The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1888-01-20
The improvement Of Our Roads


eral years, have had opportunity to
observe some points, among which are
these: Hardly two men in the same
district agree as to the best way OF
working the roads. Nine out of ten
have never made any study of the sub
ject. and yet they fc,l perfectly COM
peteut to advise the roadmaster, and
think he is wasting the public money
lif he does not follow their advice.
There is plenty of law to make good
roads in almost any community if it
were honestly followed, and of what
good is it to make new laws if those we
have are not enforced?
In this State New Jersey our gen
eral road law was enacted Al years ago,
and has been supplemented by SO very
many special laws that it would require
talented lawyer to keep track of them.
One of the best supplementary acts was
passed by the legislature in 1886 as
follows:
"That at the election provided for in
the act to which this is amendatory the
legal voters then and there assembled
may, in their discretion, determine by
vote of three.quarters of the voters vot
ing at said election what particular
road or roads or parts of the same with
in said district shall be macadamized or
faced with stone, and also fix the sum
of money to be expended within such
district for such purpose, and the pnr-
pose OF keeping the roads in such dis
trict in repair during the ensuing year,
and the sum so fixed shall be IN lieu OF
all other road taces IN such district;
and within five days after such election
the overseer shall give notice to the
assessor Of the township Of the sum so
fixed, who shall assess the same upon
the taxable property within such dis
trict, and the same shall be collected
as other road taxes are collected and
paid over to the oyerseer of such road
district for the purposes provided for
in this act; and for assessing and col
lecting of such tax the assessor and
collector shall be entitled to receive out
of the money SO assessed and collected
the sum of FIVE cents for each and every
name appearing on the assessors du-
| nlicate nj said assessment
A great advantage of this act is that
1T brings the raising and expenditure
of the funds directly under the notice
of those interested, and if they are IN
different or careless they have no one
to blame hut themselves.
The voting at all road meetings
should be confined to those who pay
the tax, for 1 have seen the privilege
grossly abused in several instances
where on account of hostility to an
overseer, voters paying no tax and hav
ing no interest whatever in the roads,
were gathered at meeting purposely
to defeat him, and in one case that came
under my observation the defeated
party paid more tex than all the rest Of
the voters.
To show the need Of more interest in
the matter rather than more laws, | will
state facts that occurred in this town
ship. In one of the districts containing
nearly two miles of roads, through the
efforts principally of two residents. near.
ly three fourths of the roads in the dis.
trict have been macadamized with stone
bought by the pound and carted FIVE
miles, and the same proportion OF the
sidewalk graded and covered with coal
ashes in the last four years, with the
ordinary appropriation and what said
residents have contributed; and in one
or two years more, at most. under the
same management all the roads in said
district will be finished in the same
/
way. while in adjoining districts with
the same rate of assessment and larger
sum in proportion to length of reads,
there is not rod macadamized, and
the money all frittered away in tempo
rary patching at exorbitant wages
Another advantage to the improved dis.
trict is that after the whole is macada-
mized, the voters can take advantage OF
the act above quoted to reduce their
tax two.thirds, il not three-f fourth, a
l think it win not require more than
that amount to keep the improved roads
in repair. The wear is much less on
them than on ordinary earth roads from
1.-THE fact that said wear is much more