public), p. 1. 
 S59 Laws of Iowa, 1872 (Public), p. 14. 
 
 360 Laws of Iowa, 1872 (Public), p. 33. 
 
 361 Laws of Iowa, 1872 (Public), p. 101. 
 
 362 23 Iowa 531. 
 
 363 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 132. 
 
 364 Brindley's History of Taxation in Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 70, 71. 
 
 365 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 161. 
 
 366 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 163. 
 
 367 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 163. 
 
 368 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 164. 
 
 369 Code of Iowa, 1873, pp. 165, 166. 
 
 370 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 168. 
 
 371 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 168. 
 
 372 Code of Iowa, 1873, pp. 168, 169. 
 
 373 Code of Iowa, 1873, pp. 170-172. 
 
 374 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 173. 
 
 375 See above, p. 116. 
 
 376 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 92. 
 
 377 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. IV, p. 99. 
 
 378 Laws of Iowa, 1874, p. 6. 
 
 379 Laws of Iowa, 1874, p. 14. 
 
 380 Laws of Iowa, 1874, p. 15. 
 
 381 Laws of Iowa, 1874, p. 35. 
 
 382 Laws of Iowa, 1874, p. 26. 
 
 383 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 171. 
 
 384 Laws of Iowa, 1876, p. 17. 
 
 385 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 172. 
 
378 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 386 Laws of Iowa, 1876, p. 23. 
 
 387 Code of Iowa, 1873, pp. 52, 53. 
 
 388 Laws of Iowa, 1876, p. 66 ; Laws of Iowa, 1872 (Public), p. 1. 
 
 389 Laws of Iowa, 1876, p. 97. 
 
 390 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 391 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. V, p. 16. 
 
 392 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 172. 
 
 393 Laws of Iowa, 1878, pp. 46, 47. 
 
 394 Laws of Iowa, 1878, p. 35. 
 
 395 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. V, pp. 80, 81. 
 
 396 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 28. 
 
 397 Laws of Iowa, 1880, pp. 38, 39. 
 
 398 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 44. 
 
 399 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 32. 
 
 400 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 85. 
 
 401 Laws of Iowa, 1880, pp. 128, 129. 
 
 402 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 155. 
 
 403 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 173. 
 
 404 Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 405 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. V, p. 169. 
 
 406 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. V, pp. 247, 248. 
 
 407 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1882, p. 286. 
 
 408 Iowa City Weekly Republican, Vol. 43, No. 15, March 7, 1883. 
 
 409 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1882, p. 511. 
 
 410 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1882, p. 524. 
 
 411 Journal of the Senate, 1882, pp. 75, 153. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 379 
 
 412 Journal of the Senate, 1882, p. 406. 
 
 413 Laws of Iowa, 1882, p. 52. 
 
 414 Laws of Iowa, 1882, p. 64. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 415 Iowa City Weekly Republican, Vol. 43, No. 9, January 17, 
 1883. 
 
 416 Iowa City Weekly Republican, Vol. 43, No. 15, March 7, 1883. 
 
 417 The Committee on Credentials was composed of John Mahin 
 of Muscatine County, David Leonard of Des Moines County, J. 
 Scott Jenkins of Clinton County, W. P. Ketchum of Iowa County, 
 and C. L. Jones of Butler County. The Committee on Resolutions 
 was made up of one delegate from each congressional district. It 
 consisted of M. L. Crew of Henry County, representing the First 
 District; L. F. Parker of Scott, Second District; Geo. 0. Van Bleck 
 of Butler, Third District; Robert Grant, of Clayton, Fourth Dis- 
 trict; S. D. Pryce of Johnson, Fifth District; Samuel Gilfoy of 
 Keokuk, Sixth District; B. F. Gue of Polk, Seventh District; D. F. 
 Paul of Shelby, Ninth District; W. P. Payne of Story, Tenth Dis- 
 trict; and J. J. Bruce of Pocahontas, Eleventh District. Finally, 
 the Committee on Permanent Organization consisted of Judge N. B. 
 Holbrook of Iowa; Carey R. Smith of Johnson; Professor S. A. 
 Knapp of Story; C. L. Jones of Butler and A. Pearson of Wash- 
 ington. Iowa City Weekly Republican, Vol. 43, No. 15, March 7, 
 1883. 
 
 418 In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 419 The following memorial was submitted by certain farmers of 
 "Warren County: 
 
 "Your memorialists beg leave to represent that the recommenda- 
 tion of the Governor to make all Road tax to be paid in money if 
 adopted would without doubt be increasing the Burden of Taxation 
 by making the payment more difficult to pay than it now is the 
 farmer can now work his tax after Harvest with the best advantage 
 to the Roads and to himself too the dry season being conceeded to 
 be the right time to make roads. 
 
 "The adoption of said recommendation then could only by in- 
 
380 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 jurious to the tax payer nor can it be shown that it would be any 
 benefit to the Roads beyond what the Road Laws now are. 
 
 "The same may be said of every proposition made by the State 
 road convention and its committees indeed every measure they 
 propose would require greater outlay to produce better or even 
 good results as are obtained under our present road laws. 
 
 "Why should the tax be paid in Money then the farmer who has to 
 pay is close to where the words is and is as able and as willing and 
 does work as good or does more work than any other class of people 
 and to save that money paid hands will do better work under the 
 same supervision is neither reasonable nor true nor warranted by 
 known facts. We ask further to say that our present Road Laws 
 more than any other plan named by leaving the road management 
 in the hands of the People of the Several Townships are more in 
 accord with the principles of justice and Liberty and the require- 
 ments of Free Government than the suggestions of the late road 
 convention or the recommendation of the governor the Liberty to 
 say how the tax shall be paid and the election of Supervisors being 
 left with the People of each Township when it should be and now is 
 the best government it is said and the best Laws are those that leave 
 the greatest amount of Liberty with the People only retaining 
 injury to others. We can not close without reminding you as the 
 Hon. Representatives of the People that the System of one Super- 
 visor only in each Township as recommended could not be as ad- 
 vantageous as the present system of having five or six small dis- 
 tricts with a man to supervise each because there is a Supervisor 
 in each small district now who can be notified easyer of any and is 
 right close to all needed Repairs and can do their repairing to as 
 much greater advantage as his district is smaller than the whole 
 Township this is just as true as the declaration that six men can do 
 more than one. 
 
 "We will then in conclusion ask that you give heed to the call of 
 human rights and equal justice and the great principle of free Gov- 
 ernment which will leave the road Laws and management as they 
 now are in the hands of the People and not under the control of a 
 centralized one man power and moneyed Despotism. " [Signed by 
 33 persons]. In the Department of Public Archives (Des Moines). 
 
 420 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. V, pp. 308, 309. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 381 
 
 421 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 12. 
 
 422 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 197. 
 
 423 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 217. 
 
 424 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 217. 
 
 425 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 218. 
 
 426 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 219. 
 
 427 Laws of Iowa, 1886, p. 13. 
 
 428 Laws of Iowa, 1886, p. 59. 
 
 429 Laws of Iowa, 1886, p. 108. 
 
 430 Code of Iowa, 1873, p. 172. 
 
 431 Laws of Iowa, 1886, p. 110. 
 
 432 Proceedings of the Iowa Surveyors' and Civil Engineers' As- 
 sociation, 1887, pp. 13, 14. 
 
 433 Laws of Iowa, 1888, p. 130. 
 
 434 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. VI, pp. 170, 171. 
 
 435 Laws of Iowa, 1890, p. 6; see also Laws of Iowa, 1888, pp. 
 19, 21. 
 
 436 Laws of Iowa, 1890, p. 34. 
 
 437 Laws of Iowa, 1892, p. 34. 
 
 438 Laws of Iowa, 1892, p. 71. 
 
 439 Laws of Iowa, 1892, p. 67. 
 
 440 Laws of Iowa, 1892, p. 102. 
 
 441 Laws of Iowa, 1892, p. 92. 
 
 442 88 Iowa 617. 
 
 443 Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Convention of the Iowa So- 
 ciety of Civil Engineers and Surveyors, 1893, pp. 36-69, especially 
 pp. 57-62. 
 
 444 An article on Improvement of Highways, by C. R. Allen, City 
 Engineer of Ottumwa, Iowa, reprinted from the Iowa Capital in the 
 
382 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Convention of the Iowa Society of 
 Civil Engineers and Surveyors, 1894, pp. 27-34. 
 
 445 A strenuous effort was made to secure the adoption of the 
 following bill, which was submitted by the Committee on High- 
 ways in the Senate as a substitute for Senate File, No. 9 : 
 "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa: 
 
 "SECTION 1. The township trustees of each township shall meet 
 on the first Monday in April, and on the first Monday in September 
 in each year. At the September meeting said trustees shall de- 
 termine upon the amount of the property tax to be levied for high- 
 ways, bridges, guide boards, plows, scrapers, tools and machinery 
 adapted to the construction and repair of highways, and for the 
 payment of any indebtedness previously incurred for highway pur- 
 poses, and levy the same, which shall not be less than one nor more 
 than four mills on the dollar on the amount of the township assess- 
 ment for that year. Road taxes levied and assessed under the pro- 
 visions of this act shall be paid in money to the county treasurer at 
 the time of the payment of the first installment of other taxes as 
 provided by law. 
 
 "SEC. 2. The township clerk shall, on or before the second Mon- 
 day in October in each year, certify to the county auditor the 
 amount of the levy made by the township trustees at their Septem- 
 ber meeting in each year. 
 
 "SEC. 3. The board of supervisors of each county shall, at the 
 time of levying taxes for other purposes, levy a tax of one mill on 
 the dollar of the assessed value of the taxable property in their 
 county, which tax shall be collected at the same time and in the 
 same manner as other taxes are collected and shall be known as the 
 county road fund, and shall be expended under the direction of the 
 board of supervisors in the construction and maintenance of high- 
 ways leading from the trade centers located within the county 
 from which the same is levied, and such expenditures shall be made 
 as near as may be so as to give each township contributing to such 
 tax the benefit of the tax collected therein. 
 
 "SEC. 4. The board of supervisors shall, at their meeting in 
 January of each year, formally designate the highways leading 
 from the trading centers to be improved by them during the year 
 following, and they shall extend such main highways from year to 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 383 
 
 year so as to give the various townships of the county the benefit of 
 such improvement. 
 
 "SEC. 5. Every civil township or part thereof lying outside of 
 any incorporated town or city shall constitute a single road district. 
 
 "SEC. 6. The board of trustees of each township shall, at their 
 regular meeting on the first Monday in September of each year, 
 appoint a highway supervisor, whose duties shall be to superintend 
 all work on the highways under and by direction of the township 
 trustees, and his compensation shall be fixed by the trustees as 
 aforesaid, not to exceed, however, the sum of $2.50 per day for 
 each day actually employed in the duties of his office, fractional 
 parts of a day to be paid for pro rata. Said highway supervisor 
 shall hold his office for one year unless removed by a two-thirds vote 
 of the township trustees. 
 
 "SEC. 7. The township trustees shall constitute a committee to 
 purchase for their respective townships all tools and implements 
 to be used on such highway and to provide for the custody and care 
 of the same. 
 
 "SEC. 8. The township trustees shall have power to let by con- 
 tract, by competitive bidding, all work upon the highway, or they 
 may authorize the said highway supervisor to employ help at such 
 compensation as such trustees may fix. 
 
 "SEC. 9. Ten hours shall constitute a day's work upon the 
 highway. 
 
 "SEC. 10. All able-bodied men over twenty-one years of age and 
 under forty-five years of age shall pay to the county treasurer at 
 such time as the first installment of other taxes are payable the 
 sum of $2.00 each, annually, to be known as poll-tax for highway 
 purposes. 
 
 "SEC. 11. The township clerk shall receive from the county 
 treasurer all moneys collected under sections one and ten of this 
 act, and disburse the same only on the order of the township trus- 
 tees, and such township clerk shall receive as compensation for 
 receiving and disbursing the same one-half of one per cent of all 
 moneys received by him. The bond of such township clerk shall be 
 fixed by the trustees and be approved by the board of supervisors. 
 
 "SEC. 12. The board of supervisors and the township trustees 
 shall have the power to employ, at the per diem now fixed by law, 
 
384 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 the county surveyor to make surveys upon public highways to be 
 graded, improved or drained by them under the provisions of this 
 act ; and it shall be the duty of such surveyor to make such surveys 
 and prepare plans and specifications for such road improvements 
 under the direction of said board of supervisors to township trus- 
 tees. Said surveyor shall be paid by said board of supervisors out 
 of the county highway fund when employed by them and by the 
 township trustees out of the township highway fund when em- 
 ployed by them. 
 
 "SEC. 13. Every county in this state shall have power to pur- 
 chase or take and hold in the manner provided in Chapter 4 of the 
 code of 1873, and amendments thereto, lands upon which gravel beds 
 or stone quarries are located, for the purpose of securing material 
 for the improvement and maintenance of the highways located 
 within such county and shall pay therefor the purchase price or 
 damages adjudged for the taking of such property under condemna- 
 tion proceedings out of the one mill road tax provided herein. The 
 board of supervisors of each county shall have the power to make 
 such purchase for such county or shall institute the proceedings 
 necessary for such condemnation in the name of the county. 
 
 "SEC. 14. All powers heretofore delegated by law to road super- 
 visors are hereby vested in the township trustees of the respective 
 townships. 
 
 "SEC. 15. That all property now subject to taxation in any city 
 or town which by law is not subject to taxation for general munic- 
 ipal purposes shall nevertheless be liable to taxation for road pur- 
 poses as may be provided by the council of such city or town, but 
 not exceeding the rate of four mills upon the dollar of the assessed 
 valuation thereof, and all personal property, necessary for the use 
 and cultivation of agricultural or horticultural lands shall be 
 liable for such road taxes but shall not be liable for any other city 
 tax or assessments. 
 
 "SEC. 16. This act shall be binding and in force from and after 
 its publication ; but shall not interfere with the duties of the town- 
 ship trustees as provided by Section 969 of the code of 1873, or of 
 the duties of road supervisors as now by law provided, until Sep- 
 tember 1, 1894, and all moneys in the hands of the road supervisors 
 unexpended on the first day of September, 1894, shall be turned 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 385 
 
 over to the township clerk who shall give his receipt therefor, and 
 said money shall be subject to the order of the township trustees 
 for highway purposes. 
 
 "SEC. 17. That Sections 969 and 975 of the code of 1873, and 
 Sections 1, 4 and 5 of Chapter 200 of the acts of the Twentieth 
 General Assembly and Section 1 of Chapter 158 of the acts of the 
 Nineteenth General Assembly be and the same are hereby repealed, 
 and all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby 
 repealed. " Copy of the bill found in Proceedings of the Sixth 
 Annual Convention of the Iowa Society of Civil Engineers and 
 Surveyors, 1894, pp. 38-41. 
 
 446 Laws of Iowa, 1874, p. 26. 
 
 447 Laws of Iowa, 1894, p. 32. 
 
 448 Laws of Iowa, 1884, pp. 217-220. 
 
 449 Laws of Iowa, 1894, p. 34. 
 
 450 Laws of Iowa, 1894, pp. 33, 34. 
 i 90 Iowa 185-189. 
 
 452 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. VII, pp. 109, 110. 
 
 453 Laws of Iowa, 1896, p. 45. 
 
 454 Laws of Iowa, 1896, p. 46. 
 
 455 Laws of Iowa, 1896, p. 51. 
 
 456 Laws of Iowa, 1896, p. 52. 
 4 ^ Laws of Iowa, 1896, p. 76. 
 
 458 Laws of Iowa, 1896, p. 45. 
 
 459 Laws of Iowa, 1896, p. 46. 
 
 460 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 217. 
 461 100 Iowa 131. 
 
 4 2 60 N. W. Reporter 266. 
 
 463 See above, pp. 163-169. 
 
 464 Code of Iowa, 1897, p. 554. 
 
 25 
 
386 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 465 Code of Iowa, 1897, p. 565. 
 
 466 Code of Iowa, 1897, p. 570. 
 
 467 Code of Iowa, 1897, p. 571. 
 
 468 Laws of Iowa, 1884, p. 217. 
 
 469 Laws of Iowa, 1898, p. 104. 
 
 470 Laws of Iowa, 1898, p. 23. 
 
 471 Laws of Iowa, 1898, p. 29. 
 
 472 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
 Iowa, Vol. VII, pp. 332, 333. 
 
 473 Laws of Iowa, 1900, p. 97. 
 4T4 Laws of Iowa, 1902, p. 24. 
 
 475 Laws of Iowa, 1902, p. 30. 
 
 476 Laws of Iowa, 1902, p. 40. 
 
 477 Laws of Iowa, 1902, p. 48. 
 
 478 Laws of Iowa, 1902, p. 49. 
 
 479 Laws of Iowa, 1902, p. 50. 
 
 480 See above, p. 100. 
 
 481 Laws of Iowa, 1902, p. 31. 
 
 482 See above, p. 93. 
 
 488 Paper by Professor C. F. Curtiss on Good Roads in the Pro- 
 ceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Iowa Engineering 
 Society, 1903, p. 10. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 484 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 
 485 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1904, p. 578. 
 
 486 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1904, pp. 1290, 1291. 
 
 487 Laws of Iowa, 1904, p. 108. 
 
 488 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 
 489 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1904, p. 196. 
 
NOTES AND KEFERENCES 387 
 
 490 The Register and Leader (Des Moines), No. 620, March 12, 
 1904. 
 
 491 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1904, pp. 693, 694 ; 
 Journal of the Senate, 1904, p. 835. 
 
 492 Laws of Iowa, 1904, p. 43. 
 
 493 Laws of Iowa, 1904, p. 44. 
 
 494 Laws of Iowa, 1904, p. 66. 
 
 495 Laws of Iowa, 1904, p. 67. 
 
 496 The Good Roads Problem in Iowa, Vol. II, Bulletin No. 6, 
 Engineering Experiment Station of the Iowa State College, p. 75. 
 
 497 See above, p. 74. 
 
 498 Manual for Iowa Highway Officers, by the State Highway 
 Commission, 1905, p. 4. . 
 
 499 Manual for Iowa Highway Officers, by the State Highway 
 Commission, 1905, p. 35. 
 
 500 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, June 15 and 
 16, 1905, p. 6. 
 
 501 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, June 15 and 
 16, 1905, pp. 9, 15. 
 
 502 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, June 15 and 
 16, 1905, p. 28. 
 
 503 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, June 15 and 
 16, 1905, p. 46. 
 
 504 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, June 15 and 
 16, 1905, p. 47. 
 
 505 ]?i rs t Annual Report of the Iowa State Highway Commission, 
 1905, p. 5. 
 
 soe Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, June 15 and 
 16, 1905, p. 2. 
 
 507 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1906, pp. 95, 96. 
 
 508 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1906, p. 114 ; House 
 File, No. 39. 
 
388 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 509 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1906, p. 56 ; House 
 File, No. 13. 
 
 810 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1906, p. 758 ; House 
 File, No. 379. 
 
 511 Journal of the Senate, 1906, p. 528 ; Senate File, No. 252. 
 
 512 Journal of the Senate, 1906, p. 42 ; Senate File, No. 6. 
 
 513 The Register and Leader, 56th year, No. 193, January 12, 1906. 
 
 514 Journal of the Senate, 1906, p. 53 ; Senate File, No. 19. 
 
 515 The Register and Leader, 56th year, No. 193, January 12, 1906. 
 
 516 Laws of Iowa, 1906, p. 38. 
 
 517 The Register and Leader, 56th year, No. 213, February 6, 1906. 
 
 518 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, February 7 
 and 8, 1906, pp. 6-8. 
 
 519 proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, February 7 
 and 8, 1906, pp. 28, 29. 
 
 520 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, February 7 
 and 8, 1906, pp. 31, 32. 
 
 521 Proceedings of the Iowa Good Roads Association, February 7 
 and 8, 1906, p. 33. 
 
 522 The following resolutions were adopted : 
 
 "WHEREAS, We the members and visitors in attendance at the 
 Good Roads Convention now being held in the City of Des Moines 
 are in hearty accord with the efforts being put forth by the various 
 state and county officers, and by many local organizations as well 
 as private citizens. And that to further show our interest and 
 support in their efforts, 
 
 "BE IT RESOLVED: First, That we heartily approve of the law 
 just passed by the present Legislature authorizing the use of the 
 road drag on our highways, and recommend that township trustees 
 and others add a sufficient number of them to their outfit of road 
 machinery and to insist on their use, and we also recommend that 
 the use of wide-tired wagons be encouraged. 
 
 "Second. That the township road levy be made three mills and 
 be used for maintenance purposes under the direction of the town- 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 389 
 
 ship trustees, who shall also collect and use the poll tax of the 
 township. 
 
 * ' Third. That the county road levy be made two mills instead of 
 one, and that this fund be used for construction and emergency 
 work under the direction of the Board of Supervisors in a system- 
 atic manner and that such portion thereof as is paid by property 
 within any city or incorporated town shall be expended upon the 
 business streets within, and upon the main thoroughfares connect- 
 ing with, and leading from said city or town, and that the law shall 
 be amended so that it shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors 
 to designate from time to time such streets and main thoroughfares 
 as county roads and the same shall thereafter be subject to im- 
 provement. 
 
 "That such portion of said tax as arises from property within 
 the county shall be expended in the extension of the work on such 
 main thoroughfares and tributaries thereto extending through the 
 townships contributing the same. 
 
 "Fourth. Be it further resolved that this convention endorse 
 the work now being done by the State Highway Commission, and 
 we recommend that its work be continued, and that sufficient ap- 
 propriation be made by the Legislature for continued work along 
 the line for which it was organized, and that its bulletins and re- 
 ports be published and distributed as public documents. 
 
 "Fifth. Be it further resolved that the thanks of this Conven- 
 tion be extended to the Des Moines Commercial Club for the use of 
 its rooms and for courtesies shown our number and that copies of 
 these resolutions be placed on the records of this association, and 
 furnished the papers of Des Moines, and the Clerk of each branch 
 of the Legislature. ' ' In the files of the Iowa State Highway Com- 
 mission (Ames). 
 
 523 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 110. 
 
 524 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 287. 
 
 525 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 333. 
 
 526 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, pp. 343-346 ; 
 Journal of the Senate, 1907, p. 410. 
 
 527 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 124. 
 
390 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 528 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 338. 
 
 529 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 424. 
 
 530 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 620. 
 
 531 The Register and Leader, Vol. 57, No. 251, March 10, 1907. 
 
 632 Journal of the Senate, 1907, p. 856 ; Journal of the House of 
 Representatives, 1907, p. 712. 
 
 533 The Register and Leader, Vol. 57, No. 245, March 4, 1907. 
 
 534 House File, No. 346, by Darrah. 
 
 535 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1907, p. 1221. 
 
 536 Laws of Iowa, 1907, p. 28. 
 
 537 Laws of Iowa, 1907, p. 71. 
 
 538 Laws of Iowa, 1907, pp. 71, 72. 
 
 539 Laws of Iowa, 1907, pp. 72, 73. 
 
 540 Laws of Iowa, 1907, pp. 73, 102. 
 
 541 Laws of Iowa, 1907, pp. 73, 291. 
 
 542 The following is a brief summary of the recommendations 
 made along this line by the State Highway Commission : 
 
 "The increase of the duties and powers of the Highway Com- 
 mission, consistent with the evident need and field of usefulness in 
 the state of such a department. 
 
 1 ' The establishment of the office of county engineer who shall be 
 qualified to take charge of all county road and bridge construction 
 and maintenance. 
 
 "An adequate bridge law that will provide real competition for 
 county contracts and protect both the county and the contractor. 
 
 "The concentration of more of the road funds under the county 
 supervisors to provide an adequate building fund. 
 
 "A mandatory road drag law providing for the consistent drag- 
 ging of all main roads and rural routes. 
 
 "An act based somewhat on the Michigan law providing for a 
 state reward which shall be paid to counties or townships for road 
 construction under plans and specifications prepared by the High- 
 way Commission. The reward should aggregate one-third to one- 
 half the cost of the improvement. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 391 
 
 "A provision inaugurating tree planting and the destruction of 
 roadside weeds. 
 
 "An act collecting an annual tax from automobile owners, this 
 tax to be set aside for use by the Highway Commission in encour- 
 aging road improvement, and for offering rewards for improved 
 road construction." Third Annual Report of the Iowa State 
 Highway Commission, 1907-1908, p. 34. 
 
 543 Third Annual Report of the Iowa State Highway Commission, 
 1907-1908, pp. 22, 23. 
 
 544 Third Annual Report of the Iowa State Highway Commission, 
 1907-1908, p. 32. 
 
 545 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, p. 125. 
 
 546 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, pp. 185, 186. 
 
 547 House File, No. 47, introduced by Bonwell. 
 
 548 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, p. 239 ; House 
 File, No. 137, 1909, introduced by Fulliam. 
 
 549 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, p. 735 ; House 
 File, No. 395, introduced by the Committee on Roads and Highways. 
 
 550 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, pp. 437, 559. 
 
 551 House File, No. 275, introduced by Hackler. 
 
 552 House File, No. 327, introduced by Corrie. 
 
 553 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, p. 395. 
 
 554 Journal of the Senate, 1909, p. 179 ; Senate File, No. 71, intro- 
 duced by Allen ; also Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, 
 p. 200 ; and House File, No. 83, introduced by Perkins. 
 
 555 Journal of the Senate, 1909, pp. 156, 269. 
 
 556 Journal of the Senate, 1909, p. 521 ; Senate File, No. 264, in- 
 troduced by Balkema. 
 
 557 Journal of the Senate, 1909, p. 245; Senate File, No. 119, in- 
 troduced by Larrabee. 
 
 558 The Register and Leader, Vol. 59, No. 240, February 27, 1909. 
 
 559 House File, No. 5, introduced by Zeller. 
 
392 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 560 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1909, p. 279. 
 
 561 Journal of the Senate f 1909, p. 679. 
 
 562 Journal of the Senate, 1909, p. 400. 
 
 563 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 81. 
 
 564 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 82. 
 
 565 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 88. 
 
 566 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 91. 
 
 567 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 91. 
 
 568 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 92. 
 
 569 Laws of Iowa, 1909, pp. 93, 94. 
 
 570 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 92. 
 
 571 Laws of Iowa, 1909, p. 83. 
 
 572 "The vote on the motion to strike out that section of the reso- 
 lution referring to the office of county engineer was carried, ayes, 
 315; nays, 168". In the Files of Iowa State Highway Commission 
 (Ames). 
 
 In this connection it may be noted that charges were made at 
 the time of this convention that certain bridge companies had pro- 
 vided hotel accommodations for a number of local officials who were 
 delegates to the convention. 
 
 573 The Register and Leader, Vol. 60, No. 252, March 10, 1910. 
 
 574 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 675 See below, p. 269. 
 
 576 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 
 577 The Register and Leader, Vol. 61, No. 181, December 29, 1910. 
 
 578 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 
 579 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 
 580 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 
 581 For instance letters were sent out to county supervisors con- 
 taining the following list of questions for the purpose of arousing 
 opposition to the work of the State Highway Commission and the 
 good roads bills then pending before the General Assembly : 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 393 
 
 "Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 4, 1911. 
 1 ' Dear Sir:- 
 
 "Your legislative committee, appointed at the last meeting of the 
 Iowa Association of Supervisors, have met and secured a copy of 
 the various road and bridge laws introduced in this session of the 
 General Assembly. Before we appear before the Committee, on 
 Roads and Highways in the House and Senate, we wish to have the 
 opinion of all the Supervisors in the State on the following ques- 
 tions. The following sections are taken from the Whitney bill, 
 House File No. 131, repealing all our present bridge and road 
 laws. 
 
 "Sec. 1 to 17 provides for the reorganization of the township, the 
 levying of taxes, etc. Are you in favor of this ? 
 
 "Sec. 8, Line 5, Page 4, provides for paying the township trustees 
 out of the General County Fund. Do you want this done ? 
 
 "Sec. 17, Line 3, Page 6, provides for dividing the road fund in 
 two equal parts for 1911, one half to be used for dragging, the other 
 half to be used for building roads. Do you want this done ? 
 
 "Sec. 46, Line 9 to 16 inclusive, Page 16, provides for paying for 
 road demonstrations out of the General County Fund. Do you 
 want this done ? 
 
 "Sec. 53 provides that the County Engineer shall make all surveys 
 of roads and prepare plats and profiles, also detail plans and draw 
 specifications, for each bridge and each culvert, and the Board 
 must let the contracts in accordance therewith. Do you approve of 
 this method? 
 
 "Sec. 56 provides for advertising for bids for all bridges of cer- 
 tain size, culverts and road work for two weeks and for the letting of 
 the contract ten days later, making a total of twenty-four days, ex- 
 clusive of the time consumed by the engineer in preparing the 
 plans; and further provides in case bids are not satisfactory the 
 work must be re-advertised for the same length of time. Do you 
 think this is a practical way of letting contracts for such work ? 
 
 ' ' Sec. 61, provides that the contract be let to the lowest responsible 
 bidder, and Sec. 74 provides that in case of a dispute between the 
 Board and the Engineer as to whom is competent, or any other 
 matter, it must be referred to the State Highway Commission 
 whose decision is final. In your opinion, should the work go to the 
 
394 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 lowest bidder or in case of a dispute between the Board and the 
 County Engineer, should the Highway Commission have the author- 
 ity to decide who was competent ? 
 
 "Sec. 70 provides for creating the office of County Highway En- 
 gineer, specifying his qualifications and term of office. Sec. 72 pro- 
 vides that his salary shall be not less than $1500 nor more than 
 $2500 per year, with all necessary expenses. Are you in favor of 
 creating a high salaried office to be filled by some one not a resident 
 or an officer of your county and thereby cause the expenditure of 
 one-fourth and perhaps one-half of the entire fund from the tax 
 levied and collected to build and maintain your roads? 
 
 "Would you be in favor of making an additional levy to cover 
 this expense ? 
 
 * ' The Highway Commission has been in existence six years, with 
 an appropriation of $5000 per year. Do you think they have ac- 
 complished enough good to justify this expenditure ? 
 
 "Are you in favor of a State Highway Commission (an ap- 
 pointive office) in any form, that takes the authority away from the 
 Board of Supervisors, who are elected by the people ? 
 
 "Are you in favor of the passage of the bill House File No. 131, 
 known as Whitney bill, or any similar bill ? ' ' 
 
 582 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1911, p. 229 ; House 
 File, No. 131, introduced by Whitney. 
 
 583 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1911, p. 400 ; House 
 File, No. 264, introduced by Fourt. 
 
 584 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1911, p. 167 ; House 
 File, No. 27, introduced by Kulp. 
 
 585 Journal of the Senate, 1911, p. 211 ; Senate File, No. 116, in- 
 troduced by Balkema. 
 
 586 Journal of the Senate, 1911, p. 51 ; Senate File, No. 8. 
 
 587 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1911, p. 1116 ; House 
 File, No. 529, introduced by the Highway Committee. 
 
 588 House File, No. 529, introduced by the Highway Committee. 
 
 589 The Register and Leader, Vol. 61, No. 262, March 20, 1911. 
 
 590 The Register and Leader, Vol. 61, No. 274, April 1, 1911. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 395 
 
 591 The Register and Leader, Vol. 61, No. 280, April 7, 1911. 
 
 592 House File, No. 27, introduced by Kulp. 
 
 593 Laws of Iowa, 1911, pp. 69, 70, 76. 
 
 594 The Register and Leader, Vol. 61, No. 200, January 17, 1911. 
 
 595 The Register and Leader, Vol. 61, No. 235, February 21, 1911. 
 
 596 The Register and Leader, Vol. 61, No. 238, February 24, 1911. 
 
 597 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1911, p. 175 ; House 
 File, No. 46, introduced by Cunningham ; Laws of Iowa, 1911, p. 65. 
 
 598 Laws of Iowa, 1911, pp. 66, 67. 
 
 599 Des Moines Daily Capital, February 19, 1912. 
 
 600 In the files of the Iowa State Highway Commission (Ames). 
 
 601 Des Moines Daily Capital, March 16, 1912. Supervisor J. H. 
 Mathis resigned before his case came to trial, and his example was 
 followed by Frank T. Morris. 
 
 602 The Clinton Daily Advertiser, Vol. 39, No. 2, April 15, 1912. 
 
 603 The Register and Leader, Vol. 63, No. 66, September 6, 1912. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 604 According to The Des Moines Evening Tribune of June 21, 
 1912, "the United States is estimated to be paying out about $1,- 
 000,000 a day, in different jurisdictions, for road improvement. It 
 authoritatively is estimated that about one-half of this sum is 
 utterly wasted. ' ' While this estimate of the amount of money now 
 being expended for roads is obviously exaggerated, one is not so 
 sure that the same can be said regarding the estimate of the sum 
 being wasted under present systems of road administration. 
 
 605 Logan Waller Page on the Progress and Present Status of the 
 Good Roads Movement in the United States in the Yearbook of the 
 Department of Agriculture, 1910, p. 265. 
 
 Goe p a g e ' s Progress and Present Status of the Good Roads Move- 
 ment in the United States in the Yearbook of the Department of 
 Agriculture, 1910, p. 268. 
 
 607 Page's Progress and Present Status of the Good Roads Move- 
 
396 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 ment in the United States in the Yearbook of the Department of 
 Agriculture, 1910, p. 270. 
 
 608 Jenks's Road Legislation for the American State in the Pub- 
 lications of the American Economic Association, Vol. IV, No. 3, 
 p. 10. 
 
 609 Jenks's Road Legislation for the American State in the Pub- 
 lications of the American Economic Association, Vol. IV, No. 3, 
 p. 43. 
 
 610 Jenks's Road Legislation for the American State in the Pub- 
 lications of the American Economic Association, Vol. IV, No. 3, 
 pp. 23, 24. 
 
 611 Page's Highway Improvements, to be published in the Amer- 
 ican Yearbook, 1911. 
 
 612 Page's Highway Improvements, to be published in the Amer- 
 ican Yearbook, 1911. 
 
 613 Maurice 0. Eldridge on Public Road Mileage, Revenues, and 
 Expenditures in the United States, United States Department of 
 Agriculture, Office of Public Roads Bulletin, No. 32, pp. 8, 9. 
 
 614 Page's Highway Improvements, to be published in the Amer- 
 ican Yearbook, 1911. 
 
 615 Valuable data along this line has been prepared by Logan 
 Waller Page, Director of Office of Public Roads, United States De- 
 partment of Agriculture. 
 
 616 Jenks's Road Legislation for the American State in the Pub- 
 lications of the American Economic Association, Vol. IV, No. 3, 
 pp. 25, 26. 
 
 617 Report of the State Engineer of California, 1908-1910, pp. 
 5,6. 
 
 618 Third Report of the Illinois Highway Commission, 1908-1909, 
 pp. 13, 15. 
 
 619 State Highway Department of Maine, 1909, Bulletin, No. 2, 
 on Road Administration, p. 3. 
 
 620 Report of the Special Joint Committee on Highways of the 
 Wisconsin Legislature, 1910, pp. 9, 19. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 397 
 APPENDIX 
 
 621 General Laws of Alabama, 1911, pp. 223-234. 
 
 622 Code of Alabama, Vol. II, Civil, 1907, p. 1349. 
 
 623 Session Laws of the Territory of Arizona, 1909, p. 241. 
 
 624 Revised Statutes of Arizona, 1901, pp. 995-1010. 
 
 625 Kirby's Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas, 1904, pp. 1502- 
 1523. 
 
 626 Acts of Arkansas, 1907, pp. 568-586. 
 
 627 Acts of Arkansas, 1911, pp. 209-226. 
 
 628 The Statutes of California, 1907, pp. 225-230. 
 29 The Statutes of California, 1907, pp. 806-819. 
 
 630 Report of the State Engineer of California, 1908-1910, p. 6. 
 
 631 Session Laws of Colorado, 1909, pp. 154-161. 
 
 632 Public Acts of Connecticut, 1905, pp. 432-436 ; 1909, pp. 1021, 
 1022. 
 
 633 Public Acts of Connecticut, 1907, pp. 885-890. 
 
 634 Laws of Delaware, 1904-1905, pp. 232-240. 
 
 635 General Statutes of the State of Florida, 1906, pp. 411-418. 
 
 636 Laws of Florida, 1909, p. 26. 
 
 637 Laws of Florida, 1911, pp. 167-174. 
 
 638 Code of the State of Georgia, 1911, pp. 171-213. 
 
 639 The Revised Codes of Idaho, Vol. I, Political and Civil, 1908, 
 pp. 522-527. 
 
 640 Session Laws of Idaho, 1911, p. 168. 
 
 41 Revised Statutes of the State of Illinois, 1909, pp. 1911-1983. 
 
 642 Burn's Annotated Indiana Statutes, Revision of 1908, Vol. 
 Ill, pp. 7648-7815. 
 
 643 Laws of Kansas, 1911, pp. 448-468. 
 
 644 Russell's Statutes of Kentucky, 1908, pp. 1321-1358. 
 
 645 Acts of the State of Louisiana, 1910, pp. 74r-83. 
 
398 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 646 "Wolff's Constitution and Revised Laws of Louisiana, 1904, 
 Vol. II, pp. 1724-1735. 
 
 647 Laws of Maine, 1907, pp. 118-129 ; also Laws of Maine, 1909, 
 pp. 65-75. 
 
 648 Laws of Maryland, 1908, pp. 247-258. 
 
 649 Revised Laws of Massachusetts, 1902, pp. 484-490. 
 
 650 Public Acts of Michigan, 1909, pp. 544-642. 
 
 651 Public Acts of Michigan, 1907, pp. 339-341. 
 
 652 Laws of Minnesota, 1905, pp. 198-202. 
 
 653 Laws of Minnesota, 1907, pp. 707, 708. 
 
 654 Mississippi Code of 1906, pp. 1201-1219. 
 
 655 Laws of Mississippi, 1910, p. 145. 
 
 656 Laws of Missouri, 1909, pp. 727-770. 
 
 657 Laws of Missouri, 1911, p. 371. 
 
 658 Revised Code of Montana, 1907, pp. 373-402. 
 
 659 The Compiled Statutes of Nebraska, Fifteenth Edition, 1911, 
 pp. 1689-1736. 
 
 660 Laws of Nebraska, 1911, p. 404. 
 
 661 Compiled Laws of Nevada, 1861-1900, pp. 102-112. 
 
 662 Laws of New Hampshire, 1905, pp. 421^426 ; also Laws of 
 New Hampshire, 1909, pp. 532-535. 
 
 663 Laws of New Hampshire, 1907, pp. 57-59. 
 
 664 General Statutes of New Jersey, 1709-1895, Vol. Ill, p. 2902. 
 ess Laws of New Mexico, 1909, pp. 107-109. 
 
 666 Laws of New Mexico, 1905, pp. 344-354. 
 
 667 Laws of New York, 1908, Vol. II, pp. 941-985. 
 
 668 Laws of New York, 1908, Vol. II, p. 928. 
 
 669 Pell's Revisal of North Carolina, 1908, Vol. I, pp. 1423-1451. 
 67 <) Laws of North Dakota, 1909, p. 158. 
 
 67i Laws of North Dakota, 1911, pp. 236-239. 
 
NOTES AND REFERENCES 399 
 
 672 Page and Adams's Annotated General Code of Ohio, Vol. I, 
 pp. 417-450. 
 
 673 Session Laws of Oklahoma, 1910-1911, p. 221. 
 
 674 Compiled Laws of Oklahoma, 1909, pp. 1562-1593. 
 
 675 Laws of Oregon, 1909, pp. 295, 296. 
 
 676 General Laws of Oregon, 1911, pp. 265-278. 
 
 677 Laws of Pennsylvania, 1911, pp. 468-533. 
 
 678 General Laws of Rhode Island, 1909, pp. 322-325. 
 
 679 Code of South Carolina, 1902, Vol. I, pp. 505-531. 
 
 680 Acts of South Carolina, 1909, pp. 158-161. 
 
 681 Compiled Laws of South Dakota, 1909, Vol. I, pp. 389-422. 
 
 682 Acts of Tennessee, 1909, pp. 1994, 1995. 
 
 683 Supplement to Sayles's Annotated Civil Statutes of Texas, 
 1897-1908, pp. 510-516. 
 
 684 Laws of Utah, 1909, pp. 282-287. 
 **Laws of Utah, 1911, p. 58. 
 
 686 Public Statutes of Vermont, 1906, pp. 773-778. 
 
 687 Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, 1906, pp. 71-73. 
 
 688 Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia, 1909, pp. 90-93. 
 
 689 Laws of Washington, 1909, pp. 649-653. 
 
 690 Laws of Washington, 1911, pp. 114, 115. 
 
 691 Acts of West Virginia, 1909, pp. 438-441. 
 
 692 Acts of West Virginia, 1909, pp. 389^38. 
 
 693 Laws of Wisconsin, 1911, pp. 353-368. 
 
 694 Wyoming Compiled Statutes, 1910, pp. 662-675. 
 
 695 Session Laws of Wyoming, 1911, pp. 58-60. 
 
INDEX 
 
 26 
 
 401 
 
INDEX 
 
 Accounting, loose methods of, 230 
 
 Accounts, requirement relative to, 94, 101, 
 102 
 
 Agency, military road from Burlington to, 
 51 
 
 Agricultural products, relation between 
 condition of roads and prices of, 217 
 
 Alabama, State aid in, 271, 272, 281; 
 road statistics of, 276, 279; agitation 
 for bond issue in, 282 ; system of road 
 administration in, 293, 294 
 
 Alleghany Mountains, settlement of land 
 beyond, 267 
 
 Ambler, Mr., 191 
 
 America, first road law in, 266 
 
 American Tobacco Trust, 76 
 
 Ames, 223, 224, 230, 237 
 
 Anamosa penitentiary, breaking of stone 
 at, 204 
 
 Anderson law, provisions of, 212, 213, 214, 
 215; amendment to, 219, 227, 228, 241; 
 reference to, 222, 251, 285; disregard 
 of, 222, 223; opposition to, 231; at- 
 tempts to amend, 260 
 
 "Anti-Corduroy", statement by, 64 
 
 Appanoose County, petition from, 147 
 
 Appointive principle, abandonment of, 100, 
 124 
 
 Appraisers, appointment and duties of, 89, 
 165; reference to, 121, 164, 207 
 
 Arizona, road statistics of, 276, 279; State 
 aid in, 281; system of road administra- 
 tion in, 295 
 
 Arkansas, road statistics of, 276, 279; sys- 
 tem of road administration in, 295-297 
 
 Assessors, election of, 6; reference to, 116 
 
 Atlantic City (New Jersey), national road 
 congress at, 265 
 
 Atlantic Ocean, need of roads to Ohio Val- 
 ley from, 267 
 
 Auditor of State, reports of, 181 
 
 Aurner, C. Ray, monograph by, x, 4; refer- 
 ence to, 26; discussion of road adminis- 
 tration by, 53, 54 
 
 Automobiles, tax on, 234, 247, 252; regu- 
 lation of, 243 (see also Motor Vehicles) 
 
 Aztecs, roads built by, 270 
 
 Bailey, M. Z., bill introduced by, 226 
 
 Balkema, Nicholas, 245 ; bill introduced by, 
 250, 251, 252 
 
 Baltimore, 68 , 
 
 Banking, constitutional provision relative 
 to, 73, 108; "wild-cat" system of, 76 
 
 Bankston, Andrew, 354 
 
 Barker, Winslow T., 143 
 
 Beardsley, Charles, 158 
 
 Benton County, 59 
 
 Beyer, S. W., investigation of road mate- 
 rials by, 221 
 
 Big Sioux River, toll bridges across, 169 
 
 Bituminous macadam roads, 274 
 
 Black Hawk (town), 30 
 
 Black Hawk Purchase, settlement of, 8; 
 growth of towns in, 17 
 
 Black Hawk Purchase Treaty, 1 
 
 Blackford, John E., bill introduced by, 129 
 
 Bloomington (Muscatine), 59; road to Ce- 
 dar River from, 354 
 
 Bloomington Township (Muscatine Coun- 
 ty), 137 
 
 Bond, requirement of, from petitioners, 39, 
 40; requirement of, from road super- 
 visors, 101, 114; requirement of, from 
 township clerk, 101, 150; requirement 
 relative to, 118, 145, 168, 207 
 
 Bonds, limit on issue of, 160; provision for 
 issue of, 233 ; bill providing for issue of, 
 240 ; revenue derived from issue of, 275- 
 279; issue of, for State aid, 281, 282; 
 reference to, 287; issue of, in various 
 States, 296, 297, 298, 300, 302, 304, 
 311, 315, 319, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 
 328, 330, 335, 336, 338, 339, 340, 342, 
 343, 344, 346, 349, 350 
 
 Bonwell, John C., bill introduced by, 238; 
 reference to, 241 
 
 Boston, road from Plymouth to, 266 
 
 Bremer County, petition from, 127, 128 
 
 Brick roads, 274 
 
 Bridge companies, opposition of, to road 
 bills, 236; opposition of, to change in 
 bridge laws, 240, 241, 264 
 
 Bridge contractor, bond required of, 25 
 
 Bridge contracts, dishonesty in, 247 
 
 Bridge laws, recommendation relative to, 
 234; opposition of bridge companies to 
 change in, 240, 241, 264 
 
 403 
 
404 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Bridge taxes, levy of, 23, 24; table show- 
 ing amounts of, 181, 259 
 
 Bridges, absence of, in early Iowa, 2; re- 
 pair of, 7; decentralization in adminis- 
 tration of, 14; reference to, 19, 220; 
 methods of supervision of, 24, 25, 137; 
 penalty for obstruction of, 30; authority 
 of county commissioners over, 45, 46 ; 
 character of, 53; need for more liberal 
 laws relative to, 72 ; enlargement of au- 
 thority of county over, 78; authority of 
 county judge over, 86, 87; prohibition 
 of fast driving across, 87; property tax 
 for, 91, 92 ; taxes expended in construc- 
 tion of, 93 ; account of money expended 
 on, 94 ; joint supervision of, 95 ; trans- 
 fer of fiscal authority over, 101, 102; 
 building of, 105, 106; levy of taxes for, 
 115-117, 124, 141, 162, 163, 164, 167, 
 182, 208; liability for damages caused 
 by defective, 117, 146, 168, 174, 200, 
 201, 204, 205; authority over, trans- 
 ferred to township, 123, 124; backward 
 movement in supervision of, 126, 127; 
 vote of people relative to construction of, 
 144; favoritism in building of, 157, 158; 
 act relative to building of, 160; act rel- 
 ative to funds for, 161, 162; rules rela- 
 tive to, 168; control of, in cities, 169; 
 county appropriations for, 172, 173, 
 183; construction of, on county line, 
 174, 194; part of fund for, granted to 
 cities, 175; vote of people relative to 
 taxes for, 181; suggestion of levy of ad- 
 ditional taxes for, 194; act relative to, 
 over boundary rivers, 196 ; plan to avoid 
 construction of, 197 ; construction of 
 cattle-ways under, 199 ; funds for, in 
 cities, 200, 211, 233; more logical sys- 
 tem of supervision of, 210; use of con- 
 crete in, 224; lack of scientific informa- 
 tion concerning, 230; plans for perma- 
 nent, 235; supervision of, by road en- 
 gineer, 239 ; bonds for constructing, 240 ; 
 engineering skill required in building, 
 245; need of State supervision of, 247; 
 recommendation relative to, 248; letting 
 of contracts for, 249, 264; need for bet- 
 ter supervision of, 249; revision of law 
 relative to, 251; specifications for, 252; 
 charges of corruption in connection 
 with, 257-259; recommendation relative 
 to contracts for, 258; need for engineer 
 to supervise building of, 262; revenues 
 for support of, 273; comparative study 
 of revenue for, 274-278; problem of con- 
 structing best type of, 287; waste in ad- 
 ministration of, 288, 289; comparative 
 
 data relative to administration of, 293- 
 350 
 
 Brindley, John E., preface by, ix-xi 
 
 Brown, Joel, resolution by, 143 
 
 Brownell, William, 361 
 
 Brownell and Sprott, 361 
 
 Bruce, J. J., 379 
 
 Buchanan County, road across State land 
 in, 200 
 
 Buena Vista County, 256 
 
 Buffaloes, trails made by, 1, 2 
 
 Burlington, 18, 30, 54, 68, 354, 361; road 
 to Indian boundary line from, 40; mili- 
 tary road to Agency from, 51; plank 
 road between Mt. Pleasant and, 63 ; ar- 
 guments for plank road from, 68 
 
 Burlington and Iowa City Turnpike Com- 
 pany, act relative to, 30, 31 
 
 Burlington and Louisa County Plank Road, 
 68, 366 
 
 Burlington and Toolsborough Plank Boad 
 Company, right of way granted to, 62 
 
 Business enterprise, discouragement of, 71 ; 
 need for encouragement of, 72 
 
 California, 64, 229; road statistics of, 276, 
 279; convict labor in, 281; State aid in, 
 281; bond issue in, 281; State Highway 
 Commission of, 283 ; report of State En- 
 gineer of, 283, 284; system of road ad- 
 ministration in, 297, 298 
 
 Campbell, Frank T., bill introduced by, 156 
 
 Canada, plank roads in, 65 
 
 Canadian thistles, cutting of, 200 
 
 Canals, 69, 268; act of Congress setting 
 aside funds for, 108, 109 
 
 Canoes, transportation by, 2 
 
 Carpenter, Cyrus C., recommendations of, 
 161, 170, 171 
 
 Carroll, B. P., 234, 244 
 
 Cartways, establishment of, 33; supervision 
 and control of, 47; reference to, 49 
 
 Cattell, Jonathan W., resolution by, 111, 
 112 
 
 Cattle-ways, construction of, 172, 173; act 
 relative to, 199 
 
 Cedar County, 59 
 
 Cedar River, 3, 157, 375; road from 
 Bloom ington to, 354 
 
 Census Board, powers and duties of, 94, 95 
 
 Certificates for road taxes, 94, 106 
 
 Checks and balances, theory of, 131 
 
 Chambers of commerce, 244; educational 
 work carried on by, 273, 274 
 
 Circuit court, 11, 113, 164, 208; deter- 
 mination of grievances by, 15 ; authority 
 of, over roads, 16; jurisdiction of, 150, 
 151, 152; provision for appeal to, 166 
 
INDEX 
 
 405 
 
 Cities, rivalry between, for trade of in- 
 terior, 68; levy of road taxes in, 116, 
 137, 138, 141, 162; right of, over 
 streets, 123; act regulating roads in, 
 136; reference to, 143, 191, 254, 286; 
 defective bridges within limits of, 146; 
 act relative to building of toll bridges by, 
 160 ; construction and repair of roads 
 by, 162 ; bridge funds in, 162, 200 ; con- 
 trol of bridges and streets in, 169; or- 
 ganization of, into road districts, 169; 
 authority granted to, 171; portion of 
 bridge fund granted to, 175; repair of 
 country roads by, 176; authority grant- 
 ed to, relative to bridges, 181, 182; se- 
 curing of stone by, 204; expenditure of 
 road fund in, 209; levy of taxes for 
 bridges by, 211, 233 
 
 City council, 138, 160, 162, 169, 206 
 
 Civil engineer, 288, 289 
 
 Civil Engineers and Surveyors, Iowa Soci- 
 ety of, discussion of road question by, 
 201, 202 
 
 Civil War, 140, 142, 268 
 
 Clark, Dan E., acknowledgment to, xi 
 
 Clark, Lincoln, resolution by, 112, 113 
 
 Clarke, Benjamin, 18 
 
 Clay binder, 226 
 
 Clay gravel roads, 238 
 
 Clerk of county commissioners, 81 
 
 Clerks of board of supervisors, 142 ; roads 
 established by, 148; reference to, 149 
 
 Clinton Bridge and Iron Works, 259 
 
 Clinton County, petition from, 192; inves- 
 tigations in, 258, 259, 264; indictments 
 in, 259 
 
 Coal mine, highway to, 171 
 
 Code of 1851, character of, 77; progress 
 along fiscal lines made by, 77, 78; es- 
 sential features of, 78 ; reasons for 
 changes brought about by, 78-86; road 
 legislation in, 86-95 
 
 Code of 1873, character of, 163; road leg- 
 islation in, 163-169 
 
 Code of 1897, road legislation in, 206-210 
 
 Coffin, L. S., paper by, 191, 192 
 
 Collectors, election of, 6; reference to, 81 
 
 Colorado, road statistics of, 276, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; agitation for bond is- 
 sue in, 282; system of road administra- 
 tion in, 299, 300 
 
 Commercial Club of Des Moines, 249, 255 
 
 Commercial clubs, 244; educational work 
 carried on by, 273, 274 
 
 Commissioner system of county govern- 
 ment, sentiment in favor of, 139, 140, 
 143; petitions in favor of, 147; bills 
 providing for, 147, 148; reference to, 
 
 154; agitation in favor of, 155-158; 
 adoption of, 158, 159, 182 
 
 Commissioners (special), appointment of, 
 to view road, 11, 88, 145, 165; ap- 
 pointment of, to lay out road, 18, 19, 
 20, 57, 58, 103; duties of, 88, 89; re- 
 port of, 91; powers and duties of, in 
 laying out State roads, 119, 120; refer- 
 ence to, 164; appointment of, to survey 
 road, 207 
 
 Commissioners court, recommendation of 
 establishment of, 112 
 
 Commissioners of highways, authority of, 
 5 ; election of, 6 ; duties of, 7-16 ; settle- 
 ment of disagreements between, 11; re- 
 port made by, 12, 13 ; reference to, 15, 
 27, 28 
 
 Commutation of road taxes, 9, 106 
 
 Competition, restraint of, in bridge work, 
 247; letting of contracts by, 251; bridge 
 contracts let without, 259 
 
 Concrete, 226; cost of, 289 
 
 Congress, appropriations by, for roads in 
 Iowa, 51, 52; reference to, 64; act of, 
 relative to proceeds of public land sales, 
 108, 109; appropriations for roads by, 
 267; efforts of, to pay national debt, 
 268; appropriations by, for District of 
 Columbia, 277; appropriations by, for 
 Yellowstone Park, 277 
 
 Connecticut, road statistics of, 276, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; bond issue in, 282; 
 system of road administration in, 300- 
 302 
 
 Consent highways, 208 
 
 Constables, election of, 6; reference to, 32 
 
 Constitution of 1846, provisions of, rela- 
 tive to corporations, 70, 71 ; dissatisfac- 
 tion with, 72, 73 
 
 Constitution of 1857, special legislation 
 prohibited by, 58, 107, 108, 118; rea- 
 son for drafting of, 71; provisions of, 
 relative to corporations, 73; reference 
 to, 114 
 
 Contractors, powers and duties of, 196 
 
 Contracts, letting of, 235, 264; bill rela- 
 tive to, 251; recommendations relative 
 to letting of, 258; letting of road work 
 by, 190, 191, 195, 224, 295, 296, 298, 
 299, 311, 312, 313, 316, 323, 327, 334, 
 337, 345, 348 
 
 Contributory negligence, 200, 204, 205 
 
 Convict labor, suggestion relative to, 203; 
 breaking of stone by, 204; reference to, 
 272, 294, 300, 304, 305, 308, 311, 314, 
 317, 319, 322, 325, 329, 332, 337, 339, 
 341, 342, 346, 347, 349, 350; State aid 
 by means of, 281 
 
406 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Coroner, election and term of office of, 86 
 
 Corporations, right to construct plank 
 roads granted to, 57; protection of, 60, 
 61; problem of regulation of, 66, 74, 75; 
 constitutional provisions relative to, 70- 
 73; misunderstanding of character of, 
 72; difference of opinion relative to, 73, 
 75, 76; change in constitutional pro- 
 visions relative to, 73; more liberal con- 
 stitutional provisions relative to, 107; 
 special legislation relative to, prohibited, 
 108 ; reference to, 222 ; opposition of, to 
 road bills, 236; turnpikes financed by, 
 267 
 
 Corrie, S. M., bill introduced by, 239, 240 
 
 Cosson law, 257 
 
 Costs, act relative to, 30 
 
 Council Bluffs, 98 
 
 Counties, cost of Territorial roads paid by, 
 20; roads on line between, 39, 47, 90, 
 93, 173, 208; study of road administra- 
 tion in, 53; transfer of fiscal authority 
 from, 101, 102; cost of State roads paid 
 by, 103; bill for reorganization of, 129; 
 act relative to building of bridges by, 
 159, 160; bridges on line between, 174; 
 appointment of highway commissioners 
 in, recommended, 185 ; bridges over 
 streams between, 194 ; levy of road taxes 
 by, 195; securing of stone by, 204; act 
 relative to surplus road funds in, 205; 
 road investigations in, 221; road and 
 bridge work carried on by, 225; recom- 
 mendation relative to road funds of, 234, 
 235; cooperation of State with, 237; 
 road and drainage funds of, 243; share 
 of, in cost of improvement, 247 
 
 County, division of expense of roads be- 
 tween townships and, 14, 15, 286; act 
 establishing single township in, 17; in- 
 crease in importance of, 27, 28; im- 
 portance of, in local administration, 29 ; 
 organization of townships in, 32 ; trans- 
 fer of authority from, 36, 99, 124, 126; 
 division of, into townships, 41; powers 
 vested in, 74; enlargement of authority 
 of, 78, 204, 208, 215; demand for rep- 
 resentation of all sections of, 83; fiscal 
 agent of, 87; importance of, under law 
 of 1851, 92, 95, 96; supervision and 
 control of roads by, 96; creation of, as 
 body politic, 137; liability of, for dam- 
 ages, 146; proposal for division of, into 
 districts, 147, 156, 157; removal of line 
 of demarcation between township and, 
 153 ; road plat of, 166 ; movement to- 
 ward enlargement of power of, 183; im- 
 portance of, in road administration, 183, 
 
 252, 261, 262 ; distinct line between 
 township and, 183 ; lack of change in 
 authority of, 207; provision for road 
 fund for, 209, 210; levy of road taxes 
 by, 213, 214, 215; separation of func- 
 tions of township and, 215, 260; estab- 
 lishment of, as unit of road administra- 
 tion recommended, 223; recommendation 
 relative to tax levy by, 225, 230; plan 
 for strengthening of, 248; funds hand- 
 led by, 249 ; importance of, in South, 
 283 ; suitability of, as unit of road ad- 
 ministration, 285, 287; expenditure of 
 money by, 287; function of, in road ad- 
 ministration, 288 
 
 County assessor, plan for office of, 111, 
 112 
 
 County attorney, election and term of of- 
 fice of, 86 
 
 County auditor, 111, 164, 176, 210, 212, 
 260, 382; recommendation relative to, 
 113; creation of office of, 149; act legal- 
 izing roads established by, 163 ; powers 
 and duties of, 165, 166, 207; map kept 
 by, 167; power taken from, 171; sug- 
 gestion relative to removal of power of, 
 197, 198 
 
 County clerk, record of roads kept by, 19, 
 20; duties of, 51; reference to, 81, 84, 
 90, 136; election and term of office of, 
 86 
 
 County commissioners, board of, provision 
 for, in Territory of Wisconsin, 20, 21; 
 powers and duties of, 21, 22, 25, 26, 
 32, 37-39, 40, 41, 43-45, 46, 47, 51, 61; 
 creation of board of, 28; road super- 
 visors appointed by, 35; reference to, 
 40, 42, 81, 86, 87, 95 ; objection to pow- 
 ers of, 46; discretionary power given to, 
 48; increase in powers of, 55; powers 
 of, transferred to county judge, 78; 
 abolition of, in 1851, 78, 80; executive 
 functions of, 83 ; proposal to establish, 
 111; bill for reestablishment of, 156, 157 
 
 County court, permanency of, 81; powers 
 and duties of, 86-95, 102, 118-120; 
 safeguards against abuse of power by, 
 90; decrease in power of, 126; refer- 
 ence to, 136, 152, 153 
 
 County government, necessity of study of 
 history of, 4 ; system of, adopted in Ter- 
 ritory of Wisconsin, 20, 21; simplifica- 
 tion of, 77, 78 ; road administration a 
 function of, 80; discussion of change in, 
 80-86, 126-135 ; arguments against coun- 
 ty judge system of, 97, 98; agitation for 
 change in system of, 109-114; difference 
 of opinion relative to, 111, 154; refer- 
 
INDEX 
 
 407 
 
 ence to, 126; objections to supervisor 
 system of, 139; sentiment in favor of 
 commissioner system of, 139, 140; bills 
 providing for change in system of, 143, 
 144 ; efforts to change system of, in 1868, 
 146-148.; proposals for change in, 155- 
 158; opposition to optional system of, 
 157, 158, 159; change in system of, 182 
 
 County highway commissioner, recommen- 
 dation relative to, 185, 225 
 
 County highway engineer, creation of of- 
 fice of, 237 (see County road engineer) 
 
 County judge, powers given to, 78, 80; 
 reference to, 81, 84, 100, 117, 119, 125, 
 127, 136, 140, 152, 153, 156, 157, 182, 
 192 ; arguments for and against creation 
 of office of, 80-86; election and term of 
 office of, 86; powers and duties of, 86- 
 95, 96, 101, 102, 103, 106, 115; argu- 
 ments against government by, 97, 98; 
 transfer of authority from, 99, 105, 123 ; 
 powers of, assumed by township trustees, 
 100 ; bill granting larger powers to, 105, 
 106; objections to power of, 109, 110, 
 127, 128, 131; resolution for abolition 
 of office of, 111; retention of office of, 
 112; desire for commissioners associated 
 with, 113; responsibility of township 
 clerks to, 118; reaction against, 123; 
 abolition of office of, 149 ; act legalizing 
 roads established by, 163 
 
 County judge system, arguments against, 
 97, 98, 109, 110, 111; abolition of, 99; 
 duration of, 123 ; discussion of question 
 of abolishing, 126-135; petition for re- 
 establishment of, 139; reference to, 143, 
 154, 372; gradual repeal of, 152, 153 
 
 County Motor Vehicle Road Fund, 254 
 
 County recorder, 81, 84, 112; election and 
 term of office of, 86 
 
 County road engineer, 79, 125, 204, 231, 
 234, 251, 252, 260, 270, 271; move- 
 ment for creation of office of, 96, 97; 
 objections to creation of office of, 131; 
 recommendation relative to, 225, 227, 
 249; bills providing for, 239, 240, 251; 
 opposition to, in convention, 244, 245; 
 character of provision for, 253 ; need of 
 creation of office of, 262 
 
 County road improvement associations, 
 formation of, recommended, 190 
 
 County road superintendent, recommenda- 
 tion relative to, 223 
 
 County road supervisor, arguments against, 
 79, 97, 98, 99, 100; reference to, 80, 
 100, 113, 124; election and term of of- 
 fice of, 86; powers and duties of, 90, 
 92-94, 95, 96 ; comparison of proposed 
 
 county road engineer with, 96, 97; dis- 
 continuance of office of, 99 ; recommen- 
 dation of return to system of, 103 ; set- 
 tlement made by, 103 ; resolution in 
 favor of creation of office of, 111; ob- 
 jection to power of, 128 
 County roads, laying out of, 37; width of, 
 37, 87; action in case of complaint rela- 
 tive to, 38; method of changing course 
 of, 38, 39; petition for laying out of, 
 44, 45; supervision and control of, 47; 
 reference to, 49, 121, 145; act relative 
 to relocation of, 50; act legalizing, 50, 
 51, 148; manner of establishing, 87-90; 
 relation between State roads and, 91; 
 act regulating, 136; selection of, 240 
 County supervisors, board of, 15, 27, 28, 
 96, 97, 164, 175, 181, 194, 198, 206, 
 223, 225, 233, 237, 239, 240, 245, 246, 
 252, 253, 262 ; services of, as township 
 supervisors, 17; petition for creation of, 
 111 ; reasons for establishment of, in 
 1860, 126-135; composition of, 127, 137; 
 main arguments in favor of, 133 ; main 
 arguments against, 134; powers and du- 
 ties of, 136, 137, 145, 146, 164-166, 
 169, 173, 176, 194, 195, 196, 197, 200, 
 205, 207, 208, 209, 220, 242, 243, 244, 
 252, 382-384; objections to, 139, 140; 
 limitation on powers of, 144; bills 
 changing number of, 147, 148 ; juris- 
 diction of, 152; reason for large powers 
 of, 153; board of, bills relative to re- 
 organization of, 156-158; change rela- 
 tive to composition of, 158, 159, 182; 
 additional power in bridge matters given 
 to, 160 ; authority of, relative to county 
 line bridges, 194; road instruction for, 
 218; greater powers given to, 251; 
 election of, 372; questions sent out to, 
 392-394 
 
 County surveyor, fees of, 30 ; election and 
 term of office of, 86; resolution relative 
 to, 190, 191; suggestions relative to 
 powers of, 197, 198; proposition to 
 abolish office of, 227; reference to, 229, 
 231, 252 
 
 County treasurer, 40, 81, 112, 117, 149, 
 
 188, 195, 212, 382, 383; collection of 
 
 delinquent taxes by, 49, 50; powers and 
 
 duties of, 94, 176 
 
 County treasury, transfer of road taxes 
 
 from, 102 
 
 County-township system of local govern- 
 ment, 34, 102 
 Court of Common Pleas, recommendation 
 
 relative to, 112, 113 
 Crawford, Nelson A., Jr., article by, 98 
 
408 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Crew, M. L., 379 
 
 Culverts, 221, 254; use of concrete in, 
 224; plans for permanent, 235; super- 
 vision of, by road engineer, 239; bonds 
 for constructing, 240 ; recommendation 
 relative to, 248 ; need for better super- 
 vision of, 249, 262; letting of contracts 
 for, 249 ; revision of law relative to, 
 251; specifications for, 252 
 
 Cunningham, E. H., bill introduced by, 
 256 
 
 Cumberland (Maryland), road west from, 
 267, 268 
 
 Cumberland Pike, 267 
 
 Cummins, Albert B., call for convention 
 by, 226; reference to, 228 
 
 Curtiss, C. F., statement by, 213, 217; ad- 
 dress by, 223 
 
 Dallas County, petition from, 147; road 
 work in, 248 
 
 Damages, assessment of, 11, 22, 33, 38, 
 39, 47, 62, 67, 89, 106, 119, 120, 121, 
 122, 145, 151, 207; payment of, 19, 
 173, 175; reference to, 37, 117, 166, 
 205 ; refunding of, 90 ; liability of coun- 
 ty for, 146; awarding of, 163, 171, 177; 
 claims for, 165; responsibility for, 168, 
 173, 174, 182, 233 
 
 Darrah, John H., bill introduced by, 240 
 
 Davenport, 54 ; petition from citizens of, 
 
 99, 100 
 
 Davis, Ebenezer W., resolution by, 48, 49 
 
 Davis, J. C., address by, 229, 230 
 
 Decatur County, petition from, 139 
 
 Deemer, Horace E., 246 
 
 Delaware, road statistics of, 276, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; system of road ad- 
 ministration in, 302, 303 
 
 Delaware County, petition from, 127; road 
 from Dubuque to, 354 
 
 Delegate to Congress, 6 
 
 Democracy, aims of, 55, 56; essential fea- 
 tures of, 81, 82, 134; discussion of 
 question of, 83-86; shortcomings of, in 
 America, 85 
 
 Democratic institutions, relation of road 
 reform to, 286-288; determination of, 
 288 
 
 Demoine County, establishment of, 3, 7 
 
 Deputy road supervisors, appointment of, 
 93 ; compensation of, 93 ; reference to, 
 
 100, 124 
 
 Des Moines, 219, 226, 228, 241, 244, 245, 
 255 ; commercial club of, 249 
 
 Des Moines Commercial Club, investiga- 
 tion by, 256 
 
 Des Moines County, 18, 30, 51 
 
 Des Moines River, 3, 18, 51, 354; plank 
 road up valley of, 63 
 
 Dillon, Lyman, furrow plowed by, 52 
 
 Directors of poor, election of, 6 
 
 District clerk, 81 
 
 District Court, 112, 113, 125, 148, 150; 
 provision for appeal to, 120, 121, 208 
 
 District of Columbia, road statistics of, 
 276; reference to, 277 
 
 District road supervisors, 95, 123, 124, 
 125, 154, 176, 192, 206, 209, 215; 
 power transferred to, 99, 105, 126; act 
 providing for election of, 100, 105, 106; 
 bond given by, 101, 114; report re- 
 quired of, 102, 116, 117; powers and 
 duties of, 106, 115, 117, 140, 141, 149, 
 150, 168, 169, 172, 173, 196, 357, 358; 
 neglect of duty by, 117; compensation 
 of, 142; maps furnished to, 167; re- 
 sponsibility of, 174; biennial election of, 
 176; suggestion of Nichols relative to, 
 189 ; abolition of office of, recommended, 
 190; office of, abolished, 211 
 
 Ditches, act relative to, 194, 230; refer- 
 ence to, 202 ; bonds for constructing, 
 240 
 
 Dixon, John N., 157 
 
 Dragging, importance of, 222; act relative 
 to, 227, 237, 243, 251, 253, 256; in- 
 creased expenditure for, recommended, 
 234; bill relative to, 240, 250; resolu- 
 tion relative to, 245 ; reference to, 246, 
 248 ; lack of enforcement of law relative 
 to, 248; funds for, 249, 254; contracts 
 for, 252 
 
 Drainage, 221, 222, 227, 248, 249; rec- 
 ommendation relative to, 248; bill rela- 
 tive to, 250; revision of law relative to, 
 251 
 
 Drainage districts, establishment of, 194 
 
 Drains, act relative to, 194, 196, 211, 220, 
 226, 227; reference to, 202; bonds for 
 constructing, 240 
 
 Drake, Francis, recommendations of, 205 
 
 Dubuque, 18, 54, 112, 354, 372; military 
 road to Missouri line from, 51, 52; 
 road to Delaware County from, 354 
 
 Dubuque County, establishment of, 3, 7 
 
 Dudley, Charles, bill introduced by, 147, 
 148 
 
 Duke of York, 266 
 
 Dysart, Joseph, 157 
 
 Earth roads, 274 
 Easement, definition of, 122, 123 
 Easley, F. L., suggestions by, 197, 198 
 East, need of roads between West and, 267 
 Economics of transportation, 288, 289 
 
INDEX 
 
 409 
 
 Economy, argument of, 80, 81; reply to 
 argument of, 82 ; failure of predictions 
 of, to work out, 84; relation of, to 
 democracy, 84 
 
 Education, State Board of, 246 
 
 Educational propaganda, 272, 273, 274 
 
 Efficiency, sacrifice of, 15 ; importance of, 
 81; relation of, to democracy, 84; lack 
 of appreciation of importance of, 85 
 
 Eldridge, Maurice O., discussion by, 278 
 
 Elective principle, over-emphasis on, 85; 
 adoption of, 100, 124 
 
 Electricity, poles and wires for transmis- 
 sion of, 242 
 
 Embankments, act relative to, 194 
 
 Engineer, appointment of, 40 ; recom- 
 mendation relative to road supervision 
 by, 185; need of road supervision by, 
 224 
 
 Engineering, suggestions from standpoint 
 of, 197, 198; problems of, 222; lack of 
 knowledge of, 224; importance of 
 knowledge of, 248, 270, 282, 287; im- 
 portance of, in road-making, 265; need 
 for research in, 288, 289 
 
 Engineering advice and assistance, pro- 
 vision for, 272, 281, 282 
 
 Engineering Society, Iowa, 227 
 
 Engines, steam, act relative to injuries 
 caused by, 220 
 
 England, 64 
 
 English, 266 
 
 English River, 3 
 
 Executive Council, 94, 95 
 
 Experts, necessity of employing, 270, 287; 
 question of service of, 282-286 
 
 Fairall, H. S., 187 
 
 Fairall, Samuel H., 157 
 
 Farmers, hardships of, in early Iowa, 2 ; 
 value of plank roads to, 65, 69 ; desire 
 of, for market, 68 ; difficulties of, in 
 marketing produce, 74; economic loss to, 
 from bad roads, 185; objections of, to 
 cash payment of road taxes, 188; un- 
 equal burdens borne by, 191, 192; work 
 of, on roads, 192, 193; reference to, 
 199 ; more time for road work given to, 
 206, 210; dependence of prosperity of 
 State upon, 230 
 
 Farmington, road to Prairie du Chien 
 from, 18, 354 
 
 Federal government, act relative to roads 
 established by, 5; neglect of road ques- 
 tion by, 268; interest of, in roads, 269 
 (see also General government) 
 
 Fees, act relative to, 30; removal of in- 
 ducement for large, 81; provision rela- 
 
 tive to, 121; opposition to payment of, 
 188 
 
 Fence viewers, election of, 6; reference to, 
 32 
 
 Fences, removal of, 102 
 
 Ferries, rules relative to, 168 
 
 Field notes, filing of, 19, 20, 37, 90, 91, 
 106, 166, 171, 207; reference to, 47, 
 115; preparation of, 163 
 
 Finances, 9-11; control of, 36; method of 
 managing, 94; administration of, 101, 
 102, 128, 137; change in administra- 
 tion of, 126; dangerous power of county 
 judge relative to, 131; need of popular 
 control of, 133 ; limitation on manage* 
 ment of, 142 ; importance of township 
 in management of, 167 
 
 Fines, collection of, 36 
 
 Flat-boats, transportation by, 2 
 
 Flint Hill Township, establishment of, 3, 7 
 
 Florida, road statistics of, 276, 279; sys- 
 tem of road administration in, 303, 304 
 
 Floyd County, townships in, 375 
 
 Floyd Township (Floyd County), 375 
 
 Fort Des Moines, 361 
 
 Fort Dodge, 197 
 
 Foster, J. W., 245 
 
 Fourt, Edwin H., bill introduced by, 250, 
 251 
 
 Fox Run River, 3 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, 267 
 
 Franzen, M. Florence, acknowledgment to, xi 
 
 Freeholders, juries of, 15 
 
 Fulton, A. C., report by, 104 
 
 Fulton, Harry, road sold to, 361 
 
 Fyffe, H. W., 186 
 
 Galland, Abel, 18 
 
 Garber, Martin, bill introduced by, 180 
 
 Garden, act relative to laying out road 
 through, 148, 149 
 
 Garver, F. H., monograph by, x 
 
 Gear, John Henry, recommendations of, 
 174, 175, 177, 178; reference to, 183, 
 187, 194, 195, 214, 288 
 
 General Assembly, desire of, to retain au- 
 thority, 71; demand for promotion of 
 internal improvements by, 73; reaction 
 against special legislation by, 73 ; spe- 
 cial legislation by, prohibited, 73 ; aid 
 to, 247 
 
 Georgia, road statistics of, 276, 279; con- 
 vict labor in, 281; system of road ad- 
 ministration in, 304-306 
 
 Gilfoy, Samuel, 379 
 
 Gillett, Chauncey, bill introduced by, 129- 
 132, 137 
 
 Glacial districts, 225 
 
410 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Good Roads Association, Iowa, organiza- 
 tion of, 219; secretary of, 220; annual 
 meeting of, 223-225, 228-231; call for 
 meeting of, 226; reference to, 227, 231, 
 236 
 
 Good roads associations, 244; educational 
 work carried on by, 273, 274 
 
 Good Roads Convention, meeting of, in 
 March, 1910, 244, 245; meeting of, in 
 December, 1910, 245, 246; members of 
 committees of first, 379 
 
 Good roads movement, dependence of, on 
 character of local government, 80; ref- 
 erence to, 170, 185, 211, 222, 237, 241, 
 251, 256, 282, 286; cornerstone of, 192; 
 discussion of, 201-203; progress of, 231; 
 campaign to promote, 236; opposition to, 
 236, 237; efforts of friends of, 244; 
 purpose of friends of, relative to local 
 government, 248; purposes of, 260; 
 reality of, 272; subjects connected with, 
 
 272, 273 ; educational work to promote, 
 
 273, 274; foundation of, 280, 283 
 Governor, limitation of appointive power 
 
 of, 40; report of Highway Commission 
 to, 225, 226 
 
 Graded road company, rights given to, 59- 
 61 
 
 Graded toll roads, right to construct, giv- 
 en to corporations, 57; examples of acts 
 for establishing, 59-62 ; number of, pro- 
 vided for, 62; number of, laid out, 62, 
 63; reference to, 74, 161, 222; neces- 
 sity for, 74, 75; construction of, by 
 corporations, 75; demand for State reg- 
 ulation of, 76 
 
 Grades, reduction of, 248; cost of hauling 
 up, 289 
 
 Grading, recommendation relative to, 248; 
 reference to, 249; funds for, 249; speci- 
 fications for, 252 
 
 Graft, evidences of, in connection with 
 State roads, 58, 59, 107 
 
 Grain, difficulty in marketing, 229 
 
 Grant, Robert, 379 
 
 Gravel roads, 221, 226, 238, 274; statis- 
 tics of, 276, 277 
 
 Gravel stone roads, 238 
 
 Graveling, funds for, 254 
 
 Greater Des Moines Committee, efforts of, 
 in support of road bills, 240, 249 
 
 Grievances, determination of, 22 
 
 Grimes, James W., recommendations of, 
 107-109 
 
 Gue, B. F., 379 
 
 Guideboards, erection of, 102, 243; pro- 
 visions relative to, 140; levy of taxes 
 for, 167, 208 
 
 Guideposts, provision for erection of, 14 
 Guthrie Center, 225 
 
 Hackler, Charles W., bill introduced by, 
 
 239 
 
 Hale, William, 144 
 Harper, T. G., 219; address by, 223 
 Harrison County, petition from, 147 
 Hedges, planting of, 102; growing of, 117; 
 
 trimming of, 200, 205, 243 
 Hempstead, Stephen, recommendation of, 
 
 103; reference to, 104, 366, 367 
 Henry County, 51 
 
 Highway officers, manual for, 221-223 
 Highways (see Roads) 
 Holbrook, N. B., 379 
 
 Idaho, road statistics of, 276, 279; system 
 of road administration in, 306, 307 
 
 Illinois, 1, 111, 277, 341; road from East 
 to, 268; waste of road funds in, 271; 
 road statistics of, 276, 279; convict la- 
 bor in, 281; State aid in, 281; report 
 of State Highway Commission of, 284, 
 285 ; system of road administration in, 
 307, 308 
 
 Independence, Hospital for Insane at, 200 
 
 Indian boundary line, road from Burling- 
 ton to, 40 
 
 Indiana, 1, 111, 277; road statistics of, 
 276, 279; system of road administration 
 in, 309 
 
 Indians, trails made by, 1, 2, 16 
 
 Individual, protection of rights of, 14, 15, 
 16, 22, 23, 32, 33, 37-39, 56, 66, 120; 
 tendency to remove safeguards of rights 
 of, 45 
 
 Individualism, 85 
 
 Inefficiency, results of, 269-271 
 
 Injuries, responsibility for, 200, 201, 204, 
 205; law relative, to, 219, 220 
 
 Insane, Hospital for, 200 
 
 Insurance, need for more liberal laws rel- 
 ative to, 72 
 
 Internal improvements, need for promotion 
 of, 72, 73; reference to, 175; question 
 of, 268 
 
 Iowa, historical development of local in- 
 stitutions of, 3 ; nativity of settlers of, 
 4 ; attitude toward plank roads in, 64- 
 66; scarcity of navigable rivers in, 74; 
 question of regulation of corporations 
 in, 75 ; county judge system in, 98 ; 
 act of Congress relative to proceeds 
 of public land sales in, 108, 109; first 
 State road convention in, 184-192; good 
 roads problem in, 221; miles of road in, 
 221; topography of, 222, 225, 234; 
 
INDEX 
 
 411 
 
 backwardness of, in matter of roads, 
 223; amounts expended for roads and 
 bridges in, 259; forces in road legisla- 
 tion in, 260; similarity between road 
 legislation of other States and, 265; 
 character of State aid in, 272; educa- 
 tional campaign in, 273; road statistics 
 of, 276, 279; effect of coming of rail- 
 roads to, 280; State aid in, 281; waste 
 of road funds in, 288, 289 
 
 Iowa, Territory of, establishment of, 3 ; 
 changes in laws handed down to, 4; 
 laws of Ohio copied by, 4, 5, 30, 34, 
 35 ; importance of Michigan laws in 
 road legislation of, 7; derivation of 
 early road laws of, 26; system of local 
 government inherited by, 29; road leg- 
 islation of, 29-56; number of Territorial 
 roads in, 31; act of Ohio followed in, 33, 
 34 ; Congressional legislation relative to 
 roads in, 51, 52 
 
 Iowa City, 3, 184, 213; marking of mili- 
 tary road to, 52; State road convention 
 at, 186-192 
 
 Iowa City Board of Trade, 186 
 
 Iowa City Turnpike Company, Burlington 
 and, act relative to, 30, 31 
 
 Iowa country, coming of settlers to, 1; 
 character of early roads in, 1-3; ab- 
 sence of roads and bridges in, 2 ; local 
 government first established in, 3 ; lack 
 of work on roads of, 16 ; Territorial 
 roads in, 18, 19, 354; jurisdictions over, 
 26 
 
 Iowa Engineering Society, 249 
 
 Iowa River, 30 
 
 Iowa State College, experiments conducted 
 at, 217; State Highway Commission es- 
 tablished at, 217, 218, 237; Deans of, 
 appointed to serve on State Highway 
 Commission, 219; seasons lor locating 
 Commission at, 224, 225 
 
 Jackson, Frank D., recommendation of, 203 
 
 Jasper County, petition from, 173 
 
 Jefferson (Missouri), 51 
 
 Jefferson County, petition from, 147 
 
 Jenkins, J. Scott, 379 
 
 Jenks, Jeremiah W., 245, 262, 278; sug- 
 gestions by, relative to road legislation, 
 269-271; statement by, 282, 283 
 
 Johnson, Eliza L., acknowledgment to, xi 
 
 Johnson County, road administration in, 
 53, 54; reference to, 187 
 
 Johnson County, History of, 53 
 
 Jones, 0. L., 379 
 
 Jones F. F., bill introduced by, 218; ad- 
 dress by, 224, 225, 230 
 
 Jones, William, 18 
 Judge of probate, 81 
 Julien Township, establishment of, 3, 7 
 Justices of the peace, 5, 6, 11, 12, 27, 106, 
 110, 358 
 
 Kansas, road statistics of, 276, 279; refer- 
 ence to, 277; system of road adminis- 
 tration in, 310, 311 
 
 Kent County (Delaware), 302 
 
 Kentucky, 1, 277; road statistics of, 276, 
 279; system of road administration in, 
 311 
 
 Keokuk, plank road from, 63; reference 
 to, 68; description of plank road from, 
 360, 361; estimate of cost of plank road 
 from, 361 
 
 Ketchum, W. P., 379 
 
 King, D. Ward, address by, 229 
 
 King Drag, use of, 221; value of, 226, 
 229; reference to, 228 
 
 King drag clay roads, 238 
 
 Kirkwood, Samuel J., recommendation of, 
 138; address by, 186; reference to, 187 
 
 Knapp, S. A., 379 
 
 Knox College, 269 
 
 Kulp, David E., bill introduced by, 250, 
 253-255 
 
 Larrabee, Frederic, 242 
 
 Larrabee, William, 196; recommendation 
 of, 199 
 
 Lander, Henry F., 18 
 
 Laws, demand for revision of, 46 
 
 Lead mine, establishment of highway to, 
 171 
 
 Lee County, plank road bought by, 361 
 
 Leonard, David, 379 
 
 Levees, act relative to, 144, 211, 220, 226, 
 227; bonds for constructing, 240 
 
 Little Maquoketa River, 354 
 
 Local government, first establishment of, 
 in Iowa country, 3 ; relation of road ad- 
 ministration to, 4, 136, 137, 265; sys- 
 tem of, in Territory of Michigan, 5-7; 
 establishment of county as basis of, 17; 
 change in system of, in Territory of 
 Wisconsin, 20, 21; necessity of knowl- 
 edge of system of, 26; change in system 
 of, 27, 28; system of, inherited by Ter- 
 ritory of Iowa, 29; compromise system 
 of, 32, 102; optional system of, 34, 35; 
 strengthening of township principle of, 
 40, 42, 55; best means of studying, 53; 
 system of, inherited by State, 57; sim- 
 plification of, 77, 78 ; discussion of 
 change in, in 1851, 78-86, 126-135; 
 need for study of history of, 80; agita- 
 
412 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 tion for more decentralized system of, 
 109; agitation for change in system of, 
 109-114; growth of sentiment in favor 
 of township-county system of, 123; bills 
 providing for change in system of, 142- 
 144; efforts to change system of, in 
 1868; 146-148; gradual change in sys- 
 tem of, 152, 153 ; blending of county 
 and township functions of, 153; pro- 
 posals for change in, 155-158; distinc- 
 tion between county and township in, 
 183; reference to, 248, 261; road ad- 
 ministration a function of, 269 
 
 Local option, necessity for, 188, 189 
 
 Louisa County, 30 
 
 Louisa County Plank Eoad, Burlington 
 and, 68, 366 
 
 Louisiana, road statistics of, 276, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; system of road ad- 
 ministration in, 312 
 
 Lucas, George W., substitute introduced 
 by, 104 
 
 Lucas, Robert, preference of, for laws of 
 Ohio, 4; recommendation of, 29 
 
 Lucas County, 245 
 
 Lyons, D. B., 219 
 
 Macadam roads, 238 
 
 Macadamizing, 204; funds for, 254 
 
 McDonald, Thomas H., services of, en- 
 gaged for Commission, 219; reference 
 to, 220, 222; bulletin issued by, 221; 
 report of, concerning Polk County, 257, 
 258 
 
 McFarland, Mr., 191 
 
 Machinery, purchase of, 25, 93, 150; levy 
 of taxes for purchase of, 115-117, 124, 
 141, 167, 208; care of, 150; recom- 
 mendation relative to, 234; reference to, 
 235; custodian of, 239 
 
 McKean, John, 143, 144 
 
 McNutt, Samuel, 158 
 
 McQuinn, James, bill introduced by, 139 
 
 Mahin, John, 379 
 
 Mahoney, Dennis A., resolution by, 111 
 
 Maine, road statistics of, 276, 279; State 
 aid in, 281; statement by State High- 
 way Commission of, 285; system of road 
 administration in, 313, 314 
 
 Maps, requirements relative to, 92, 93, 
 115, 167, 168; preparation of, 221 
 
 Market, 64; value of plank roads in haul- 
 ing produce to, 65; desire of farmers 
 for, 68 ; difficulty of hauling produce to, 
 69, 74, 229 
 
 Marston, A., 217 
 
 Maryland, early road laws in, 266; road 
 statistics of, 276, 279; State aid in, 
 
 281; bond issue in, 282; system of road 
 administration in, 314, 315 
 
 Mason, Charles, 367 
 
 Massachusetts, oldest road in, 266; road 
 statistics of, 276, 279; State aid in, 
 281; bond issue in, 282; system of road 
 administration in, 315-317 
 
 Mathis, J. H., charges against, 257; resig- 
 nation of, 258, 395 
 
 Merrill, Samuel, recommendations of, 160, 
 161 
 
 Michigan, road statistics of, 276, 279; ref- 
 erence to, 277, 390; State aid in, 281; 
 system of road administration in, 317- 
 319 
 
 Michigan, Territory of, Iowa country at- 
 tached to, 3 ; changes in laws handed 
 down by, 4 ; law of, copied in Iowa, 5 ; 
 road legislation of, 5-16, 26, 27; system 
 of local government in, 5-7; significance 
 of early legislation of, 7; acts of, 
 amended, 17; reference to, 26, 29, 33, 
 40, 54; law of Ohio copied by, 30 
 
 Middle States, settlers from, 4 
 
 Mileage, table showing, 276, 277 
 
 Mileposts, 19 
 
 Military land warrants, land entered by 
 holders of, 109 
 
 Military roads, appropriations for, 51; 
 character of, 51 
 
 Mill, difficulty of reaching, 2 
 
 Minnesota, road statistics of, 276, 279; 
 reference to, 277; State aid in, 281; 
 system of road administration in, 320, 
 321 
 
 Mississippi, road statistics of, 276, 279; 
 system of road administration in, 321, 
 322 
 
 Mississippi River, 1, 16, 18, 51, 54, 74; 
 settlement of country west of, 3 ; first 
 counties west of, 7 ; extension of settle- 
 ments west of, 17 ; first Territorial road 
 west of, 18 ; rivalry between cities on, 
 68; toll bridges across, 169 
 
 Mississippi Valley, rivalry for trade of, 68; 
 reference to, 187 
 
 Missouri, 1, 277; admission of, 3; military 
 road from Dubuque to northern boun- 
 dary of, 51, 52; road statistics of, 276, 
 279; State aid in, 281; system of road 
 administration in, 322, 323 
 
 Missouri River, toll bridges across, 169 
 
 Moffit's Mill, 18, 354 
 
 Monona County, petition from, 127 
 
 Monopolies, argument that plank road 
 companies would become, 66 
 
 Monroe County, petition from, 156 ; refer- 
 ence to, 244 
 
INDEX 
 
 413 
 
 Montana, road statistics of, 276, 279; sys- 
 tem of road administration in, 323, 324 
 
 Montrose, estimate of cost of plank road 
 to, 361 
 
 Moore, N. B M bill introduced by, 157 
 
 Morris, Frank T., 245; minority report 
 by, 246; resignation of, 395 
 
 Moscow, 354 
 
 Moss, James K., substitute by, 44, 357, 
 358 
 
 Motor vehicles, tax on, 233, 237, 240, 304, 
 315, 316, 327, 328, 333, 336, 337, 340, 
 345, 347; plea for graduated tax on, 
 246; act relative to, 250; provision of 
 Kulp bill regulating, 253-255 (see also 
 Automobiles ) 
 
 Mt. Pleasant, plank road between Burling- 
 ton and, 63 ; reference to, 361 
 
 Mt. Vernon, 362, 363 
 
 Mulct tax, use of, for road improvement, 
 244, 247 
 
 Mullan, Charles W., address by, 224 
 
 Municipal authorities, levy of road taxes 
 by, 137, 138 
 
 Murray, Benjamin F., bill introduced by, 
 156 
 
 Muscatine, 54, 68, 137, 138, 158, 354 
 
 Muscatine County, 59, 187 
 
 National debt, efforts to pay, 268 
 
 National government, turnpikes financed 
 by, 267, 268 (see also Federal govern- 
 ment) 
 
 Nebraska, road statistics of, 276, 279; ref- 
 erence to, 277; system of road adminis- 
 tration in, 324, 325 
 
 Nevada, road statistics of, 276, 279; sys- 
 tem of road administration in, 325 
 
 New Castle County (Delaware), 302, 303 
 
 New England, settlers from, 4; influence 
 of, 6, 35; oldest road in, 266; unit of 
 road administration in, 283 
 
 New Hampshire, road statistics of, 276, 
 279; State aid in, 281; bond issue in, 
 282; system of road administration in, 
 325-327 
 
 New Harmony, 362 
 
 New Jersey, 229; policy of State aid 
 adopted in, 271; road statistics of, 276, 
 279; appropriations for State aid in, 
 281; system of road administration in, 
 327, 328 
 
 New Jersey State Highway Department, 
 271 
 
 New Mexico, road statistics of, 276, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; system of road ad- 
 ministration in, 328, 329 
 
 New York, influence of, 6, 7; system of 
 
 local government in, 7, 126, 127, 135, 
 139; plank roads in, 65, 364; reference 
 to, 111, 113, 229; early road legisla- 
 tion in, 266 ; turnpikes in, 267 ; road 
 statistics of, 277, 279; State aid in, 
 281; bond issue in, 282; system of road 
 administration in, 329-331 
 
 New York City, 68 
 
 Newberry, Byron W., address by, 229 
 
 Newspapers, discussion in, 133 
 
 Nichols, Pliny, paper read by, 187-189; 
 reference to, 191, 193 
 
 Nichols, Samuel D., bill introduced by, 180 
 
 Non-residents, assessment of road taxes on 
 property of, 9, 10, 43, 108, 116, 117; 
 provision for notification of, 59; act 
 relative to road taxes of, 149; reference 
 to, 171 
 
 North Carolina, road statistics of, 277, 
 279; system of road administration in, 
 
 331, 332 
 
 North Dakota, 277; road statistics of, 277, 
 279; system of road administration in, 
 
 332, 333 
 Northwestern Railroad, 229 
 
 Obstruction of highways, penalty for, 30; 
 act relative to, 48, 50, 51 
 
 Obstructions, removal of, 117 
 
 Ocean to ocean highway, 273 
 
 Officers, argument against large numbers 
 of, 98, 134 
 
 Offices, belief in multiplicity of, 85 
 
 Ohio, 1, 111, 189, 229, 277; laws of, 
 copied in Territory of Iowa, 4, 5, 26, 
 34, 35, 36, 54, 55; act of, copied in 
 other jurisdictions, 30; road law of, 33, 
 34; plank roads in, 65, 364; road sta- 
 tistics of, 277, 279; State aid in, 281; 
 system of road administration in, 334, 
 335 
 
 Ohio River, 1 
 
 Ohio Valley, need of roads from Atlantic 
 Ocean to, 267 
 
 Oklahoma, State aid in, 271, 272, 281; 
 reference to, 277; road statistics of, 
 277, 279; system of road administration 
 in, 335-337 
 
 Old Northwest, inheritances of Iowa from, 
 3; necessity of studying statutes of, 4 
 
 Old Stone Capitol, 53, 54 
 
 Orchard land, laying out of roads 
 through, 11, 148, 149 
 
 Oregon, road statistics of, 277, 279; sys- 
 tem of road administration in, 337 
 
 Osage orange hedges, trimming of, 200, 
 243 
 
 Overseers of highways, 5, 6, 15, 27; ap- 
 
414 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 pointment of, 8; powers and duties of, 
 
 8-11; successors to, 28 
 Overseers of poor, 32 
 Owen, Robert Dale, 363 
 
 Pacific Coast, 187 
 
 Pacific highway, 273 
 
 Page, Logan Waller, statement by, 269, 
 
 272, 273 ; reference to, 395, 396 
 Palmer, T. H., 187, 190 
 
 Parish, importance of, in Virginia, 266 
 
 Parker, L. F., 379 
 
 Partnership, 72 
 
 Patterson, John C., 157 
 
 Patterson, Senator, 375 
 
 Patterson, William, bill reported by, 42 
 
 Paul, D. F., 379 
 
 Paulk, Charles, bill introduced by, 129 
 
 Payne, W. P., 191, 379 
 
 Pearson, A., 379 
 
 Penn, William, 266 
 
 Pennsylvania, 111, 277; early road laws 
 in, 266; turnpikes in, 267; financial 
 failure of toll roads in, 268; educational 
 campaign in, 273, 274; road statistics 
 of, 277, 279; State aid in, 281; agita- 
 tion for bond issue in, 282; system of 
 road administration in, 337-339 
 
 Pennsylvania, State College of, good roads 
 movement encouraged by, 273, 274 
 
 Pennsylvania, State Highway Department 
 of, good roads movement encouraged by, 
 
 273, 274 
 
 Pennsylvania Railroad, special train run 
 by, 273, 274 
 
 Perkins, Solomon, 18 
 
 Petitioners, expenses paid by, 33; bond 
 required of, 39, 40 
 
 Philadelphia, 68 
 
 Pioneers, adaptation of statutes from old- 
 er States by, 27; need of, for roads, 52, 
 53 ; difficulties of, in marketing produce, 
 74 
 
 Plank roads, forerunner of acts relative 
 to, 31; right to construct, granted to 
 corporations, 57, 75; examples of acts 
 for establishing, 59-62; width of, 61; 
 number of, provided for, 62; number of, 
 laid out, 62, 63; high cost of, 63; ne- 
 cessity for, 63, 73, 74, 75; arguments 
 in favor of, 63-66, 67-70; demand for 
 general law relative to, 65, 66 ; con- 
 struction of, in United States, 65; char- 
 acter of companies constructing, 67; as- 
 sessment of damages in connection with, 
 67; failure of General Assembly to enact 
 general law relative to, 67; need for 
 more liberal laws relative to, 72; refer- 
 
 ence to, 74, 82, 161, 222; demand for 
 State regulation of, 76; description of, 
 360, 361; estimate of cost of, 361; 
 method of building, 362; statement of 
 advantages of, 362-364; arguments in 
 favor of general law on subject of, 364- 
 366 
 
 Plymouth (Massachusetts), road from 
 Boston to, 266 
 
 Political science, road problem from stand- 
 point of, 282 
 
 Polk County, 246; investigation in, 256, 
 257, 264; proceedings against super- 
 visor of, 257; resignation of supervisor 
 of, 257 
 
 Poll taxes, 44, 91, 94, 102, 161, 168, 177, 
 190 
 
 Pools, restraint of competition by means 
 of, 247 
 
 Pottawattamie County, county judge sys- 
 tem in, 98 
 
 Pound-masters, election of, 6 
 
 Prairie du Chien, road from Farmington 
 to, 18, 354 
 
 Private roads, supervision and control of, 
 47; reference to, 49; act relative to, 
 144-146, 154, 204; act relative to, de- 
 clared unconstitutional, 151, 152 ; re- 
 peal of act relative to, 160 
 
 Probate judge, petition for creation of of- 
 fice of, 110 
 
 Produce, need for better means of trans- 
 portation of, 63, 64; value of plank 
 roads in marketing of, 65 ; desire of 
 farmers for market for, 68 ; difficulty of 
 marketing, 69, 74 
 
 Property, levy of road taxes on, 41, 43, 44, 
 91, 92, 140, 177, 208, 209, 243, 244, 
 252; resolutions relative to levy of road 
 taxes on, 42; taking of, for public use, 
 66, 75, 121, 122, 151, 175, 177 
 
 Pryce, S. D., communication by, 184, 185; 
 reference to, 186, 379 
 
 Public, protection of rights of, 62, 66, 67, 
 72, 75 ; relation of corporations to, 73 
 
 Public lands, provision relative to pro- 
 ceeds of sale of, 108, 109 
 
 Public school system, 163 
 
 Public service corporations, taking of 
 property by, 66; problem of regulating, 
 66, 74; State regulation of, 75, 76 
 
 Publicity, importance of, 274 
 
 Pusey, W. H. M., minority report by, 132 
 
 Raccoon River, 3 
 
 Railroad rates, right to regulate, 60 
 Railroads, 57, 63, 69, 70, 74, 107, 161, 
 200; plank roads as supplements to, 63, 
 
INDEX 
 
 415 
 
 64; arguments in favor of, 68; need 
 for more liberal laws relative to, 72; 
 necessity for, 73; precursors of, 75; 
 bridges of, 171; privilege granted to, 
 171; large sums expended on, 187; sys- 
 tem in construction of, 198; regulation 
 of, 196; development of, 222, 270; car 
 famine on, 229 ; relation between roads 
 and, 229, 230, 280; engineering skill 
 required in building, 245, 270; turn- 
 pikes supplanted by, 268, 269; special 
 road trains run by, 273, 274; effect of 
 coming of, 280 
 
 Railway station, private roads to, 204 
 
 Railway toll bridges, rules relative to, 168, 
 169 
 
 Reform, arguments against, 79; necessity 
 of local option in plan for, 188, 189; 
 difficulty in securing, 236; importance 
 of publicity in movement for, 274 
 
 Remonstrance, right of, 22 ; action in case 
 of, 23, 33 ; reference to, 45, 57, 166, 206 
 
 Reports, requirement relative to, 102, 116, 
 117 (see also Accounts) 
 
 Representation, 82; essential features of 
 true, 83, 85, 98; principle of, 286, 287, 
 288 
 
 Revenues, 273; comparative study of, 274- 
 278; amount of, required for road work, 
 287 
 
 Reviewers, appointment of, 22, 23, 47; 
 penalty for neglect of duty by, 39; ref- 
 erence to, 164 
 
 Revised Statutes, provisions of, 46, 47 
 
 Revision of 1860, road legislation in, 135- 
 137 
 
 Revolutionary War, 266, 267 
 
 Rhode Island, road statistics of, 277, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; agitation for bond 
 issue in, 282 ; system of road adminis- 
 tration in, 339, 340 
 
 Ridges, trails along, 1, 2 
 
 River to River Road, 273 
 
 Rivers, use of, for transportation, 2, 69, 
 74; settlements on, 16; bridges over 
 boundary, 196, 211 
 
 Riverton Township (Floyd County), 375 
 
 Road administration, system of, in Terri- 
 tory of Michigan, 7-16, 27; example of 
 extreme decentralization in, 16; change 
 from township to county system of, 20; 
 centralization in, 21; change in system 
 of, 28; increased authority given to 
 township in, 32; system of, established 
 in 1840, 32-40; dual system of, 36, 55; 
 tendencies in, 40; importance of sub- 
 ject of, in 1842-1843, 45, 46 ; local char- 
 acter of question of, 53, 269; system of, 
 
 inherited by State, 57; improvement of, 
 by Code of 1851, 77, 78; arguments for 
 and against centralization in, 79-86; 
 system of, adopted in 1851, 86-95; sug- 
 gestions for solution of current prob- 
 lems of, 92; change to township system 
 of, 99; sentiment in favor of township 
 system of, 104; lack of sentiment in 
 favor of centralization in, 105 ; relation 
 of, to local government, 109, 126, 136, 
 137; compromise in, 118; decisions rel- 
 ative to, 121-123, 151; gradual change 
 in, 126; objection to reforms in, 131, 
 132; system of, in 1860, 136, 137; 
 waste in, 161; officers and boards en- 
 gaged in, 164; system of, in 1873, 164- 
 169; comparatively small change in, 
 since 1873, 170, 206, 207; increased 
 appreciation of problem of, 177; neces- 
 sity for larger unit of, 177, 223; bills 
 proposing changes in, 179, 180 ; im- 
 portance of county in, 183, 252, 261, 
 262; optional township system of, 195; 
 realization of defects in, 201; greater 
 authority given to county in, 204; town- 
 ship as unit of, 209; function of local 
 units in, 210; change in, by Anderson 
 law, 212, 213; importance of State 
 Highway Commission in, 217; effort to 
 force backward step in, 219; unreadi- 
 ness of people for reform in, 227; issues 
 in reference to, 246; recommendations 
 relative to, 246-249; bill for more ef- 
 ficient, 251; separation of functions in, 
 260; importance of township in, 262- 
 264; neglect of question of, 268; reasons 
 for inefficiency in, 269-271; systems of, 
 in different States, 272; importance of 
 centralization in, 273, 283-286; effect of 
 local system of, 283 ; relation of central- 
 ization in, to democracy, 286-288; data 
 relative to, in various States, 293-350 
 Road Congress, first national, 265 
 Road Convention, State, call for first, 184- 
 
 186; meeting of, 186-192 
 Road districts, 6, 15, 27, 213; establish- 
 ment of, 8, 36; division of expense of 
 roads between townships and, 14; di- 
 vision of townships into, 32, 34, 99, 100, 
 124, 167, 168, 231, 232, 260; formation 
 of, in Johnson County, 53 ; petition for 
 establishment of, 100 ; distribution of 
 funds to, 102; boundaries of, 114; legal 
 character of, 122; requirement relative 
 to expenditure of road taxes in, 142, 
 149, 150; financial authority taken 
 from, 150; organization of cities into, 
 169; recommendation relative to, 170, 
 
416 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 171; statement concerning tax belonging 
 to, 176; abolition of, recommended, 161, 
 178; function of, 164; movement toward 
 abolition of, 183; suggestion of Nichols 
 relative to, 189; funds belonging to, 
 196; securing of stone by, 204; consol- 
 idation of, 206, 211, 212, 214, 215, 222, 
 251, 260; result of system of small, 224; 
 bill for division of townships into, 228; 
 provision for number of, 241, 242 
 
 Road drag law, recommendation of, 230 
 
 Road dragging districts, establishment of, 
 256 (see also Dragging) 
 
 Road drags, special trains to promote use 
 of, 273 
 
 Road funds, recommendation relative to, 
 234, 235 (see road taxes) 
 
 Road improvement districts, establishment 
 of, 237, 243, 247; share of, in cost of 
 improvements, 247, 248 
 
 Road laws, provision for publication on, 
 142, 160, 176, 210; recommendations 
 relative to, 161; paper on reform in, 
 187-189; difficulty in making revision 
 of, 188 ; suggestion of changes in, 201 ; 
 demand for changes in, 214; reference 
 to, 223 ; resolution relative to, 245 ; re- 
 vision of, 246, 250; earliest, in America, 
 266 
 
 Road legislation, Michigan period, 5-16, 
 26, 27; Wisconsin period, 16-26, 27, 28; 
 session of 1838-1839, 29-31; session of 
 1839-1840, 32-40; extra session of 1840, 
 40; session of 1840-1841, 40, 41; ses- 
 sion of 1841-1842, 41-45; session of 
 1842-1843, 45-48; session of 1843-1844, 
 48; special session of 1844, 48; session 
 of 1845, 48-50; session of 1845-1846, 
 50, 51; session of 1846-1847, 57, 58; 
 session of 1848-1849, 59-62; provisions 
 of Code of 1851, 86-95; session of 1852- 
 1853, 100-103; session of 1854-1855, 
 104-106; session of 1856-1857, 106, 
 107; session of 1858, 109-121; Revision 
 of 1860, 135-137; session of 1862, 140- 
 142; session of 1864, 142; session of 
 1866, 144-146; session of 1868, 148- 
 151; session of 1870, 159, 160; session 
 of 1872, 161; provisions of Code of 
 1878, 163-169; session of 1874, 171; 
 session of 1876, 172, 173; session of 
 1878, 173, 174; session of 1880, 175, 
 176; session of 1882, 179-181; session 
 of 1884, 192-196; session of 1886, 196, 
 197; session of 1888, 198, 199; session 
 of 1890, 200; session of 1892, 200; ses- 
 sion of 1894, 204; session of 1896, 205, 
 206; provisions of Code of 1897, 206- 
 
 210; session of 1898, 210; session of 
 1900, 211; session of 1902, 211-213; 
 session of 1904, 218-220; session of 
 1906, 226-228; session of 1907, 231- 
 233; session of 1909, 237-244; session 
 of 1911, 250-256; forces in, 260; com- 
 parative study of, 265-289; first scien- 
 tific study of, 269; conclusions relative 
 to, 287, 288 
 
 Road maps, requirements relative to, 92, 
 93 (see also Maps) 
 
 Road materials, new processes in manufac- 
 ture of, 203; investigation of, 221, 238; 
 information concerning, 234; experi- 
 ments relative to, 236; intelligent use of, 
 282; reference to, 289 
 
 Road plats, filing of, 19, 20, 37, 51, 90, 
 91, 106, 166, 171, 207; reference to, 
 47; preparation of, 166, 167 
 
 Road superintendents, bill for election of, 
 231; retention of principle of appoint- 
 ment of, 232; reference to, 237, 238; 
 meeting of, 239; provision for election 
 of, 241, 242 
 
 Road supervisors, powers and duties of, 
 24, 25, 36, 43, 44, 196, 197; predeces- 
 sors of, 28; reference to, 32, 33, 164, 
 166; appointment of, 35; election of, 
 35; act defining duties of, 41, 44; col- 
 lection of delinquent taxes by, 49, 50 
 (see also county road supervisors, dis- 
 trict road supervisors, etc.) 
 
 Road taxes, assessment of, 9, 10, 13, 41; 
 distribution of, 14, 149, 150, 182, 220, 
 240, 243; levy of, 23, 24, 91, 92, 115- 
 117, 124, 163, 164, 167, 168, 185, 208, 
 210, 211, 213, 219, 243, 244; provi- 
 sions relative to delinquent, 25, 26; 
 working out of, 36; sentiment in favor 
 of levy of, on property, 41; act relative 
 to levy of, 41, 43, 44, 48, 49, 50 ; resolu- 
 tions relative to, 42, 245, 246; reduc- 
 tion of, 48; collection of delinquent, 49, 
 50, 117, 150; reference to, 56, 87, 140, 
 174, 229; administration of, 94, 111, 
 128, 141, 142; list of persons liable to 
 pay, 102 ; order for transfer of, 102 ; 
 insufficiency of, 106 ; suits for failure 
 to pay, 106; report relative to, 116, 117; 
 prevention of evasion of, 117; levy of, 
 in cities, 137, 138; manner of payment 
 of, 141, 149, 154, 167, 177, 241, 242, 
 260; law of 1866 relative to, 144; act 
 relative to, on non-residents, 149; effect 
 of judicious expenditure of, 175; ex- 
 penditure of, 176, 196, 225, 226, 233; 
 payment of, in cash recommended, 178, 
 179, 193, 210, 211, 213; effort to secure 
 
INDEX 
 
 417 
 
 payment of, in cash, 179, 180, 183; 
 table showing amount of, 181, 259; 
 amount of, paid in labor, 182 ; wasteful- 
 ness of payment of, in labor, 185 ; objec- 
 tions to payment of, in cash, 188, 192, 
 214; resolution favoring payment of, in 
 money, 190 ; recommendations of Coffin 
 relative to, 191, 192; provision for pay- 
 ment of, in cash, 195; levy of, by coun- 
 ties, 195, 204, 208, 209, 215; waste in 
 expenditure of, 199; approval of pay- 
 ment of, in money, 201; extension of 
 time for payment of, 210; collection of, 
 212; investigations relative to, 221; rec- 
 ommendation relative to, 225; bills rela- 
 tive to, 226, 228, 231, 232, 240; in- 
 crease in levy of, by counties, 240; im- 
 portance of payment of, in money, 270; 
 waste of, in Illinois, 271; comparative 
 study of, 274-279; data relative to, in 
 various States, 293-350 
 Roads, character of early, 1-3, 53 ; absence 
 of, in early Iowa, 2 ; relation of problem 
 of, to local government, 4; record of, 4, 
 7, 51, 115, 166, 167; importance of 
 township in administration of, 6, 7; re- 
 pair of, 7, 87, 92, 105, 106; supervision 
 of, 7, 8, 137; laying out of, 7, 11, 12, 
 21, 37, 163, 164; persons required to 
 work on, 8, 9, 23, 114, 138, 142 ; finan- 
 cial account of work on, 10, 11 ; penalties 
 for obstruction of, 12, 30, 171; width 
 of, 12, 21, 37, 59, 87, 121, 202, 203, 
 207, 233; decentralization in supervision 
 of, 14; provision in case of dissatisfac- 
 tion with laying out of, 14, 15 ; parcel- 
 ling of authority over, 15, 16 ; lack of 
 work upon, in early Iowa, 16; sum re- 
 quired to commute for work on, 17; 
 need of, in early Iowa, 17; appointment 
 of viewers for, 21, 33, 37; petitions for, 
 21, 33, 47, 165, 166, 192, 193, 207; 
 method of changing course of, 22, 23, 
 47; method of vacating, 23, 25, 38, 47; 
 supervision of actual work on, 24; of- 
 ficers having authority over, 26, 27; rec- 
 ommendation of Lucas relative to, 29; 
 location of, on county lines, 39, 90, 93, 
 173, 208; requirements for work on, 41, 
 43, 44; demand for change in laws rela- 
 tive to, 46 ; location of, on township 
 lines, 46, 47; distinction between classes 
 of, 47, 48; act relative to obstruction of, 
 48, 50, 51; need of, in early Iowa, 52, 
 53; need for permanent, 63, 203; en- 
 largement of authority of county over, 
 78; authority of county judge over, 86, 
 87, 89, 90; property tax for, 91, 92; 
 
 27 
 
 account of money expended on, 94; cer- 
 tificates for labor on, 94; joint super- 
 vision of, 95; dragging of, 96, 227, 240, 
 243, 246, 250, 256; transfer of fiscal 
 authority over, 101, 102; recommenda- 
 tion of Hempstead relative to, 103; at- 
 tempt to distribute authority over, 104; 
 act relative to resurvey of, 106, 166; 
 special legislation relative to, prohibited, 
 108, 118; act of Congress setting aside 
 funds for, 108, 109; act relative to mak- 
 ing and repairing of, 114-118; maps of, 
 115, 167, 168; time of working, 117; 
 legal status of land used for, 122, 123; 
 authority over, transferred to township, 
 123, 124; backward movement in super- 
 vision of, 126, 127; scarcity of labor on, 
 during war, 138; prohibition of, across 
 State lands, 150; jurisdiction of circuit 
 courts over, 150, 151; jurisdiction of 
 county supervisors over, 152 ; act to 
 legalize laying out of, 160, 163 ; waste 
 in administration of, 161; actual work 
 on, 164, 209, 210, 213; provisions of 
 Code of 1873 relative to, 163-169; privi- 
 lege of lowering, given to railroads, 171; 
 penalty for failure to work on, 172; 
 cattle-ways across, 173, 199; importance 
 of good system of, 175; use of, by street 
 railways, 175, 200, 211, 233; persons 
 asking for poor relief to labor on, 176; 
 value of, more than local, 182; com- 
 munication of Pryce relative to, 184, 
 185 ; economic loss from bad, 185 ; reso- 
 lution relative to letting of work on, by 
 contract, 190, 191; act of 1884 to pro- 
 mote improvement of, 194-196, 214; pro- 
 vision for letting of work on, by con- 
 tract, 195 ; length of day's work on, 196 ; 
 establishment of, along streams, 197; 
 cutting of timber for use on, 197; dis- 
 cussion of engineering problems of, 197, 
 198; need of expert supervision of, 201; 
 classification of, 201; plan of State su- 
 pervision of, 201, 202; reasons for poor 
 character of, 202, 203 ; picture of con- 
 ditions on, 203 ; breaking of stone for 
 use on, 204; traction resistance of, 217, 
 226, 289; relation between prices of 
 agricultural products and condition of, 
 217; miles of, in Iowa, 221; suggestion 
 relative to permanent, 221; revival of 
 interest in improvement of, 222; back- 
 wardness of Iowa in matter of, 223 ; 
 letting of work on, by contract, 224; 
 reason for poor condition of, 224; value 
 of King Drag on, 226; relation between 
 railroads and, 229, 230, 280; lack of 
 
418 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 scientific information concerning, 230; 
 method of work on, 232; law relative to 
 encroachments on, 233; use of, for wa- 
 ter mains, 233; plans for permanent, 
 235; supervision of, by road engineer, 
 239; bonds for constructing, 240; bill to 
 promote building of permanent, 242, 
 243, 244; use of, for electric wires, 242; 
 engineering skill required in building, 
 245, 270; arguments for more efficient 
 care of, 246; need of State supervision 
 of, 247; drainage of, 248, 249, 250; 
 specifications for, 252; need for engineer 
 to supervise building of, 262; character 
 of work on, in past, 263; colonial laws 
 relative to, 266; need of, between East 
 and West, 267; neglect of, after Civil 
 War, 268; miles of, in United States, 
 269, 275; expenditure for, in United 
 States, 269, 275; neglect of improve- 
 ment of, 270; progress of policy of State 
 aid for, 271, 272; revenue for support 
 of, 273; economic value of good, 273; 
 comparative study of revenues for, 274- 
 279; statistics of, in various States, 276, 
 277, 279; bond issues for building of, 
 282; need of expert centralization of, 
 282-286; need of business-like super- 
 vision of, 284; problem of building per- 
 manent, 287; waste in administration 
 of, 288, 289; comparative data relative 
 to administration of, 293-350 (see also 
 State roads, Territorial roads, County 
 roads, Township roads, etc.) 
 Rockford Township (Floyd County), 375 
 Rockgrove Township (Floyd County), 375 
 Romans, roads built by, 270 
 Rural route roads, dragging of, 248 
 Russian thistles, extermination of, 205 
 
 Sac and Fox Indians, vacation of Black 
 Hawk Purchase by, 1 
 
 St. Charles Township (Floyd County), 157, 
 375 
 
 St. Louis, 51 
 
 Salaries of road officials, data relative to, 
 293-350 
 
 San Francisco, harbor commissioners of, 
 297 
 
 Sand-clay roads, 274 
 
 Schmidt, L. B., acknowledgment to, xi 
 
 School directors, authority given to, 181 
 
 School fund commissioner, 81 
 
 Scott, John, 186; speech by, 187 
 
 Secretary of State, duties of, 91; reference 
 to, 176 
 
 Secretary of Territory, returns of road sur- 
 veys filed with, 20 
 
 Separation of powers, application of doc- 
 trine of, 15, 16 
 
 Settlements, location of early, 16; exten- 
 sion of, 17; importance of roads to, 268 
 
 Settlers, coming of, to Iowa, 1; trails fol- 
 lowed by, 1, 2; nativity of, 4; character 
 of, 123 
 
 Shambaugh, Benj. F., introduction by, vii; 
 acknowledgment to, xi 
 
 Shaw, Leslie M., recommendations of, 210, 
 211 
 
 Sheriff, 25; duty of, 50; election and term 
 of office of, 86 
 
 Sherman, Buren R., recommendations of, 
 178, 179, 193, 194; reference to, 183, 
 187, 194, 195, 214, 288 
 
 Sherrill, Adam, 18 
 
 Skunk River, 3 
 
 Smith, Carey R., 379 
 
 Smith, Fred N., bill introduced by, 242 
 
 Smith, Ralph B., acknowledgment to, 360 
 
 South, settlers from, 4; influence of, 35; 
 early road legislation in, 266; unit of 
 road administration in, 283 
 
 South Carolina, road statistics of, 277, 
 279; system of road administration in, 
 340, 341 
 
 South Dakota, State aid in, 272; road sta- 
 tistics of, 277, 279; reference to, 277; 
 system of road administration in, 341 
 
 Special legislation, prohibition of, 107, 108 
 
 Specie payments, prohibition of suspension 
 of, 73 
 
 Split log road drag, bill relative to, 226; 
 endorsement of, 227 
 
 Stakes, marking of road by, 18, 19 
 
 Standard Oil Company, 76 
 
 Stark, N. M., 257 
 
 Starr, H. W., report by, 361, 362 
 
 State, regulation of corporations by, 75, 
 76; supervision and control of roads by, 
 96; laying out of roads through land 
 owned by, 150; plan for supervision of 
 roads by, 201, 202; share of, in cost of 
 improvements, 247; need of road super- 
 vision by, 247, 283 ; county as link be- 
 tween township and, 252 ; raising of 
 road taxes for, 252 ; expenditure of mon- 
 ey by, 287; desirability of, as unit of 
 road administration, 287; functions of, 
 in road administration, 288 
 
 State aid, distribution of, 235, 238; bill 
 providing for, 237; resolution relative 
 to, 245; reference to, 246, 260; adop- 
 tion of policy of, 271, 272, 281; char- 
 acter of, 272, 281; amount of, in United 
 States, 275-279; comparative study of, 
 278, 280-282; foundation of policy of, 
 
INDEX 
 
 419 
 
 280; issue of bonds for, 281, 282; data 
 relative to, in various States, 293-350 
 
 State Auditor, 260 
 
 State boundary roads, 233 
 
 State College, reasons for location of High- 
 way Commission at, 230 
 
 State Highway Commission, 185, 190, 223, 
 227, 231, 236, 241, 244, 251, 252, 260, 
 282, 390; importance of, in history of 
 road legislation, 217; establishment of, 
 217, 218, 250; powers and duties of, 
 218; work of, 220-223; reasons for lo- 
 cating, at State College, 224, 225, 230; 
 report of, 225, 226, 233-236; publica- 
 tion of report of, 233; enlargement of 
 powers of, suggested, 235, 236; effect of 
 recommendations of, 237; bills relative 
 to, 237-239; bill for appropriation for, 
 239 ; efforts of, in support of road bills, 
 240 ; history of work of, 246 ; recom- 
 mendations of, 246-249, 390, 391; sur- 
 vey of Polk County by, 257, 258; in- 
 vestigations in Clinton County by, 259; 
 importance of work of, 261 ; opposition 
 to work of, 392 
 
 State highway commissioner, 270 
 
 State highway commissions, data relative 
 to, 293-350 
 
 State Highway Department, act creating, 
 250 
 
 State Highway Engineer, act creating of- 
 fice of, 250 
 
 State institutions, street railway on roads 
 to, 200; roads across lands of, 200; 
 authority of trustees of, 206 
 
 State lands, road across, 200; provision 
 for roads on or adjacent to, 242 
 
 State quarry, breaking of stone at, 204 
 
 State Road Convention, resolutions of first, 
 190, 191, 213; reference to first, 195 
 
 State road improvement association, sug- 
 gestion for organization of, 189 
 
 State roads, petition for laying out of, 57; 
 laying out of, 57, 58, 90, 91; act regu- 
 lating, 57, 58, 136; number of, 58; 
 abuses in connection with, 58, 59, 107; 
 prohibition of special legislation relative 
 to, 73; width of, 87; manner of estab- 
 lishing, 87, 90, 91; relation between 
 county roads and, 91; acts establishing, 
 103, 106; last acts relative to, 107; 
 general law relative to, 114, 118-121; 
 character of, 202, 203 
 
 States, turnpikes financed by, 267; neglect 
 of roads by, 268; interest of, in roads, 
 269; progress in road legislation in, 
 272; more scientific revenue systems in, 
 275; road statistics of various, 276, 
 
 277, 279; systems of road administra- 
 tion in various, 293-350 
 
 Steel, cost of, 289 
 
 Stipe, W. F., 245 
 
 Stockholders, protection of rights of, 60, 
 61, 62, 67, 72; liability of, 70, 71, 72, 
 73 
 
 Stone, breaking of, by convict labor, 204; 
 furnishing of, to counties, 281 
 
 Stone gravel roads, 238 
 
 Stone quarry, establishment of highways 
 to, 171, 204 
 
 Stone roads, 221, 224, 226; statistics of, 
 276, 277 
 
 Story County, 191 
 
 Strains, law of, 289 
 
 Street, legal status of land used for, 122, 
 123 
 
 Street commissioners, 237, 238 
 
 Street railway companies, privilege grant- 
 ed to, 175 
 
 Street railways, privilege of using roads 
 given to, 200, 211, 233 
 
 Streets, improvement of, 138; control of, 
 169 
 
 Stresses, law of, 289 
 
 Superintendent of bridges, 24 
 
 Supervisor districts, bill providing for, 
 148; proposal to establish, 156, 157 
 
 Supervisor system of county government, 
 objections to, 139 ; sentiment in favor 
 of, 143, 144; dissatisfaction with, 146, 
 147, 155, 156 ; arguments in favor of, 
 159; abandonment of, 182 
 
 Supervisors (see county supervisors, town- 
 ship supervisors, and road supervisors) 
 
 Supreme Court, decisions of, 121-123, 137, 
 138, 146, 148, 151, 152 154, 160, 200, 
 201, 204, 205, 206 
 
 Surfaced roads, suggestion relative to, 247; 
 table of statistics of, 276, 277 
 
 Surveyors, duties of, in laying out Terri- 
 torial roads, 19, 20; payment of, 33; 
 appointment of, 34, 40; penalty for neg- 
 lect of duty by, 39; reference to, 266 
 
 Surveyors' and Civil Engineers' Associa- 
 tion, Iowa, meeting of, 197 
 
 Sussex County (Delaware), 302 
 
 Taxation, prohibition of special laws rela- 
 tive to, 73, 108 ; enlargement of author- 
 ity of county over, 78 ; backward move- 
 ment in, 79 ; reference to, 82, 163 ; his- 
 tory of, 207; equitable system of, 271; 
 basis of, 286 
 
 Taxes (see road taxes and bridge taxes) 
 Taxpayers, protection of, 14, 22 
 Tennessee, road statistics of, 277, 279; 
 
420 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 system of road administration in, 341, 
 342 
 
 Territorial roads, act for laying ont, 5, 45, 
 48; inauguration of policy of laying out, 
 17, 18; number of, in Iowa country 
 during Wisconsin period, 18; first act 
 relative to, in Iowa country, 18, 19; 
 general act relative to, 19, 20 ; width of, 
 20 ; cost of, paid by counties, 20 ; meth- 
 od of changing course of, 22, 23, 38, 
 39; act relative to, 29, 30, 32; number 
 of, established in Territory of Iowa, 31; 
 character of, 31, 302; laying out of, 37; 
 supervision and control of, 47; refer- 
 ence to, 49, 55; act relative to reloca- 
 tion of, 50; act legalizing, 50, 51; re- 
 locating of, 58; list of, 354 
 
 Test, J. D., amendment by, 104 
 
 Texas, 277; road statistics of, 277, 279; 
 system of road administration in, 342, 
 343 
 
 Thomas, C. H., 245 
 
 Tiling, funds for, 249 
 
 Timber, 117; cutting of, 172, 173, 197 
 
 Tipton, 59 
 
 Toll bridges, act relative to, 160; rules rel- 
 ative to, 168, 169 
 
 Toll rates, list of, 355, 356 
 
 Toll road, act relative to, 30, 81 
 
 Toll roads, popularity of, 267; financial 
 failure of, 268; benefits of, 268 
 
 Tolls, right to collect, 60, 61, 66; regula- 
 tion of, 60, 61; disposition of, 160, 162 
 
 Toolsborough Plank Road Company, Bur- 
 lington and, right of way granted to, 62 
 
 Topography of Iowa, 222, 225, 234 
 
 Towns, growth of, 17; act regulating roads 
 in, 136; construction and repair of 
 roads by, 162 ; authority granted to, 171, 
 181, 182; repair of country roads by, 
 176; reference to, 191, 254; securing of 
 stone by, 204; expenditure of road funds 
 in, 209 
 
 Township, 15, 223, 286; importance of, in 
 Michigan, 26; decrease in importance of, 
 27, 28, 29; transfer of authority to, 36; 
 growing importance of, 55 ; powers vest- 
 ed in, 74; transfer of authority from, 
 78, 215 ; position of, under law of 1851, 
 92, 95, 96; power of, in road matters, 
 96; financial authority given to, 150; 
 removal of line of demarcation between 
 county and, 153; function of, in road 
 administration, 164, 288; importance of, 
 in road administration, 167, 209, 262- 
 264; effort to increase importance of, 180, 
 181; distinct line between county and, 
 183; suggestion for creation of, as road 
 
 district, 189; separation of functions of 
 county and, 215, 260; county as link 
 between State and, 252; importance of, 
 in New England, 283; smallness of, as 
 unit, 284; endorsement of, as unit of 
 road administration, 285; expenditure of 
 money by, 287 (see also Townships) 
 
 Township assessors, 112 
 
 Township board, composition of, in Michi- 
 gan, 5; duties of, in Michigan, 5, 6; 
 reference to, 26, 28 
 
 Township clerk, powers and duties of, 4, 
 17, 100, 101, 114, 115, 116, 117, 140, 
 
 141, 149, 167, 212, 382, 383; reference 
 to, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 16, 26, 32, 109, 123, 
 
 142, 153, 164, 168, 176, 179, 207, 220; 
 election of, 6; statement required of, 
 101, 102; transfer of power to, 105, 
 124, 126, 171; responsibility of, 118; 
 position of, 125; bond required of, 150, 
 208; statement furnished to, 176 
 
 Township collector, 16 
 
 Township government, necessity for study 
 of history of, 4; monograph on, 4; sys- 
 tem of, in Michigan, 5, 6; functions of, 
 47; demand for more definite system of, 
 48; simplification of, 77, 78; road ad- 
 ministration a function of, 80; invasion 
 of sphere of, 97; difference of opinion 
 relative to, 111; reference to, 126 
 
 Township road-master, recommendation rel- 
 ative to, 179, 194; movement toward ap- 
 pointment of, 183 ; resolution relative to, 
 190, 191 
 
 Township road superintendents, appoint- 
 ment of, 96, 97, 196, 212, 222, 228, 
 260; opposition to, 188, 193, 214; sug- 
 gestion relative to, 189 ; powers and 
 duties of, 196; reference to, 213, 226; 
 road instruction for, 218; disregard of 
 law relative to, 222, 223 
 
 Township road supervisor, bill for election 
 of, 104; reference to, 167; petition in 
 favor of, 177; movement toward ap- 
 pointment of, 183 
 
 Township roads, establishment of, 83; pe- 
 tition for establishment of, 34; authority 
 of trustees over, 49 
 
 Township superintendent of dragging, 252 
 
 Township supervisors, powers and duties 
 of, 5, 6 ; election of, 6, 28 ; reference to, 
 12, 26, 111, 153; county supervisors to 
 serve as, 17 
 
 Township treasurer, 32 
 
 Township trustees, 32, 109, 123, 125, 138, 
 146, 153, 164, 168, 177, 188, 191, 192, 
 194, 205, 206, 214, 231, 232, 237, 240, 
 262; powers and duties of, 32, 34, 39, 
 
INDEX 
 
 421 
 
 47, 49, 100, 101, 102, 114, 115, 117, 
 118, 140, 141, 149, 150, 164, 167, 168, 
 179, 195, 196, 208, 212, 220, 243, 252, 
 256, 382-384; important function of, 
 36; modification of powers of, 80; pow- 
 ers which should be vested in, 96; trans- 
 fer of authority to, 99, 105, 123, 124, 
 126; road funds expended by, 102; re- 
 port made to, 102; power taken from, 
 137; road instruction for, 218; disre- 
 gard of Anderson law by, 222, 223; ap- 
 plication of, for State aid, 238; meeting 
 of, 239 
 
 Township-county system of local govern- 
 ment, 7, 102; importance of township 
 trustees under, 36; concessions to advo- 
 cates of, 182 
 
 Townships, first law relative to, 4; impor- 
 tance of, in Territory of Michigan, 6, 7, 
 12 ; division of, into two road districts, 
 8, 32, 34, 99, 100, 124, 167, 168, 228, 
 231, 232, 241, 260; roads on line be- 
 tween, 11, 12, 46, 47; division of ex- 
 pense of roads between road districts 
 and, 14; division of expense of roads 
 between counties and, 14; Wisconsin act 
 relative to organization of, 17; greater 
 authority given to, 32; act for organiza- 
 tion of, 32, 42, 48; optional provision 
 for establishment of, 35; division of 
 county into, 41 ; formation of, into bod- 
 ies corporate, 42 ; study of road admin- 
 istration in, 53 ; road taxes to be ex- 
 pended in, 93; appointment of deputies 
 in, 93; account of money expended in, 
 94; transfer of authority to, 99, 101, 
 102, 124, 251; county board made up 
 of supervisors from, 127, 137; bill for 
 reorganization of, 129 ; financial power 
 vested in, 141 ; road plats of, 166, 167 ; 
 creation of, as road districts recom- 
 mended, 179; authority granted to, rela- 
 tive to bridges, 181, 182; optional sys- 
 tem of road administration by, 195; 
 securing of stone by, 204 ; lack of change 
 in authority of, 207; consolidation of 
 road districts in, 211, 212, 214, 215, 
 219, 222, 251; abolition of tax levy by, 
 recommended, 225; bill to increase tax 
 levy in, 226; recommendation relative to 
 road funds of, 234, 235; cooperation of 
 State with, 237; distribution of State 
 aid to, 238; distribution of road taxes 
 among, 240; inadequacy of funds of, 
 248; road administration in, 382-384 
 
 Traction engines, regulation of, 243 
 
 Traction resistance, experiments relative to, 
 217; reference to, 226, 288, 289 
 
 Traffic, amount and character of, 234 
 Trails, use of, as roads, 1, 2; reference to, 
 
 16 
 
 Training for road work, lack of, 230 
 Transportation, difficulty of, 2; need for 
 better facilities for, 63; importance of 
 good facilities for, 64, 65, 223; plank 
 roads as means of, 64; increased facili- 
 ties of, 64; realization of importance of 
 efficient, 69; disadvantages of poor, to 
 farmers, 69 ; lack of facilities of, in early 
 Iowa, 74; system of, before coming of 
 railroad, 268, 269; economics of, 288, 
 289 
 
 Travel, difficulties of, in early Iowa, 2, 3 
 Trees, blazing of, 18, 19; act relative to 
 
 cutting of, 172 
 Troops, effect of absence of, from State, 
 
 138 
 
 Turkey River, 3 
 
 Turnpike road, act providing for, 30, 31 
 Turnpikes, need for more liberal laws rela- 
 tive to, 72 ; necessity for, 73 ; passing of, 
 out of use, 161; privilege of lowering, 
 given to railroads, 171; building of, 
 267; supplanting of, by railroads, 268, 
 269 
 
 Udell, Nathan, motion by, 104, 105 
 Union, dependence of, on system of high- 
 way, 267, 269 
 
 Union Township (Floyd County), 375 
 United States, land ceded to, by Sacs and 
 Foxes, 1; act relative to roads estab- 
 lished by, 5 ; change in policy of, rela- 
 tive to public lands, 108, 109; compara- 
 tive study of road legislation in, 265- 
 289; miles of roads in, 269, 275; first 
 scientific study of road legislation in, 
 269; spread of policy of State aid in, 
 271, 272; good roads movement in, 272; 
 expenditures for roads in, 275-279; data 
 relative to road administration in, 293- 
 350 
 United States government, aid for roads 
 
 given by, 238 
 
 United States Office of Public Roads, Di- 
 rector of, 272 ; encouragement of good 
 roads movement by, 273, 274 
 United States Steel Corporation, 76 
 Utah, road statistics of, 277, 279; State 
 aid in, 281; system of road administra- 
 tion in, 343, 344 
 
 Van Bleck, George O., 379 
 Van Buren County, 51, 143 
 Van Law, 0. H., bill introduced by, 250, 
 251 
 
422 HISTORY OF ROAD LEGISLATION IN IOWA 
 
 Vermont, 229; road statistics of, 277, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; system of road ad- 
 ministration in, 344, 345 
 
 Viewers, appointment of, 21, 33, 34, 37, 
 47, 59, 88, 120, 121, 145, 165; report 
 of, 21, 33, 37, 38; payment of, 33; 
 penalty for neglect of duty by, 39 
 
 Villisca, 224, 230 
 
 Virginia, 98; early road laws in, 266; 
 road statistics of, 277, 279; State aid 
 in, 281; system of road administration 
 in, 345, 346 
 
 Wages, 289 
 
 Wallace, Henry, remarks by, 229 
 
 Wapello, 18, 354 
 
 Wapsapinnicon River, 3 
 
 Warren County, petition from, 177, 192, 
 379, 380 
 
 Washington, George, 267 
 
 Washington, road statistics of, 277, 279; 
 State aid in, 281; system of road admin- 
 istration in, 346, 347 
 
 Waste, reasons for, in road administra- 
 tion, 269-271; reference to, 283; esti- 
 mate relative to, 288, 289 
 
 Water courses, changes in, 194; act rela- 
 tive to, 211, 220, 226, 227 
 
 Water mains, use of highways for laying 
 of, 233 
 
 Waterways, use of, 16; reference to, 268 
 
 Weed, James, right to construct road grant- 
 ed to, 59-61 
 
 Weeds, cutting of, 196, 210, 211, 223, 234, 
 237, 240, 242, 250 
 
 Weeks, E. W., address by, 225 
 
 West, Senator, 158 
 
 West, 64 ; need of roads between East and, 
 267 
 
 West Virginia, road statistics of, 277, 279; 
 reference to, 277; system of road ad- 
 ministration in, 348, 349 
 
 Westward movement, 266, 267 
 
 What Cheer, 187 
 
 Whiteside's mill, 354 
 
 Whitney, Ulysses G., bill introduced by, 
 250, 251, 252 
 
 Wide tires, act relative to, 227; compensa- 
 tion for, 229 
 
 Willow hedges, 243 
 
 Wilson, George E., Jr., indictment of, 259 
 
 Wilson, Senator, amendment by, 372 
 
 Wisconsin, 111, 277; local government in, 
 126, 127, 135; road statistics of, 277, 
 279; State aid in, 281; demand for ex- 
 pert road administration in, 285, 286; 
 road administration in, 349, 350 
 
 Wisconsin, Territory of, establishment of, 
 3, 17; changes in laws handed down by, 
 4 ; law of, copied in Iowa, 5, 55 ; road 
 legislation during period of, 16-26, 27, 
 28; reference to, 26, 29, 33, 40, 54; 
 law of Ohio copied by, 30; system of 
 local government in, 34, 35; Territorial 
 roads in, 354 
 
 Woodward, William G., 367 
 
 Wright, George G., 122, 353 
 
 Wyoming, State aid in, 272, 281; road 
 statistics of, 277, 279; system of road 
 administration in, 350 
 
 Yellowstone National Park, appropriation 
 
 for roads of, 277 
 Young, Lafayette, 244 
 
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 General Library 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY