Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1882-10-23
THE HIGHWAYS.

W ODldlH Sale anu Well-hepG IOduS Is,
at best, a difficult question. That
the present system is faulty no one
denies, and that better system ought
to be devised every one acknowledge
es. The putting of the whole system
of roads in a town into the hands of
surveyors, good, bad and Indifferent,
who have only small district
of their own to look after, and who
care little for the condition of the
roads, by. and large, is a kind of
management of this important matter
which would not be allowed in any
private business, well managed.
The highways of town or section
of country, whether well or i'll kept,
have much to do directly and indi-
rectly with the prosperity of that re-
gion. If well built and in a good
state of repair, the visitor, the farm
seeker or the stranger at once decides
that he has fallen into prosperous
section of the state or county, and
he is willing to cast his lot among a
people whose thrift and enterprise is
shown in good roads; on the other
hand one who comes into a section
where the roads are run down, dan
gerous and dilapidated is content to
get away as soon as possible, thank
full that he did not break his neck.
The local convenience and advantage
of good roads cannot be over stated.
Like other important matters of
business the management of the
roads in town ought to be put III
intelligent and careful hands. Twen-
ty or thirty men taken hap-hazard all
over town do not make the most COM
petent aboard" to manage so large
and expensive an enterprise. While
the surveyor system may have some
advantages over others, it has many
serious faults. To do away with the
surveyor plan, road commissioner
system has been established by law,
which towns can adopt by so voting,
but the Legislature will consider the
propriety of doing away with survey
ors entirely, and of putting the whole
matter into the hands of road COM
missioners. The commissioner plan,
in the hands of good men, ought to
| be much the best. 1t puts the roads
of the whole town under the super,
visions of men-if they are capable
who plan and labor for the whole
town, and who ought to be able to sc
manage their business as to do {
vastly greater amount of labor will
the money appropriated to the high
ways. In an ordinary town there ar
from twenty to thirty highway dis
tricts, each managed by somebod,
who is selected within the limits O
his district; he may be the best NAL
in in town to look after this interest
he may be the worst. Selfish interest
may bias his judgment; if he is dis
honest he misappropriates the none,
raised on the list, and may spend O
l steal considerable more by permission
| of the selectmen. If he steals tn
money or fools it away there is n
redress, the way the thieving is man
: aged. No matter how large a SUI
e is raised to be expended on road
d some surveyors over-spend it an
v bring in bill besides. The custol
it of allowing surveyors to expen
/ money dd hbituna is very dangerou
IS and expensive one, as every on
O knows who foots up the items of e1
n pense brought in by all these surve,
e ors. The sum so expended by tt
II surveyors is uncertain, but usual
: large. A board of commissioner
Y knowing what sum of money the
y have to expend, ought to so tin
II their expenses as to keep within tt
y limits of the sum appropriated
n their use. 1t is not necessary to I
,e fer to the lazy, shiftless labor that
y palmed off for full wages on tt
S. roads. Prudent farmers never u
n, help which is as profitless as much
lr that which stands and rests out Il
t. time on the highways. Everybo(
K admits the town is cheated by mai
Ill who are born lazy, and a larger ella
a. who do not wish to shame their neig
ct bors by doing an honest days wor
e. With a board of suitable comm
d. sioners, help employed in and frc
ct the several districts, or that perm
es nently engaged for road labor, won
o. expect to put in ten hours of so
W. work each day; the man who work
his team under the commission wor
not keep it in the shade the lare
part of the day.
he Commissioners having the wh'
at system of rounds to look after, c
cd better apply the money, so far al
W. town is concerned, than as it is n
Ire applied. There are main thorous
for fares, bad roads, river roads, a
l. special localities where much MOI
-. is required, while byways and es
Tas roads can be put in suitable condit
tu- with small outlay. The comm
ted sioner ought to be able to take tn
ON things into consideration and so
in pend his money as to maintain in
The safe and suitable condition all
pc roads under his charge to the sa
pc faction of all concerned.
of Another question of much im[