Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1850-10-03
Plank Roads.

Southern part Of the State, well as other portions
of Indiana, whether surrender of State and county
roads ought 10 be made TO plank road companies for
the purpose Of contracting plank roads thereon
This question has drawn forth letter from the Hon.
Robert Dale Owen on this subject, addressed TO the
Hon. C. c. Graham, member of State Senate
and Delegate 10 the Constitutional Convention which
has been published in the Warrick Democrat. and
which we have been requested TO publish in order TO
give the opinions of Mr.. Owen, on this interesting
question, more general circulation.
New HARMONY, lad, Aug. % 1850.
MY DEAR GRAHAM-On my return, last evening"
from Mount Nernon received your letter the 26Ih
inst
am reioced to hear that you have nearly completed
your subscriptions OF stock the Newburg Boouville
and Lynnyille Plank Road. But confess nv SURPRISE
that there should be ssrons difficulty about aning the
right OF way. How little they must know of plank
roads and ol the immense advantage resulting the
public from this species oil Improvement especially in
tins western C 'untry, who refuse it!
wish could SIT down by the resde of some of those
who are opposed to this grant, and have quiet, bus.
ness talk with them about Ii deliberate opin.
ion that "pon the disposition make, not to make
such grants this depends in very great measure
TINS Juncture the prosperity of each county State
Tie counties who refuse will surely lie left behind in
the race oil improvements would be- who should
still persist IN navigating the OHIO without the aid of
steam There are certain improvements of such un-
questionable advantage, that they must from conviction
OF their utility. be adopted. Steam-boano is one of
these; the plank road is another Plank roads are as
certain to spread this State the Sun certain To
continue to shine One county another NAV lac he.
hlnd Those who do will suffer for it but all will nt-
matcly come Just everybody who asccnds the Mis-
sssipp now employs a steam boat convey him.
Old Warrick surely. will not be o. tue laggard
owe to her, politically, as much at least, as 10 any
other county in this district; and should consider that
had in part repaid the debt ii | could persuade her
to examine this matter with care, and decide it with
wisdom.
visited the State of New York last fall, to examine
her plank roads, and saw many OF them; pro-
gress of constructions others that had been operation
upwards of three years. fonnd, that the first plank
rad had been opened there to the public the first of
July, 1916; and that, already thousand miles were
completed in progress in that State alone a
more than three millions OF dollars. Every day new
ones were springng up. Every dav added increased
conviction OF their Importance. stopped some OF the
teamsers whom met and found the universal feeling
to be, that consideration would induce them change
back to the old earth road and that they had rather pay
double treble the toll than to do without them No
wonder, On welmade plank road with good rades
two ordinary horses will pull load of three TONS This
have and know it to be true. The same horses
would not pull OF earth roads
IN summer, alter single days rain. Now let any man
sit down and calculate what he afford pay Tor the
privilege of hauling at trip what he hauls
three Say that farmer lives miles from town,
what is il worth be able, at each luad haul two
tons additional without additional team or time? In
other words what does usually haul
ten miles! Generally, about a cent a hundred mile ;
that is for two tons baued ten miles, four dollars And
what is the toll by plank road law, two horse
wagon travelling that distance! Twenty cents. Say
that empty; then the toll is forty cents For.
ty cents at most, he able do what four
dollars! An advantage of ten to one. exchange of
dime for dollar! Whenever the time shall when
men refuse to give dime and receive dollar in return
then VIII they also (haying and tried both) prefer
our present earth turnpikes to plank roads, but till
then.
II our present State and County roads would keep
themselves IN order-such order IL possible
soil, TO keep earth road inf required
raise dollar of road tax spend day road
labor upon them lit would still be utterly unprofable
to use them, so long could find paak wherewth
to cover them Nay, if a teamster, farmer,
paid Tor every mile his wagon necessarily travels them
as much the plank road toll, then, he had far
far better pay the toll and travel the plank road than
take the other and he paid for travelling it. Does this
seem extravaganza 1t is long way within the truth
There is, to the farmer teamster who travels them
much more than four cents per mile difference between
the one road and the other.
As to the argument that il is taking away from the
public something valuable, give up free road, and
suffer il to he taxed it has not LEG stand on; does
approach the truth. In the first place have
free roads II is absurd talk OF free roads You
might as well talk OF free pork free Roads have
to be made and have To he kept IN order, by money
by labor (Which is money, } Just surely
he planted, and then poughed TO keep down the weeds
Ii never can be a question whether roads shall he
paid for.
do not content myself with saying that road toll is
as fair and just way OF paying Tor them as road tax
road labor. say, that the system OF toll is fair and
JUST and that present system is unfair and unjust
Look road law, revised and consolidated by
Act passed last year: General Laws, lS49, p. l00)
Section l0l ldeclares that the County Board may may
not, road tax (not exceeding ten cents on the
hundred dollars property and Section leo Provides
that If the Board dspenses with such the supervisors
shall noy the inhabitants of their respective districts
liable to perform road labor, to work on the highways
whenever and such number o days each shall
be necessary put and keep the highways OF such dis
tric in good repair and such labor is to he assessed
'equally upon all the inhabitants liable thereto"
Do you call that fair, equitable, republican, The
small property well enough, FAR goes
but is insufficient if imposed, and may he wholly dis
pensed with. And then, how stands the road
labor!
In the first place. the law strictly construed requires
impC ssbilty No supervisor caD during the winter
months keep earth road rich bottoms clay
hills n good order, in anything that approaches to
good order. But pass that hy. Men required to
contribute the support OF the roads, without any ref
erence whatever the use they make of them. The
farmer who has hundred under cultivation and
whose daily the road wearing il into rufs,
is called out the number Of days his hired labor
er, whom he pays ten dollars month, who has neiih
er horse cart and who travels the road when he
travels it ALL foot The contractor whose four
horse stage passes the road day and cuts it
up much half dozen ordinary farmers do is call
ed upon for the same contribution to keep up, the
mechanic, whose only property consists in bis TOOLS The
circus proprietor with his fifty sixty wagons passes
through the country using roads and carrying on
money charge him nothing for the roads he uses,
and the school master, with salary small to hire
horse for a Saturdays ride, pays the tax instead.
repeat it, call you this fairness juscel What IS the
Just principel That they pho thing should FaJ to
keep il in order. Yes and that the amount they pay
should be in proportion to the amount they use
Does not common teach us that this principle IS
Just and right Yet system Of road labor recognizes
t< httfr
lccted Of each traveller at gatehouse can reach it,
Under any other system those are compelled to pay,