college farm. He then moved the equipment to Geneva, New York, where he built 1½ miles of road connecting the city to the New York Agricultural Experiment Station. This road cost $9,046 and was financed by contributions from the town of Geneva, the experiment station and three private individuals. After its completion, Harrison moved the equipment to Kingston, Rhode Island, where he completed a road for the Agricultural College of Rhode Island in 1898.[1]
Working the road machine on a section of the experimental road at Geneva, N.Y.
These roads accomplished their intended purpose. They were a forceful demonstration of General Stone’s “seeing is believing” philosophy of selling good roads to the public. They attracted hundreds of visitors, including many county road officials. They also attracted a deluge of requests for similar object lesson roads at other agricultural colleges which Stone was unable to fill because his funds had run out. In September 1897 he wrote:
The work now in hand will exhaust all the funds that can be spared from this year’s appropriation, unless something additional is provided to meet the many urgent demands of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations for ‘Government’ roads.
If the manufacturers continue willing to furnish the machinery free, an expenditure by the Government of from $300 to $500 for each locality will be sufficient to call out enough local help to build from $2,000 to $10,000 worth of road at most of the 116 agricultural colleges and experiment stations, and any required number of outfits can be put in the field at once. . .[2]
Educational Work of the Office of Road Inquiry
General Stone and his deputy engineer, Maurice O. Eldridge, were indefatigable writers and speakers. In addition to writing or editing 20 published bulletins and 30 circulars on various aspects of the road problem, they accepted invitations to appear on the programs of several dozen good roads conventions and farmer’s road institutes. The invitations were, in fact, far more numerous than the ORI could accept with its limited budget and force. General Stone was also an acknowledged expert on good roads legislation, and his advice was sought by several States, notably California, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, in framing their highway laws.
Following the outbreak of war with Spain, General Stone, in August 1898, was granted leave of absence from the ORI to serve with the Army. During the war he was a Brigadier General on the staff of General Nelson Miles. The war over, he resumed his duties in January 1899, but resigned October 13, 1899, to return to New York, where he accepted the presidency of the National League for Good Roads, an organization he had helped to found in 1893 before his appointment to the Office of Road Inquiry.
The Office of Public Road Inquiries
While General Stone was on military duty, the Office of Road Inquiry was temporarily headed by Martin Dodge of Cleveland, Ohio, formerly President of the Ohio State Highway Commission. When Stone resigned in October 1899, the name of the agency was changed to the Office of Public Road Inquiries (OPRI) and Mr. Dodge was appointed as Director.
General Stone’s plan for three great demonstration roads—from Portland, Maine, to Jacksonville, Fla., on the east coast; from Seattle, Wash., to San Diego, Calif., on the west coast; and from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco, Calif.
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