The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-01-25
COUNTY ROADS.
IlenSeS.

Few people realize the enormous
losses resulting to the people OF The
country towns and to the farmers
through bad and imperfect roads. To
the farmers alone, whose hauling costs
so much more than it ought or would
were the roads Of the country uniform
ally good the losses In this county alone
lin ten years would, IL spent on the
highways Of the county, put them In
perfect condition. Town people lose
enormously through loss of trade
(which in spring, fall and winter Is
largely dependent, as to the former
trade, on the condition Of the high
ways, and farmers lose the opportun-
| ity when bad roads obtain of selling
produce when IL brings the best price
through inability to market at the
proper time or at a time when the
hauling &c. market can be done at the
least expense-when their teams and
their men are doing and can donothing
else.
In practical operation, the present
road law, or the system of road build
ing founded on that law. has been, to
all reasonable men, proved complete
failure. 1t results in lavish cXpendi-
lures without appreciate improve
ment of the roads in any respect. In
this county, in spite of the enormous
sums expended in the past twenty-five
to thirty years on the roads, there does
not exist, in all probability, "A single
mile of perfect road that was not built
outside the highway commissioners
efforts and in the main by popular
subscriptions.
No one feature of township govern
ment, no item of general and regular
'eXpense to the Taxpayer, needs more
radical reformation than the road sys-
TEN and road taxes. The law is tinker
ed with from time to time by the legis-
lature-sedom does a general assem-
bly, pass by without some change in
that law; yet in practice the system is
AS abominablc and impotent as ever.
This is universally true throughout
the state.
Realizing the necessity of radical
change Of system, some one has made
suggestion Of change, embracing
the following features: .r,
''The question of highways is pri-
marily to be under the charge of the
state, working with counties, the
the counties with townships, town
ships with villages, each doing its
share in "A system working from a
single center to definite ends. The
base on which the work begins is a
network of roads by which each
county seat in the state is connected
with the county seat of each county
adjoining, so that, surprising the net
work of roads finished, any county seat
can be reached from any other county
seat by following these main connect
ing lines. From these main roads
can be, built, ramifying indefinitely
every part and portion of the state.
"While the general plan, as survey
ing, locating, overseeing, etc, would
be the states business, yet the county
and townships and villages would do
their share in furnishing money by
taxation, and this is the key to the
proposition. TO successfully carry out
this plan, the prisoners in each vii
lage town and city, should be set to-
work at breaking rock to be used in
the work Of macadamizing. In locai-
ties where this rock does not exist i'll
could be transported 10y the state from
distant points. AS a matter of fact,
all the prison and Jail labor would be
applied to road-making, Withdrawing
it from competition with other labor
and virtually making prisoners return
to the taxpayers in labor the expense
of their conviction and care. Roads
built in this manner under competent
engineering control, built to with
stand the wear and tear Of travel,
would he worth millions of dollars to
the farmers of Illinois,"