Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1872-02-15


report and IN accompanying Plat be
filed with the County Auditor, and
then, when a petition is presented
for the location OF a road, n simple
reference to the report shows the
prac,icability of the routes ard the
order is issued to the Road Super
visor to work the road.
Let rs contrast this with the exist
ing plsu; If we want . road we draw
up our petition describing the road.
and, of course, we take advantage of
all the short cuts across unimproved
lands; Commissioner and Surveyor
view and report, and the road is
established; next year, and each sue
ceeding wear, one or more farms are
opened on the short cuts and caci.
time the form Of petition and COM
mission must be gone through for
vacation and Relocation around the
farm and on the line: IN q few years,
at great expense and trouble, quar-
rels and litigation, the road is locat-
ed as it should have been in the first
place. Under the proposed plan, the
road is established on the section
lines, but because it is so located it
does not follow that it will be so
travelled; on the contrary, so long
as there is a short cut it will be used,
legal or none; another expense is
thus saved-ifI take the short cut
/ must take it as l find it and not cx-
pect money and labor to be expend.
ed IN repairing it, only to be thrown
away when The farm is opened. The
money ana labor wasted in these
short cuts would have put every sec.
ton line in the county in good trav.
cling condition.
Instead Of a District Road Super.
visor, adopt the Governors plan OF a
Township Road Supervisor, and
make him personally responsible for
the condition of bridges and high
ways; let all applications for repairs
be made to him and authorize him to
do such work and at such places as
necessity may require. Under Sec.
S43. Rev. 1860, the benefit derived
from a road was considered in the
assessment of damages and deducted
thereirom, but afterwards. (Chap.
las 9th Assembly, recognizing the
principle that in every respect a road
is pro bono publieo, this law vas
changed; but the law should be ex.
plicit that no damages be allowed for
a road on section lines where no
property but the land is disturbed.
There is no man in the county, own
ing a section of land surrounded by
roads, but uses tenfold more land OF
his neighbors in n trip to market
than he gives them. The objection
may be made that the section line
plan would either vacate some good
roads on halt section lines or dupll-
cate roads to an unnecessary extent,
or make some rough roads across
ridges which now are on ridges. AS
to the first objection, the man who
hnilds ON the halt section limo docs 90
tor his own convenience and for (pos-
sibly) more desirable building 'oca-
ton and he had the road located on
the line for the same reason, to-wit:
bis own convenience; if such be the
ease and an equally good route can
be laid on the section line, then for
the public convenience run the pub
lie road on section lines and let him
at his W expense maintain such
private road as he chooses, even as
he does now in the road to his field.
As to the ridge question, while we
admit that it is farther around, than
across the square, as we arc a people
who go in on time, l will claim this
advantage, that we can make better
tine on IN average road around than
we could on a hllly road across.
A public reform will always bear
with it individual sacrifice or loss,
but the wheels of progress should
never be clogged for present consid.
erations Of loss, if delay entails heav-
ier losses in the future.
Yours Truly,
A. =. G..