Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1894-06-01
RECENT ROAD LEGISLATION.
what the Various States Have Done FOR
Highway Improvement.

1AfohNHg A-tl liiuNettffi.
Tho states VIII j havar.o enacted
laws on the subject Of b. improve
ment are California, Indiaul. Mas schu-
sets, Michisan, Missouri, New Hmp-
shire, New Jersey New York, North
Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont,
Washington and Wisconsin There are
only three exceptions TO the ralo that al
this legislation was enacted IN 1895
that Of New Jersey, from 1888 to 1892;
Vermont, which took action I'm 1892, and
Washington, one Of whose laws WAS en-
acted in 1890, and the other two last
year.
One of the most elaborate of these
laws is that of Massachusetts, establish
ing the state highway commission, with
its extensive advisory functions as to the
construction Of good roads and providing
for the establishment and construction
of state highways. @ontingent upon leg
islative approprla as.
The laws of New jersey are models OF
their kind. They facilitate the construc-
ton of both local and county roads and
provide that when the owners of two
thirds Of the lands fronting on any pub
lie road agree TO pay one-tenth of the
cost Of improvement the county authori-
ties shall cause such improvements to be
made. State aid was provided for in
1892 by legislation authorizing one-t third
Of the cSst Of county road improvements
to be pau for from the state treasury to
the extent Of SO, 600 a year. A wise
provision of the New Jersey legislation
is that requiring all road taxes to be paid
in money, experience everywhere having
shown that q leading cause Of bad roads
was the practice Of permitting farmers
70 work out their road taxes.
The example Of New Jersey in this
respect was followed by New York last
year, and by Wisconsin also, to the ex-
tent of providing that all road taxes
shall be paid in money except in town
ships that specifically vote to retain the
labor system. Oregon, however, pro-
vides that petitioners for county roads
must each do one days work on the
roads or pay &2-a striking way of as
surfing earnestnoss of intention on the
part of petitioners. Nearly all the states
in question provide specifically for road
construction under county auspices.
New Hampshire, Vermont and Wiscon-
sin, however, make the town the basis.
New Hampshire abolishes subdivisions
in towns for highway districts and re-
quires 20 cents in every 500 valuation
to be spent for road Improvement. Yer
mont lays n town tax OF 90 cents in ev-
cry 500 valuation for support Of high
ways and a state tax Of cents on the
dollar, to be apportioned to the towns
according to mileage. Vermont also
creates a state highway commission TO
Investigate roadbuilding in the state.
Toll roads disappeared from Massa-
chusetts more than generation ago and
are here regarded as belonging to the
era Of the stagecoach. They are still
common il many parts Of the west, and
Missouri's new county option road law
provides that county courts may estab-
lish tollgates upon roads that have been
suitably improved. Oregon new coun-
ty road law, on the other hand, requires
all roads built under its provisions to be
free Of toll. Washington new road
laws are remarkably elaborate and de-
mand that improved roads shall be con-
structed ia very thorough and substan-
tial manner, according to good engineer
ing principles Boston Herald.