The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1893-02-16
THE STATUS OF THE ROAD CUES
TON.

THE STATUS OF THE ROAD CUES
TON.
The Santa Rosa Democrat approves the
suggestion of the RECORD UNION that
some State authority be intrusted with
the collection of data concerning road
years. But it is not satisfied with this,
and wants action taken at the present ses-
sion of the Legislature authorizing the
Supervisors TO levy a general road tax
on all property in the county, towns
and country alike, not to exceed
two mills on the dollar in any
thoroughfares through the counties, leav
ing the tax now laid and apportioned to
the several districts to be used in the i'm
provement of the neighborhood, district
and cross roads leading to the main
avenues to be built out of the proposed
general road fund.
The RECORD UNION is in harmony with
that proposition. Months ago we went
further and urged it as pure economy for
this county, for instance, to borrow and
eXpend 5000 in building four twenty
mile stretches of good main roads. 1t
has urged persistently for long time
that the present patchwork system and
district construction of main avenues is
wrong, uneconomic, wasteful, and that
the Road Overseer system of supervision
IS the poorest possible to be set up.
In this county, in ten years, we have
expended in that way over S35OOOO. OF
this, $4,000 was laid out on bridges, and
we have good ones-but they were built
by contract and by bridge builders. But
fully $40, 600 was expended on roads by
Road Overseers, and we have not for it
ten miles Of road that is permanent and
good highway to the accepted standard of
good road building-merely Indifferent
and constantly costly roads for repair is
what we have as result. But S27O, 0OO
would have built ninety miles of .perma-
nent main roads so well substructured,
surfaced and cross-drained that repair
costs would have been merely nominal.
Built by contract, by experienced road
builders, with proper machinery, this
ninety miles would have halved distance
and time in travel, doubled hauling ca
pacity, enhanced land values, lessened
wear and tear of vehicles and horse-fesh
given quicker market to produce, made
rural life more economic and attractive
drawn to us greater rural population, re-
duced road taxation from twenty cent!
on the 500 to not more than seven OF
eight cents for other work, and hav,
paid the interest on the loan, and il
twenty years every dollar of the prin
cipal.
The Democrat declared last week tina
Sonoma in five years has expended $500,
600 on her roads, and left us to infer tina
she has not $4,000 worth of good perma
nent roads to show for it. This is al
amazing exhibit of wastefulness, but a
the Democrat is a fully-informed and re
liable journal, and the oldest in tn,
county, we must accept its statement a
accurate.
The RECoRD-UNIoN agrees with tn
Democrat, and needs no urgency Oh tn
part of the latter to enlist it in the good
road agitation. Indeed, it prides itself a
the pioneer in that line in California
find the Alliance, Grange and the farmin
people generally, and the Supervisors
nearly all the counties, fighting the yer
proposition the Democrat advances, for
general road fund levy on all property
and demanding of the Legislature re
turn to the overseer and practical patel
1891, providing for contract constructio
and maintenance. Hence the RECoRI
UNION, finding the legislative committee
set against the best system. and realii
ing the hopelessness of full reform at tn
session, suggested such inquiry and dat,
gathering as will educate the people o
the subject, and convince the farmer
who are simply moving in error of judl
ment and really want good and econom
road systems, that they are mistaken
their opposition to a general road levy Il
main highways, and to the contract sy
tenn.
We have no quarrel with the agricul
wrists. If they wish to bear the burde
OF road tax alone, and exclude from it.
the Democrat says they do in Sonom
100000 of taxable values, they can {
80, and by experience discover the
error, as the people have done in Mi
souri,, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Isla1
and Nav York