Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-02-04

that no sane man, who knows whereof he
speaks, will undertake to build a thorough
ly good and permanent road on this loca-
ton, suitable for the travel which its friends
claim will pass over 1t, for twice, or even
thrice that amount Of money. Beyond this,
largo sum would be required to pay for
land damages. And what, in the end, do
such proposals Of guaranty amount TOT II
is within the recollection of many that
just such offers were made in the case OF
the West River road, few years ago, pro-
posing t0guarantee that the cost should not
exceed $4,000 or thereabouts and yet no
taxpayer is now ignorant OF tho fact that
the cost OF that road TO the town Of Brattle-
boio already exceeds four times six thous-
and dollars, and the end is not yet. No
one, not a fool, will coniide in such devices.
But the first cost Of bull ding this road in
a substantial manner, whatever it may
turn out to be. is by no means all. If, be-
ing built, it should become, as its advocates
claim that it must and will, by reason Of
its superiority over all other roads, (and
this is their whole argument in favor Of
building ii at ally, the principal and favor
lite tbOroughfare for tho travel between this
village and the west, then, TO furnish prop
er outlet for this travel, there would at once
arisedn absolute necessity for widening FL
liot st. from the Revere House corner west
ward TO the point where the new street di-
verges from it, at an outlay five TO tenfold
greater than that now proposed. There
fore, If the advocates Of this Cave Bank
road are right in their estimate of its i'm
portance, its construction would be, in all
probability, only The beginning Of line of
Improvements which will cost the town not
less than from $4,000 to $50, 900. If they
are not right, then their scheme is destitute
OF merit, and should be abandoned.
IT. in times like these, when, on account
of logn stagnation ia all industrial pursuits,
thrGe-iourths Of our people are engaged in
a hand to hand struggle for the bare necos-
saries of life, many of them even compell-
cd by dire necessity to draw upon the small
boards, which years Of toll and frugality
in better times enabled them TO hide away
in the savings bank, against the needs Of
sickness and old age and when large
proportion Of the other more fortunate
one-fourth are simply at stand.still hop
ing and waiting for brighter skies, when
they may begin to move forward again: If,
/ repeat, in such times as these, the pockets
of the long-suilering taxpayers must be
still further depleted by the imposition of
additional taxation, might not the money,
so wrung from the people, be better en-
ployeo, Il make the suggestion humbly and
with many misgivings,) in improving and
making passable some of our present
wretched highways, streets and sidewalks,
which are grave discredit TO our town and
village, rather than in adding another of
like character 10 their number2 But bet.
ter still, cannot our enterprising and rest
less projectors of costly public improve
ments, even if merilorious, be persuaded
10 desist temporarily from their vigorous
assaults upon the public purse, at least I'M
III the dawning Of mere suspicious day?
A TAXPAYER.
Drattleboro, Jan. 81. 1876