Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-01-17
ONE MILL WON'T DOIT
Representative Stockings Country
Road Bill is Inadequate,
ASWAS THE GOVERNORS PROJECT.
II Would Cost $2,5OO,OOO in this County,
Nearly Ten-FOld More.
WHY NOT LET CRIMINALS BUILD ROADS

WHY NOT LET CRIMINALS BUILD ROADS
Governor Beaver in his inaugural ad.
dress echoes the conviction frequently ex'
messed in THE DISPATCH during several
wears past, that ''the civilization of a coun.
try is marked by its roads" and refers tc
the soldering INDUCED in by the granger
and his sons, nephews, uncles, etc., public
money being expended almost fruitlessly
from year to year in the filling up of hole
here and there. The Governor says:
1t is safe to say that no expenditure of public
moneys yields SO little in return as the road
taxes of Pennsylvania. Our entire system OF
road laws-or rather our road laws which lack
system-should be thoroughly revised and cod
flied. They served their purpose when tempor-
ary roads were to be laid out and cheaply made
through unbroken forests and over lands
which had but little value. TIE time has come
when it will be economy, in every way, to
build our roads permanently and suDstan-
tally.
A thorough system should be devised and
authorized by the Legislature which could be
put into immediate effect by our older COM
munities, and adopted by those which are
newer as their ability and the wants OF their
people might require.
Representative Stocking has incubated
bill to carry out the recommendations OF
the Governor and 1t is said it will pass. 1t
provides that,
In addition to the taxes already levied and
collected in the several boroughs, townships,
towns and cities of the State, the Board of
Commissioners shall have power TO assess anG
collect a tax not to exceed one mill on the dol
lar on all property taxed for county purposes,
which tax shall be disbursed by the Commis-
sioners for laying out grading, macadamizing
and otherwise improving their roads. The
Commissioners shall attend to the work of
locating and all the other work preliminary to
the laying out grading and macadamlzing of
the roads and shall let the contracts for the
latter in the same manner as the contracts for
bridge building are now let.
AwFULLY INADEQUATE.
The bill is a good one, so far as it goes;
but its inadequacy will be seen at glance
when the situation is laid bare. For in
stance, it has become an imperative necessi-
ty that the borough of Coraopolis shall have
at least three miles of road that will cost
So 900 mile. The assessed value of the
borough would WELD under such an assess
a
would be, at per cent $50 a pear, so that
the millage would pay less than one-third of
the interest, and unless three miles are made
the work would be useless, as less than that
amount would afford no relief whatever.
The present road tax is scarce sufficient to
keep the jamestown weeds and poison vines
down and fish Tor swamped inhabitants on
the rest of the roads in that borough; and.
were the three miles proposed to be made
built on the 1-mill assessment, the borough
might at some time be knocked down under
the hammer to satisfy creditors.
In the purely farming districts, where
land is assessed at but about 500 per acre,
it would be still worse. In Allegheny
county at least 500 miles would be required
to be built at once in order to give any kind
of satisfaction, and this
WOULD COST s., 100000.
The millage proposed would yield but
$500, 900 a year, of which S125, 600 would go
to pay interest. 1t isn't likely that the
cities of Pittsburg and Allegheny and sur
rounding boroughs, that would be required
to pay more than half the tax necessary to
carry out Legislator Stockings idea, would
be willing 10 be thus assessed, after they
have spent many millions of dollars to grade
and pave their streets, and partial work
would create dissatisfaction. 1t wouldn't
be square deal, and they would, in all
probability, say to the honest granger, 1--WE
can get along without your potatoes,
cabbage. hay, milk and scores of other
products for we can have them brought by
rail 1000 miles as cheaply as you furnish
them"
If a farmer didn't live on a line of rail-
way, he could content himself by consum'
ing his own products, or get them to the
city unassisted. He must buy in the city,
and railways have knocked his market into
a cooked hat,
FORCING HIM TO COMPETE
with Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North
and South Carolina in one direction aud the
entire territory between Pennsylvania and
the Rocky Mountains in another, and even
"beyant"
1t will be evident to the most obtuse in
tellect that Legislator Stockings plan will
not work.
But there are other ways of effecting the
object aimed at The turnpike law of Ohio,
though not giving absolute satisfaction, in
that stock raisers are not benefited to the
same extent as grain raisers and market
men, works more satisfactorily than would
the one proposed in this State. BY the
Ohio law, farmers lying nearest road, and
presumably most benefited by it, pay a Ger
tain amount per acre annually, and others
in proportion, much in the same manner as
benefits are assessed in this city for sewerage.
The Ohio law has worked hardship, but. on
the whole, it has been beneficial.
LET FELoNs MAKE ROADS.
A proposition has ON several occasions
been urged IN this paper, and was proposed
in the Legislature two years ago, which
would afford partial relief. 1t was that
criminals in our jails, penitentiaries and
workhouses should be put at making roads.
They cannot be proftably employed in in
stitutions where work is furnished them,
and humanity revolts at the cruelty of keep
ing them unemployed, thus destroying their
health and morals if they have any; and it
does not seem that the State should be
forced to teach them trades when honest
American boys can get scarce any oppor-
tunity of learning them. Where is the
justice of teaching an outlaw trade when
honest youths are forced to accept the
crumbs that may be left?
The most radical trade unionist cannot
object to the employment of criminals at
roadmaking, and 5000 able-bodied felons
might be furnished profitable employment
for all time to come without taking the
bread out of any honest mans mouth. In
the case of an honest man awaiting trial and
acquitted, he ought to be paid for the work
extorted from him.
The County Commissioners evidently have
not had time to digest the matter, for Mr.,
McWi11iams had no opinion tn eYnreSs nv