The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-03-01
Still SPREADfNG.

Still SPREADING.
The good roads movement is conta-
gious and spreading. 1t is difficult to
see what sound objection can be urged
against having good roads in city and
country New Haven as a city has
spent hundreds of thousands of dollars
at her own expense for good roads, and
! who finds fault thereat when the money
is 1udieiously expended? The progress
of the good roads movement in the
country towns of our state is matter
| for congratulation and the benefit to
| be derived from this Improvement far
| outweighs the expense. The law makes
the proportion of the expense to the
| towns light and the burden caused
Kicking" of any account is from the
towns which do not avail themselves of
the law, and hence get no benefit in
| improved roads while contributing their
share to paying the cost of such
improvements in other towns, the law
taxing all towns in the county for good
roads improvements. The obvious way
| to get even in the cases of the delin-
| quent towns is for them to go ahead
| and improve their roads, and thereby
take the benefit of the law and share in
the good results accruing from having
| haitian roodc A lao5;,,r :, -, :, ,,,,,, ~;
| farmer of Bethany, who was in town
| Friday last and was about turning his
| good Dobbin homeward as shutdown
was fast nearing, groaned in spirit and
groaned audibly as he thought of the
/ deep mud through which his horse and
wagon would have to plow before the
old farm was reached Woodbridge
hills, steep and frequent as they are,
had no such terrors for him and his
faithful horse as had the Bethany hills
and roads. Woodbridge had awaited it.
self of the state good roads law and i'm
any, after first voting to share in the
benefit of the law had at a subsequent
town meeting rescinded its good roads
vote, and relapsed into it's former con-
dition of innocuous desuetude. Hence
the aforesaid farmers woe, while,
moreover, his own town, Bethany,
town with an exceptionally small tax
list, is obliged to help pay for improv-
| ing Woodbridge's roads, The great
Empire state, which has been little
| backward in coming forward in this
| good roads matter, is now moving de-
cidedly in the right direction A bill is
before the state lawmakers at Albany
| providing for state commission to
carry on the work of improving high
ways. In advocacy of good roads, the
Mail and Express says:
There is no substantial opposition
to improved highways, which have
come to be generally regarded as es-
sential to the interests of agriculture
and commerce. The prosecution of this
work can be in no sense an experiment.
for the benefits resulting in nearby
states are self-evident. Even in the
Empire state the spasnodic and dis
connected efforts and accomplishments
in this direction have demonstrated the
Importance and desirability of good
roads. Their recognition by the feder-
|
factor in national progress, by reason
of their economic value, places the SUBJ
ject beyond all cavil 1t has been DEM
onstrated that what the eastern farmer
| needs, above all else, to enable him to
| compete with the farmer of the west is
good roads. 1T is estimated that there
are in this state 50, 900 miles of highway,
and that on these there is spent annu-
ally some $4,000, 900 under the present
system Of independent town and coun-
ty tinkering. There is little doubt. also,
| that under state control this expendi-
ture could be reduced nearly, if not
quite, S1,000,000, and infinitely better re-
suits secured. The testimony Of Mas
sachusetts, New Jersey and Connecti-
cut is irrefutable as to the advantages
accruing to farmers, in the matter of
convenience, saving of wear and tear
on horses and vehicles, and compare
tive independence of heavy rains; to
townships, increased attractiveness to
desirable residents because of smooth
and easy driving; to wheelmen, who
now seek other states for long runs
and to the local taxpayer, in giving
him better value for his money than he
now receives in three counties out of
five.
There is no question as to the need
of improved highways, and their con-
struction under state control with the
division of expense with the counties
as provided by the bill"