New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-07
THE NEW ROAD Law.

| What are the Boards OF supervisors OF Inc
s;vtv counties of Ncw-Yorli going to do with
tbe law providing for road reform, which has
inst boen nlaced upon the statute bOokP Going
~ avail themselves of its provisions or to let
,bem alone? The Supervisors of Niagara ut
:, reccut meeting appointed committee Ito
investigate and report upon Tho law and Its
,tfcct npon the county" This was promising
beginning, but The LocHport Journal" as a
resnlt of interviews with the Supervisors. states
that the majority of them seem to be opposed
TO doing anything at present. The fact IS"
"The Journal explains. "the people are not
rcody for it vet. Our farmers especially are
many of them in debt as the result Of of years
and very few are flush financially. The county
road question had better be postponed While"
Now. assuming that 1.-THE Journal reflects
the views of Niagara County as whole. 1t IS
70 be said that its people have reached a con-
clusion in this matter which docs not do credit
either to their public spirit or their practical
sac,cty. II the farmers OF that county desire
10 better their condition, and of course they do,
then if behoovcs them to improve their roads rs
promptly as possible. If they contend that
however much they may desire good highways
they cannot afford to provide for the reform
ot present. the answer is that for what residents
of the county are paying out year after year
for bad roads they could secure first-class ones,
proyiled they abandoned the existing ldlotc
system of road making and road-repairng and
substituted in its place il thoroughly intcll'-
gent scientific system. In his message 10 Inc
Legislature in january last Governor Flower
discussing road reform, submitted Il table which
the citizens of Niagara will find profitable read
inR. This table exhibited by counties the pres
cnt cost of highway construction and mantle
nance in New-YOrk. Ii showed that Niagara
expcnds annually nearly S42.O0o-work and
cash cypenditurcs-on It's roads, while the ell
fire State cxpends about $1,000, 600. Com
menting upon this showing the Governor, an
experienced business man, remarks: with
no greater expenditure, but under n dllierent
system. each county might be covered with fine
macadam roads with all the resulting advan-
tagcs in appreciation of property and in econ
omy of transportation" All things considered
therefore, the Niagara, farmers as men OF COM
mon sense might well make up Their minds mat
the fact that they are not " flush financially"
instead of being n reason why they should re-
sist local road reform, is the very reason why
they should lend themselves to it.
The new law + not mandatory, so that no
county is compelled to put its provisions IN
practice This is judicious. since there can be
no genuine initiation of such reform which is
not voluntary. But the counties which are
wise in their generation which are bent upon
availing themselves of every opportunity to pro-
mote their own welfare, will not suffer the law
10 become a dead letter, so far as they are con-
cerned There is no occasion for reStatlnS the
arguments in favor Of good roads. 1t is suit-
Gent to assert that abundant experience has de-
that they are potent, direct con-
tributors to the material wc-beinS OF the
region through which they run. 1t is to be-
boped that on further reflection the Niagara
Supervisors backed by public sentiment, will
decide to make beginning OF road reform this
wear. and that the rest of the State will join IN
the movement.