The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1883-03-01
Taxation for Turnpikes.

has introduced a turnpike bill in
the Legislature which strikes us
favorably. 1t provides for the cleo
ton at each January term Of the
county court of two citizens who
shall with the chairman of the court
constitute board of turnpike com
missioners. The court may levy a
tax of 10 cents and one-fourth the
county assessment on privileges, to
be collected by the trustee, to be
paid out on the orders of the board
for the construction, repairing or
buying turnpikes. The commits
sioners take the oath of office, give
bond, keep record and report an
nualiy, the secretary to have ST., 900
per annum and the others $3.50 each.
They are to have discretion in de-
termining where to build pixies
where they are mostly needed and
are hedged in by requirements that
insures the work well done.
In commenting on this bill the
Memphis Avalanche says: The
great benefits to be derived by all
classes of people, especially the tax
payers, by the building of good
roads are unquestionable. The
road improvement history of Union
county, Ohio, furnishes a notable
illustration of the general prosperity
caused by good roads. In the last
dozen years $1,OO0,OOO have been
expended in the construction of
graveled roads in that county
There are ITO roads aggregating
500 miles in length, all within the
county. The work was all done by
contract after due advertising.
The roads cost 81, 200 to 81, 800
per mile, exclusive of bridging. In
other counties, destitute of gravel,
crushed stone Is used at a cost little
exceeding that Of gravel. In those
counties the taxpayers are better
pleased with results than are those
where gravel is used, the crushed
stone being the more durable. The
Union county auditor gives this
estimate of cost:
l will give you closely figured
estimate of the cost of road made
from crushed limestone, average
quarry, No. 1 rotary crusher, ten
horse power engine, including all
costs for stone and labor, loaded on
wagon, so cents per cubic yard, and
No. l crusher will crush so cubic
yards per day. On the usual gravel
road we put seven cubic yards of
gravel to the rod, but of the crushed
stone we use about four and one
half cubic yards to the rod, which
makes very material difference in
the expense of hauling and spread
ing.
The results of the large expendi-
ture of money have been highly
satisfactory. The auditor says
lands that were $40 and $50 per
acre on mud roads now sell readily
at $50 and $40 and upwards, and
many citizens of older and richer
counties are coming in and purchas-
ing farms in Union county, their
reasons being that they wish to own
lands in county blessed with good
roads. It makes a good system of
drainage for low lands, and many
farms are largely drained by thing
into these side-ditches, fences are
improved along the line of these
roads, new dwellings are built, barns
are painted, and the whole county
is improved and beautified wher-
ever you see good pixies. This plan
of levying taxes to build roads was,
however, at first violently opposed
by the largest taxpayers, who are
now its warmest advocates. 81
have never" says the auditor, 'tyet
found an opponent of good roads
that, once he has had a good pike by
his farm, would part with it for
three times the amount of tax he
paid" And he goes on to say
''the ciUizens of this county are well
satisfied with the amount of money
they have expended for road i'm
provements. The farmers are well
paid by the increase in the value of
their lands, the merchants are we'll
pleased that they have at their
counters, in the winter season as
well as in the summer, customers
who live fifteen and twenty miles
from the county seat, and the carri-
age-1nakers are well pleased, that
they now sell twenty buggies and
carriages where, under the mud
road system, they sold one; and al
together, we seem to be very happy,
industrious, honest, temperate and
religious sort of people, and if our
neighborlng counties will build
gravel roads they will be cor
respondingly happy with u.s."
This experience is certainly an
inducement for allowing the coun-
ties in Tennessee to make the effort |
to better their roads in the manner