The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1893-04-20
A FARMER TALKS ON ROADS.
Poor Roads and Bridges Dis
cussed,
And the Difficulty of Bet
teIinS Them.

EDITOR SIGNAL: While there is so
much being said about roads will you
allow me few words: In the first
place we have a large territory to
work, and few hands to work. 1t
would take from six to eight eastern
counties to cover this little county of
Washington, while either of those
eastern counties have from three to
four times the population and from
three to five times the wealth of
Washington county. So you will
see that in order to have equal roads
one man in Idaho must do as much
work on the road as three men would
have to do in one of our eastern states.
More than this one dollar in this lit
tie county of ours has to pay as much
tax as three or four eastern dollars
has to pay. Then look at our road
law; you can warn man out but no
way to make him work. 1t has been
tried, | am informed, and failed. |
have never known any man compelled
to work on the road in the eleven
years that | have lived in Idaho.
Now suppose we had road law some
thing like this; levy a tax of three or
four dollars per capita on all able
bodied men over twenty-one and
under fifty years, then small prop
erty tax. Let all be assessed together
with the state and county tax in cash ;
then elect road supervisor for three
or four voting precincts, give him a
reasonable salary and let him give a
good and sufficient bond Let the
county furnish him as many road re-
ciepts as there is road hands in his
district, and when the proper time
comes to work the roads, let the su-
pervisor warn out the hands one time,
and only one time, then let the super
visor give to each hand that does
good and faithful work one of said
receipts, then let the tax collector re-
cieve said receipt as so much cash on
taxes, and the man that cannot pro-
duce a receipt let him pay all his
taxes in cash at one time, and let nc
property be exempt from execution
for taxes. Let all work done or
the roads be of permenant charac
/ ter, so it will not have to be done
= over and over every year. Now fol
a few words on bridges. Our beauti
full bridges that are all rotting down
7 1t looks little strange to me that ;
good farmer will not set fence pos
worth six cents without trying t.
make it last as long as possible; ye
that same man, if he were count
commissioner, would contract for
bridge to be built of soft pine wit
open Joints to fill with water and mu
ts to rot it down in six or eight years
t. when a few dollars worth of pitc
would double the lasting qualities G
the bridge. A look at all the bridge
in this county will convince any on
of the truth of this argument. Whe
bridge is put together every joir
should be filled with pitch, as well q
w all parts that are apt to decay, an
after they are built they should /
= looked over al least once year, an
repitched where needed. There
more to be saved by proper care tina
most men think; attend to the lit
details and the large ones will be a
right. / am as anxious to have goo
o roads, good bridges and good ever
. thing as any man, but there is
right and a wrong to all things; I'll
more county can have for the lea
money the better, and as for capt.
u going where roads are good, depenC
Oh on how much of said capital it w
rd 60,
take to pay taxes. Capital new
goes to new field to pay 9th
peoples debts and if you want
keep capital out of the county, boz
1t for two or three thousand doila
and no capitalist will know wheth
your roads are good or bad. a
aware that our roads are bad, but '
~ are not alone in the boat | ha
been nearly all over the United Stat
and found bad roads every whe
that have been. You hear the san
Bill complaint from the British line
the Gulf of Mexico and from