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Show SHACKLEFORD BILL. The governors gathered in Denver ni- of the opinion that the Shackle-lord Shackle-lord bill, aopropriatiug federal money for road-building, is unjust to tho more Hj sparsely settled stales. Some limo ago The Tribune expressed a doubt as to whether there would bo much bonefit to the less populous states if the act became a law. The roads are divided into three classes. CIrjs "A" is to be surfaced Hj with macadam, concrete or brick; class 4,B" with gravel-or sand-clay; class "f " is to be a well crowned earth road. EApcnditurcs of federal money will be $00" per mile for class "A" roads, .0 for class "13" and ,15 for clRPfl C" roads. Tho distribution of money will bo founded half on the ra-tio ra-tio of population and half on tho ra-tio ra-tio of post roads. The bill also pro- j jdcs that states, or subdivisions thcro- j of, must spend as much per mile as docs the federal government, aud nil work is required to bu done uudor the aupcr-vhion aupcr-vhion of the state, county or iuoro lo-cal lo-cal authorities, tho national government proscribing rnlcs for construction and maintcuauco and inspecting tho work before the money is paid from tho f od-cral od-cral fund. Congressman Shackleford 's object, as expressed by himself, is to induce tho fclatcs .nd counties to construct and maintain their own highwavi. The na tional appropriation i3 granted because tho government will use many of tho roads in the collection and distribution of the malls. Sonic of t lie eastern papers have criticised crit-icised the bill becauso they consider it ''vicious federal paternalism," ' and "pork barrel" politics. Generally, however, this is the Democratic view, and i.s an echo of tho old onuiity against any kind of subsidies. The real objection is nioro than a matter of thoorotirtal policy. It is based upon the Mipicion, which peems to have become be-come a conviction among tho governors of the western states, that tho bill in cleverly designed lo aid those states which aro thickly inhabited and which have been constructing hard-surfaced highways for many years. Not only is Inc federal appropriation regulated with reference to population and post I roads, but it gives more money for class "A" roads, that is to say, tho hard-surfaced roads, than for gravel or earth roads. Tn the more sparsely settled set-tled slates v.iic earth roads would predominate. pre-dominate. No matter how desirous the western states or subdivisions thereof wcro to construct permanent highways, they would bo unable to do it to any considerable extent even with federal aid: It. would Eecm as If Ihe national government gov-ernment should givo the aid where it iH most needed. . If favoritism .is to be shown tho bill should favor tho sparsely sparse-ly Eottlod states in tho matter of appropriation ap-propriation rather than tho states which aro already well supplied with good roads, Tt is impossible to predict precisely the effect of the Shackle-ford Shackle-ford act, but the governors arc no doubt substantially correct in their analysis, |