Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-10-30
ROADS AND BRIDGES.

The expenditure of the county re-
venue is always a subject of interest to
the people. 1t is their right to know
if their agents, the members OF
the county court, have disposed
of the public funds honestly and
wisely. When the democratic party
came into power it found reckless
taxation in the county, and wild
extravaganza in all departments
of expenditure. The first efforts
of the democratic court were directed
to the cutting down of expenses and
the reduction of taxes. The expendi-
| lures were thus reduced from 1877 900
under republican management to Sl9,-
900, being a reduction of ~eighty-two
per cent. of current county expenses
for a year. The taxes for county pur-
poses ran up under republican rule to
three dollars and twenty cents OIL the
hundred dollars for county purposes
alone, not including township and
taxes. These have been gradually re-
duced, until 1885, when the tax for all
county purposes was eighty cents on
| the hundred dollars, and it is the same
tor this year.
1t has been the policy of the demo-
cratic county court to reduce all cur
rent contingent expenses to the lowest
possible amount, and to put all the re-
mainder of the income upon roads and
bridges, where the people derive most
benefit from it. In the dry seasons of
1881 and 1882 the expenses for roads
and bridges were less than they had
been since the close of the war. Since
then the amount expended for these
purposes has increased. This was
justified, not only by the large amount
of rain fall, which damaged the roads
and washed away many bridges, but
also by the increased income of the
county principally from saloon licenses
The attention of the county court for
the last three years has been mainly
directed to the improvement of roads
and bridges, aud they have been
in better condition. The county has
a contract for the building of iron
bridges, on very favorable terms, and a
number has been erected of excellent
quality that will stand the test Of time,
90 that if the same policy is continued,
which it will be by Messrs. Smith,
Benton and Filing after N more year
the expenditure for bridges will be
comparatively nominal.
1t is frequently asked, why the
ty court does not levy a special road
tax the proceeds to be expended on
roads and bridges. The law authorizes
the court to do SO and it has considered
it every year since the passage of the
law, but always arrived at the conclus-
lon that the plan pursued is the best.
The constitution and statutes, also,
limit the amount of taxes for ali coun-
ty purposes, other than bond and in
terest fund, to forty cents on the hun
dred dollars. If the county court
should levy a tax tor road and bridge
fund of twenty cents, which is the limit,
that much would have to be deducted
from forty cents and the tax for all
othes purposes would be only twenty
cents on the hundred dollars. The
road and bridge expenses for 1884 and
1885 were over $4,000, and for this
year up to this time over $4,000, with
two months to be added. If the court
were to levy a tax for this purpose the
proceeds would be about Sl3 900 which
would not be sufficient t. meet the de-
mands and the court would have to
make appropriations to cover the de-
ficiency. All of the income of the
county above the unavoidable expenses
is now expended upon the arteries of
travel, and the demagogical assertion
that is made to poor men in the county
that real estate pays nc road tax is by
the above exposition of the facts clearly
disproven.