Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1880-09-09
To the Board of Supervisors, Lam
caster

To the Board of Supervisors, Lam
caster.
Gentlemen When are you coming TO
work my road tax You sent me word if |
worked it would have my tax returned I'M
| paid.
All the internal roads ever saw in any
country pretending to civilization more
than matched IN Lancaster Not more than
a mile north from the great city road was
cut through timber; the small timber was cut
about six inches above the ground and the
stumps lief. there until the wagons jammed
them cut OF and into the ground not one
was removed 20 improve the road. / suppose
If any one had attempted it he would have
had his taxes returned unpaid
| Take the right hand road, and AS you 70
down the hill, find every few rods : Hole laid
across the road to assure people lat they
are travelling on Lancaster road. In the
| hollow stood stumps one to three feet through
and people were obliged to drive one wheel
on stump and the opposite one into mire
hole, and were obliged to slam and bang over
stones which were washed bare by stream
Of water that ran down the road for many
years. and no improvement was made except
what time and travel made. Perhaps none
dare do it lest he have hts taxes returned uu-
paid.
There is bridge in the road leading from
my place to Lancaster, through which my
horses fell three times. | spoke to some per-
sons in the district about it and there we're
planks laid on the bank which were left there
five or six weeks and then were taken away
and the bridge was left unrepaired | think
| travelled a hundred miles out of my way in
the course of three years 20 AVOID crossing
that bridge; and yet less than five dollars
would have kept it in good repair for ten
years. May be the overseer was notified that
if the bridge was repaired he would have his
taxes returned unpaid.
There is place where the road has been
raised three or four feet, and midway of it
was chasm left and a bridge built over the
chasm. l have often wondered what that
was left for Sometimes l thought it was
intended to represent the bloody chasm. But
| once heard of boy who stole silver medal
which was given man for saving that BOYS
life, but although he got it he did not know
what use 70 make of il, SO he hid it under
bridge. Now, perhaps the people OF Lancas-
ter got it into their heads that some one
might come from neighboring town and so
repair road that the Lsncasterians might
drive over it without breaking their necks,
and he might get silver medal for il, and
= a a. .Ixo oc
| ing the medal and built the bridge to hide it
under i'll anticipation of the event.
There has been thousands of dollars ex-
pended to build towering bridges in the town
of Lancaster, the necessity of some of which
may well be doubted notably the one near
VIM Walkers, which cost several hundred
| dollars, TO take the place of humble struct-
ure which hardly cost FIVE dollars but it al.
ways withs.ood the furies of the torrent.
which poured over it and il always bore its
burden safely over. But there its successor
stands en- its eminence fit monument of the
infinite wisdom (monstrous folly of the town
| OF Lancaster and there is n OF q road decent
nor fit to drive a team over to approach it
| But perhaps it is necessary that the people
know there is a Lancaster, and it seems il is
| determined they shall have a realizing sense
| Of it by the amount of tax they have 10 pay.
| Now a few words about the district in
which am taxed. Seven or eight years ago,
when l was first taxed in the district, | met
the commander of the faithful of the district
and he asked me if would work my road
| tax | told him would. He said | might
work that part of the road where we were,
and showed me how (not) to do it. l thought
the road was bad enough and did not wish to
| make it worse for me to travel ovSr, so did
it as thought best When had nearly fin
| ished what l intended to do, some persons
passed over it and told the neighbors that
was crazy, for was trying to make passa-
BILE road in Lancaster. In less than three
| days it was going the rounds that had be-
come insane. About that time l went to
Crawford county for two or three days and
| Mr.. Wells went with me to Boscobel. The
next day the story went that had gone to
the insane asylum, for Mr.. Wells was seen to
go with me to Boscobel and come back with
GU. me, and before got back the neighbors
were inquiring of my family if they had heard
| from me since | went 10 the asylum. And
all this because | tried TO make a passabe
road in Lancaster. This may seem like
joke; but | can prove it by more than twenty
! persons.
| Three or four years ago we were working
| on the road, and the commander of the dis
trict sat in a neighbours house all the after
noon, the boys said, to see if we worked well.
| Perhaps if we had CHANGED to work faithfully
| would have had my tax returned unpaid
Two or three years ago nearly all the dis
| trct tax was expended on one piece of road.
| How there could have been an attempt at
lettering the road and make it so much
worse is more than l can understand. And
yet, the amount of my tax well applied would
have made the road as good as the nature Of
the ground would admit Of
Last year we commenced working on the
road one forenoon in the afternoon the
whole army of the district we're out to repel
the invasion, aud in the attack the command
er-in-chief, field and staff, infantry, artillery
and cavalry, together with the baggage wag-
ons and all the munitions of war crawled
along under fence TO pass place in the
road where the water stood from six inches
to foot deep for fifteen or twenty rods, and
had ever been so after a rain until the earth
absorbed or the sun avaporated it. And yet
one man could have drained it in half an hour.
After that exploit was invited to join them
in an expedition against some other part OF
the road next day. declined the glory, and
when it was convenient drained the road
and fixed it so that it would have been pass
able for a numbar of years had not the ens
in authority allowed distractions to be placed
in the road which drove people across the
ditch and damned the water. | suppose il
WAS for this piece of presumption that | was
notified that if | worked my tax it would bt
returned unpaid.
Now, have named a few things and few
places, but do not take it that these are th,
exceptions. They are the universal rule frou
this part Of the country to the city of Ian
caster. Ask your merchants how many time
have refused to sell produce in Lancaste
because the roads are unf. TO haul LOAF
over And it reflects the incapacity or in
difference of the Tcwn Board and the SHIFT
lessness of those living on what are dubbed
highways but are unfit for Indian war paths
Now, gentlemen, If Providence prevails,
may work nay road tax another year, eithe
with or without orders from headquarters a
suits my convenience, and if you want m
tax returned unpaid you may try it on as 500
as you please. w. A. GRAHAM.
Mt Ida, August 20, 1880
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