Highway Construction by Convicts. James M. Oliver. Letter from Warden Johnston of San Quentin.. Pledge signed by Convict Workmen.. THE STATE HIGHWAYS ACT The Club's Committee on State Highways spent considerable time in 1916 investigating the advisability of the $15,000,000 road bond issue proposed by the Legislature of 1915. The California Legislature of 1909 submitted to the voters a state highway act authorizing a bond issue of $18,000,000 for the purpose of building a system of state highways. A committee was selected from the Club to investigate the subject and rendered a report at the Club meeting of August 10, 1910 (see Transactions, Vol. V, No. 7, pp. 450467). The report of the committee was adverse to the measure on the ground of its inadequacy, but it was approved at the election of November 8, 1910, by a vote of 93,297 to 80,509. The criticisms made in the report of the Club's Committee on State Highways were subsequently met to a degree by legislation enacted to carry out the purposes of the bond issue (see state highway act of 1911 and following amendments passed by the Legislature). The criticism that the sum of $18,000,000 would not build the roads contemplated in the act, however, could not be met by legislative action, and the Legislature of 1915 submitted another bond issue calling for an additional $15,000,000. As the act is to be passed upon by the voters at the election of November 7, 1916, the Club's Committee on State Highways was reorganized with the following membership: Otto von Geldern, chairman; T. D. Boardman, A. Borland, C. G. Dennis, H. D. Dewell, H. S. Dutton, Zoeth S. Eldredge, Nat. B. Ellery, Wm. Ham Hall, Paul Herriott, G. C. Holberton, James Horsburgh, Jr., Edward Jesurun, E. L. Cope, A. Kempkey, W. W. Kergan, W. F. Martin, James M. Oliver, H. M. Owens, Frank Schwabacher, S. C. Smith, Allan G. Wright. Sub-committees were organized as follows: Committee on Construction, Traffic, etc., Nat B. Ellery (chairman), H. S. Dutton and Wesley W. Kergan; Committee to Investigate General Management of Highway Construction, A. Kempkey (chairman), William Ham Hall, A. Borland and George C. Holberton; Committee to Gather Data Regarding Use of Convict Labor on Road Work, etc., James M. Oliver (chairman), Edward Jesurun and James Horsburgh, Jr. After collecting a considerable amount of data, and securing the reports of the State Highway Commission, the committee presented its report at the Club meeting of August 9, 1916, covering the $15,000,000 bond issue and a companion act permitting the State Highway Commission, in its discretion, to exempt counties from the burden of payments heretofore required under the state highway act. The committee dealt with the amount, quality and cost of the work done under the $18,000,000 bond issue, the local sentiment in the counties, the amount of work still to be done and the adequacy of the proposed bond issue. Notwithstanding certain criticisms of the results under the $18,000,000 bond issue, the committee unanimously reported in favor of the proposed $15,000,000 issue, and criticised the act conferring power on the State Highway Commission to excuse counties from payment of amounts due under the highway act of 1910. The committee reported favorably on the use of the labor of convicts in highway construction. |