Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-02-07
Good Roads!
is WHAT PEOPLE
ARE CLAMOR1NG
ABOUT
AT PRESENT.

We are only entitled 10 one GU l.
umn of this paper each week ami 'o'
that reason we did NOT say last weeh
all we wished to in regard 10 tht
roads in Anderson county.
We said last week that The present
system ot road working was farce
PROBABLY you would say so If you
would travel this county over from
one side to the other.
We have roads and well Travelled
ones that the only means OF drainage
i, IA washed out guiley right down the
center OF the road with the banks on
either side from two to five feet high
er than the center If the road IS.
Don't II seem to You that ten thou
sand dollars spent annually, and well
spent ought to make better ROADS
than we have?
You let these railroad contractor
come along with from ten to twelve
teams and nine times out of ten tht
roads are in u worse condition than
whyn they commenced. Can you ex-
pect contractor living in Lcayen-
worth and hadoing the Southern Kan
sas Rail Road work along the line
to care anything about the roads
IN Anderson county. 1t is the money
he is after. Many contractor does
not exceed ten dollars worth of work
and gets receipts from road over
seers for full amount OF money. IL is
a clear case of bluff with them.
Contractors from the time they
start until they finish do as little as
possible, get as many road receipts
as possible,
Now we can better the whole sys-
TEN by going farther.
Instead Of the township trustees
making the road w let that be the
duty of the county commissioners.
If the county commissioners lay out
roads when viewed and all require
ments of the law obey ed and locate
the bridges and have The whole road
system in their hands, why not
they make the levy?
After the levy is made and placed
on tax roll, allow no person to work
out his taxes but compel him to pay
his road lax into the county treasures
Office the same as he does the bal
ance of bis taxes.
Now after this is all done, then
hire competent highway commits
sioner let this ne done by county
commissioners the highway commits
sioner to receive his pay bv county
warrants issued by county commits
sioners signed by chairman and at
tested by county clerk. Let highway
commissioners furnish bond, approx
ed by county commissioners and then
go to work Let the highway COM
missioner, hire men and teams by
the day and pay them out of the road
fund IN county treasures office by
county warrents, signed by chairman
of board and attested by county
clerk. If II pc.son don't work under
this system then ME highway com
mission can discharge him, pay him
off and hire another. Yon see when
the highway mmiasioner Is under
bond, the county commissioners un-
der bond, then each party will be
compelled to do his duty.
We have abont $500 voters ir the
county. Instead of allowing them to
work out poll tax in the hap hazard
way as is done, now let them work
under the highway commissioner
While we have 81 great many men
of today who hire their poll tax
worked let these individuals pay this
money into the county treasurers Of
flee to 90 to road fund.
Now when this system gets in force
we want the first work done on North
Side in front of Sludehakers store
We have ditch in the center OF the
street and when our system gets in
force we propose to get the first work
for our trouble 10 originating this
scheme.
So now. if there are about 200 of
YOU fellows that wants to be highway
commissioner