President Linton: A recess was taken from the morning session until this time for the purpose of considering a roadside planting bill that might be recommended by this association to the authorities of every state in the Union. In order to bring this about we will have presented to you by Senator Penney, who was the introducer of the original bill that became a law in the Michigan legislature, a copy of the laws practically as they exist in our state today. We take a little pride in Michigan in being the first state to work along this particular line. Our agricultural college staffs, the highway department and several other branches of the Michigan government, are heartily and enthusiastically co-operating in this work. I have in my hand a notice that has been sent out by the state highway commissioner of Michigan to every highway commissioner in the state. We have about two thousand of the latter. We have in the neighborhood of two thousand townships six miles square and in each of these townships we have a supervisor, we have a highway commissioner and we have members of what is known as the township board. This notice that I have, and you will see it is quite complete and goes into a number of details, is sent by our state highway commissioner to each one of the township commissioners of north Michigan, and he closes his letter accompanying it with this:
Fourth: (President Linton reads).
You will see from that that we are well under way in connection with roadside planting in our state of Michigan. I now take pleasure in presenting to you a member of our legislature who introduced the first bill that became a law along these particular lines, Senator Harvey A. Penney of Michigan.
Senator Penney: In the legislature of Michigan several bills have been introduced by its members, but as I stated at the last convention they were not drawn up in such a way that they were fitted for our laws. As Mr. Littlepage said it takes quite a while to figure out a law that fits your own state law. These several laws were introduced but in some way or another the committees of the legislature never took kindly to them and they were not passed. But two years ago I had a bill passed. Since then we have seen some imperfections and we passed another law at the last session of the legislature which provides that the cost of planting trees and caring for them shall come out of the maintenance fund, that is, the maintenance fund that provides for the maintenance of highways. I don't know how the laws are in most of your states but in Michigan the law is that the owner of land owns not only his farm but the land to the center of the highway subject to the right of the public to have the use of it for travel. Then how are you going to plant trees on a man's land if the highway belongs to that man? They did it on the theory that the trees were necessary for the maintenance of the highway. There never has been a test case on this law but the highway department has a very able lawyer who was in the attorney general's office and since then has been elected circuit judge of the county in which Lansing is located. His idea was that the trees should be planted on the highway for the purpose of protecting the highway, and the cost of planting them and taking care of them should be taken out of the maintenance fund. So that is the theory upon which they are working under this bill.
Transcriber's Note: The format in this section has been transcribed exactly as in the original.
A BILL to provide for and regulate the planting of useful, memorial, ornamental, nut bearing and other food producing trees, shrubs, and plants along the streets, highways and other public thoroughfares and places within the State of (Michigan); and for the maintenance, protection and care of such trees and shrubs as a part of the maintenance of the roads in certain cases; and to provide a penalty for injury thereof, or for stealing the products thereof,—
The People of the State of (Michigan) enact:
1 Section 1. The (State Highway Commissioner) is hereby authorized and empowered
2 and it shall be his duty to select and plant by seeds,