The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-04-26
HOW TO GET GOOD ROADS.
Colonel A. A. Pope Suggests Sue
cession Tax-Road Engineering.

cession Tax-Road Engineering.
In the congress on good roads at
Chicago recently, Colonel A, A.
Pope of Boston presented a paper
which Yas attentively listened to,
Among other things he said :
"Aside from questions of material
gain, which is perhaps the lowest
standpoint, to consider the good that
comes from easy means Of communi-
cation, there is to be borne in mind
that good roads are the great high
ways for the advancement of social
life, education and Christianity.
The visits of friends, the attendance
Of children at school and the gath
ering together at church, are all
governed to a greater or less extent
by the condition of the roads, and
the abandonment of the farms and
the crowding of people in the cities
is due largely to the isolation caused
by bad means of communication to
and from the farm. But the
problem to be solved is to provide
money to build good roads.
"Many farmers are opposed to
the good road movement because
they believe it means to them
increased taxation, and in some Sec
tions Of the country agricultural
interests are so depressed that they
dor't feel able to bear financial
burdens. 1t has been estimated
that the state of Illinois loses every
year 100000, 900 because Of bad
roads.
'Now, | am going to urge plan
which | believe to be the least bur-
densome and the most effectual and
equitable for providing good roads.
Let each state establish a graduate
succession tax-that is, a tax on
property passing by succession, by
inheritance or by legacy. Such a
tax might be arranged as follows:
On all estates valued at SO, 200 up
to 100000, per cent; on estates
of over 100000 up to $500, 900, l
per cent on the first 800, 200 and 2
per cent on the remainder, and so
on, gradually increasing the amount
as the inheritance increased. The
succession tax will not fall on the
poor. Those whose estates amount
to $4,000 can well afford to give
500 to the state in return for all
the protection of it's laws which has
enabled wealth to be accumulated
and enjoyed,
Good roads, when rightly con-
structed, can be maintained at COM
paratively small cost, and as the
wealth Of the states increases the
succession tax would furnish suffi-
cient revenue to meet all expenses
of the state after paying for the
maintenance of the road.
Of equal interest was a paper by
Professor Lewis NJ. Haunt of Phila-
delphia on road engineering and
construction. He gave statement
of the total tonnage of the railroads
in the United States in 1891,
amounting to 7O4, $4,000 tons car
ried an average distance of 115
miles, and giving ton mileage Of
81 ,210, 900. This movement
cost the shippers 1855, 254,43
To produce this result there has
been invested IN railroads the
incomprehensible sum of S10,289,-
834,226, an average Of SCI, 1878 per
mile, and it has paid fair revenue.
The speaker then showed the enor-
nous economy resulting from re-
duced resistances Of locomotion, as
instanced by the waterways, and
cited the case of the improvements
on the great lakes, where a total
expenditure of $30,000,000 had
saved in the cost of transportation
by water, as compared with rail,
nearly $150,000,000 IN one year.
In closing his paper he said that
while the rapid progress made by
the United States since 1880 was
due largely to the instrumentality
of her railroads, the greatness of
Great Britain was attributable
mainly to her foreign commerce, in
which she utilized the cheapest
known methods of transportation,
while the thrift, frugallty and Won
derful recuperatiye powers of both
France and Germany were due
chiefly to their good roads and
numerous internal waterways, as
well as to their policy of protecting
home industries.
"With intelligent, liberal and
patriotic legislation, with our
unlimited resources, with over
100000 miles of railway, $4,000
miles Of coast line and 16, 900 miles
OF nayigable rivers in the Missls-
sippi basin alone, with unrivaled
physical possibilities for intracoastal
canals, there is no reason why our
glorious countrv shOn1d not rise tn