The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-06
KENTUCKY'S UNIQUE A
C A Uses OF THE RAIDS NOW MADE
ON IHE IOLLMAIES.
The Raiders Say That the Turupik-s Were
Butt Originally with the states Aid as
FabiIc 1mprovements, but Are Now Held
Merely for Purposes OF Private Gain.

LEXINGTON, ny. Dec. AIN the course Of the
turnpike war in Kentucky the raiders have
destroyed t~ollgates in Washington. Anderson,
Marion. Mercer. Franklin. woodtord. aud Jes-
counties. and they now threaten to tear
down Ia broad daylight the gates in Lewis
county. The fact that public sentiment largely
sustains the raiders In their work Of destruction
has been adversely commented upon all ovee
the country. While 1t is true that the warfare
On the turn pixies partAkes Of the nature OF an
archy. the raiders try to Justify themselves By
pointing ont the actual condition OF kentucky's-
highway system.
The history of turnpikes In Kentucky Is an
Intel sting one. In 1884. the year after many
sections OF the State had been visited by an epi-
demtc of cholera, there was a universal demand
for Internal improvements. As the railroad was
then in its infancy. the thoughts OF kcntuckians
turned to macadamized high Limestone.
hard and durable. was oteasY access. and it was
believed that . system Of highways could be
constructed which would rapidly develop the
States resources. At that tune Lexington was
the principal city OF the Commonwealth. A
great deal OF manufacturing was done here.
although the raw material had to DO carried
by wagon from Limestone now Maysvillei. on
the Ohio River. and the flushed product of
the factories had to seek markets |. the same
way. The Legislature passed an act enabling
the State to take about slK.tentbs OF the stock
IN turnpike COMPANIES and requiring the COM
panies To secure a charter from the legislature
These charters bound the companies to main
tain o perfect highway and txed the rate Of
tolls to be charged. snd otherwise regulated the
operation OF the tGraptses. As MaysviIle was
the most i'm portant point to reach from Lexing-
ton. the drst turnpike company incor poratsd
was the one that built a ruad from here to
NaysviI,e. a distance Of sixty-elght miles. Ow-
to-, %, n sa.r tbAr thtS VIVA nraSrisnlIv m .x-
per mental road. the cost of construction was
very large, the total for the sixty-etght
miles being nearly q half million dollars
or $1,000 4 mile. Il was u great success.
and for a few years after its compile
ton business was stimulated to SUCH N
extent that the second great thoroughtars
WAS projected. the Lexington and Richmond
turnpike. II was thought that this would cost
more than the Maysv;Ile PIKE. from the fact
tnat its route lay across the Kentucky River,
which runs in a very deep channel. But BY
careful en- Stneerias the road WAS built at a cost
OF only So, 500 i mile FOR tae twenty-.!x miles
OF road. Travellers were terried across the
river for many years. but about twenty-five
years ago an iron bridge was erected II what
was then Glars Ferry, the site OF Gen. Cassius
MarcslIus Gays famous old mill. now called
Cleveland This thorrughtare was even more
popular than the Maysvil!e pike. Iron ore, coal.
and lumber were boated down the Kentucky
River from the mountains snd hauled hy wagon
over the ptks 20 Lexington. All the coal burned
here ;r nearly twenty years came ovec this pike.
1t was Also he tnsRls u distributing coal
throughout Mad SON aat the al !o,nlns coun-
ties. The gentlemen who IA igurated the -ys-
tenn of internal improvements were so etated
BY the success Of these tvu 2Ikes shat they suit
one from here 10 Winchester. / distance or
eighteen miles. aaG owing 10 the tavG able .aY
OF the cuaaC-v through wAIca it pissed. - cost
was crly $4,000 u mile. Like is predecessors,
rllS rDRu WAS a Dig SEfTA-<. IEA nHXr rDlt 70
be butt was the Lexington. NtcholasvIIie. Dan
Vile and Lancaster tGrupfke. compr:sn az EIrty
miles and costing $1,000 a mile. Fnen .Cuos=d
the Lexington. Har-otsburg and Perryville
rnaG. ~ aooHL The sam. length anu cost. The
next road Wa the Lexington. Versailles and
Frankfort, thirty miles long. This did not cost
more than $1,000 q mile. Then Lae LeIInxton.
Georgetown anu LoViaEtou road one nQaGred
miles "a length was constructed At u t4taI COST
Il was these splendid highways that made
Lexln~t0n . prosperous city before ths waf-
They we're veil constructed. the engineering
being CT the highest t"7e, the -Dad a-C. wide,
and me llaradam eight and ten inches thtcR.
Manufactured goods were aaI!rd from! -Ee Lex
the State add TO Cincinnati. The wagons would
bring bncX Goa, iron ore. Iunoer. sugar and
mp'as7-s. and Articles .AaE were ooateG town
the ONO. Nearly A.! perso7s EEo paid tolls IN
those days wer- yet!-to-do land 0wa-r - or pros-
porous business men and there WAS 40 COM
plant. The state received her dividends
pruu pity from the turnoik-s. ard kentucky's
h!gaway yystem was prenonnceu An Idea! one.
Since the var a great many turnpike cum pa
Mes nave been formed 20 o..id what are prac-
tically Hr:ZE onrhnuc eoaGs and not Ereal thor
years 1854 ana 1855. rar companI-s cla.mei
the same DrI.Eege inder the law that was ac-
corded to the arlEI1a. trrup,k. comganies and
the build nc or new CUrH pixies became so heavy
= burden To the STATE thai A new Jaw was passed
about nfreen years ago repeating the old law
Magistrates 70 axe stock H. tUrnpikes within its
border~ at the -aJe u sl.5Ou a mile. This threw
ties that desired better roads. This law was
found to work great hardship on tax
frequently burden counter 70 the limit BY
assisting private COMPANIES 70 build turn
turnpikes 6uiIt before the war are nearly all
dead, and the stock owned by them has fallen
INTO tne Aanns ot Specu;atorz or Investors, who
wish to make a. much as possible out OF the
roads. IL l. charged that they nave kept them
in no beLtsr repair than they nave considered
Juries. For a period OF ten or n!te-n years they
have paid practically no revenue in the shape
OF dividends into the state Treasury: but the
State Auditor some i've or six years ago discov-
cred this big ,eak. ald since then the .ndivid-
uals who owned stock in tho state roads have
paid in dividends S23. 900 a year. no more and
no less. This fact IL considered peculiar. "a the
be exactly the same year after year.
The agitation Of free turnpikes vas begun in
Q small way about .eventeen years ago BY Levi
Spur OF Fayette county. VITO saw n the sys-
ten then N operation what he believed TO be Q
great l%niustice TO the general taxpayers. IN al
interview on the subject Mr.. Spur said:
While am unequIyocally opposed TO the de-
struction OF toiIgats- and the intimidation OF
y ArONfA1s . NhA A-Fr W AL44 bIHL u EhNu-
ers are not A. much 70 blau.e as people In other
States would naturally infer. We will take
Fayetts county as an illustration. We have
400 miles of rurnpikes in this county. or this,
265 miles are free. having been bought by the
Board Of Magistrates during the last four years
under m enabling act of the Legislature passed
in 1890: Only one Of the thirteen
This Eives the people in the eastern
portion Of the county, probably one-third OF the
rural population. free access To Lexington,
while the other taxpayers in the county nave To
pay the same amount OF tax To Eeep MP the free
turnpiAes as their eastern netghhors., and set
they have 10 pay heavy tolls every time they
come TO town We have mad q great deal Of
trouble in buying the pixies We have secured, as
the owners in some instances put the price very
high. We have never had &c pay over 81. 900 a
mile, however, and some OF the companiel have
sold for a great deal less, and one com pany,
which was not making much money. decided 20
the county all Is road a. a gift. We think that
we will be able to have all the turn bikes in
Fayette county free wttniD the next three years.
II will cost about SEQ. 900 a year TO keep tie 900
miles within the county in drst-class repair"
There is q strong feeling among the rural pop
ulation of every county against toll roads. and
outbreaks are Liable to occur against them NJ
any time. There are about s. 500 miles Of turn
pixies in the state and owing TO the old laws
which made the state a part owner Of them they
A.,-1 80 . ~ y N - rAg - rnnPa shan ca nnn MN