The record-union., 1898-06-02

AL tdAdDIc property you inlay nave ICSS-
nue. enough to accomplish many good
things. but IL on the contrary your dis
trict is sparsely settled, embracing
many miles Of road to main
tain and every taxpayer is, as
the saying goes ION your back,
asking for work to be done here, there
and everywhere, then, indeed, YOU are
in a dilemma. and If the demands Of
each one Of the taxpayers should be
satisfied. your funds are exhausted be-
fore any good can be accomplished.
Therefore, I say have some sympa-
thy for the Supervisor who has been
elected to care for a very poor road
district. On the contrary, 1 have no
sympathy for the Supervisor who cares
for a wealthy district producing large
amount of revenue, who does not irraug-
urate a system Of permanent and good
road building. Some of you have al
ready advanced fairly well on this line,
and l say with a great deal Of satisfac-
ton that our road moneys are being
used to much better purpose in the
last five or six years than they were in
years prior to that time.
l must return, however, to my sub
ject. If we are expending on the roads
Of California annually $2.OO,OOO. and
we continue on the same plan usually
adopted in the various counties of the
State, we can readily see that in the
next forty years We Will have expended
SSO'OOO,OOO. In fact, if we could search
the records of the various counties OF
the State from the time Of their organ
iZation to the present time, l doubt II
the sum already expended would be less
than $50, 900, 900. Not all of this sum
has been paid for road work; much of
it has been expended for the purchase
Of rights Of way and other incidental
expenses. The period of right of way
purchase is now practically passed, and,
therefore, we can feel that this great
drain on our road funds can be avoided
in the future
Now let us figure a little more in or
der that we may see in what direction
we are drifting. We are Informed that
it costs about four or five thousand dol
lars to construct mile Of good ma
cadam road with bridges, drain pipes
and culverts, all of durable material.
Then if we have expended 500, 100000
in the past forty or forty nine years we
could have constructed 10000 miles Of
this class of road with the money al
ready expended. If, however, we shall
expend SSOOOO,0 900 in the next forty
years, we could, with judicious manage
ment construct no less than 5000
miles of macadam road at a cost Of
$1,000 per mile. 1 imagine that if we
could lay down 10000 miles of good
macadam road in the State Of Califor-
MIA the conditions would be far better
than at the present time.
We learn from the facts gathered
from the Bureau of Highways that the
total mileage Of roads in, the State will
probably reach 44,0OO. Not more than
one-fourth Of this mileage will require
macadam to satisfy the commercial
conditions of the State, or, say, l1,OO0
miles. We, therefore, see that the
money we will expend in the next forty
years will, if properly expended, fully
meet the requirements of good road
building in the State.
1t is true that it will come slow, but
if a determined effort be made to build
none but good roads we may expect
better results in the end, and while we
will receive but little pleasure in the
results Of this road system, our chill
dren may have the satisfaction of en-
joying the benefits of our labors. And
following the advice given by the peo-
pie of San Mateo County in their late
election on the bond issue, we are
forced to the conclusion that this is the
policy we must pursue if we ever obtain
a system Of good roads in this State.
There may be a time in the near future
when some counties will see the ad-
visibility Of voting bonds for road pur-
poses, but / am rather inclined to be-
lieve it will be in counties where a good
road system would largely increase the
value of the taxable property of that
county.
Once having located county road
on the best grades and alignments that
the conditions of the country will per-
NIT, so that you are convinced that it
will become public thoroughfare for
all time to come, it then becomes your
duty to thoroughly drain and grade the
road bed before placing either gravel or
broken stone thereon.
SUB B-STRUCTURES
The building of structures or
bridges, culverts and drainways is one
of the most important subjects with
which we must deal. The average man
is more or less convinced that wooden
structures are the cheapest we can
build, and, hence, the State is filled
with this class of structures.
1 desire to call your attention for a
few moments to the facts as they exist
in California.
I find the lumber bills of the follow
ing counties as follows:
Contra Costa from 1880 to 1898. .s36 300 Go
Colusa from 1890 to 1898. ......... 36, ,056 90
Glenn from 1891 to 1895. S....... 16 725 "A
Lake from 1890 to 1898. ......... 49, 1881 50
Marin from 1890 to 1898 1866 4S
Mendocino from 1890 to 1898. A. 535 IA
Napa from 1880 to 1898. ............. 1891 So