Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-10-14

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of Vermont from various towns which liz
away from the line of the railroads to tn,
railroads, as compared with the cost o.
transporting the same articles from tn,
railroad to market. From these statistic.
it appears that on butter, lumber, granite
lime, brick, cement and hay the rate /,
from 81 80 to 81 per tor by team from tn,
point OF production to the railroad, while
the rate TO haul the same articles from the
railroad station to the point of consump
ton is but from $40 down to $1.Gt
per ton. In none # these instances does
the haul by team exceed II miles in none
of the instances is the haul by railroad less
than 140 miles. The rates by railroad will
never, in my judgment, be higher, so that
whatever can be saved by improved roads
out of the cost Of teaming these products
ought TO go into the pocket of the producer
of the hay, or the butter, or the lumber,
or granite, or whatever is teamed.
The standard authorities give the saving
in cost of leaning over good roads as com
pared to ordinary dirt roads to be from &c
to 70 per cent, SO that there is from 81. %
TO 50 for every ton of freight teamed to &C
into the pocket Of the producer in Yer
mont, If only good roads are made where
bad ones now exist. Looking at it, there
fore, from the standpoint OF the smaller
towns, away from the railroads, the benefit
that would result to the inhabitants there
OF by the expenditure of this money in
making the roads good would infinitely eX-
coed the amount received each year in the
redistribution of this five per cent from the
state highway tax.
So far as the larger towns are concerned,
it is obviously for their advan' age to
change this highway law and to have bet
ter roads. 1t seems to me that these are
strong reasons for changing the law and
securing better raods and the solution is
clear and easy If this legislature will di.
rect that the expenditure of the $50, 600
collected each year from the state highway
tax be devoted under proper restrictions to
building highways from these smaller
towns to functions with the railroads or
into the larger towns, it will be but few
years before these smaller towns reap a
benefit hundred fold over the present ar
rangement. You cannot reap any benefit
in this direction by having 24j heads con-
troll the distribution of the $685. as
under the present law. You must put it
in the hands of a few, and these must be
experienced in the business and must be
responsible to and controlled by the state
The state of Massachusetts and many of
cur sister states have already seen and
proved the wisdom of the state care of
highways. 1t is no experiment. / earn
estly ask that the highway law of Massa
chusetts, modified to suit the exigencies of
our state, be adopted here. recommend
the appointment of highway commission
ers to whom shall be turned over the FIVE
cont biUh taN tuhn chall rpl
the expenditure thereof under the provs-
ions hereinafter named, and who shall
have charge of what shall be called state
roads.
The expenditure, for the present, at
least, in a general way, ought to be for
improving and making permanent the
roads from the smaller towns TO the lines
of the railroad, and the work should be
distributed fairly among the different
counties of the state so that no one shall
be favored over another. Where perma-
nent work is decided to be done in any Of
the particular towns, the selectmen Of such
town should be the first offered the con-
tract to do such work so tina: the money
for such work shall be spent in such town
In the event the seectmen decline, the
contract to be afterwards let by publca-
JlOI, anu Iut UluS vi III all
cases to be given the preference.
Provision should be made that no road
can become a state road except through
the request of the mayor and aldermen of
the city or selectmen of the town where
the road is located, so that where any
town or city desires to have the state as
sumo any particular highway it must be by
petition to the highway commissioners,
and in this way the cities and towns will
keep control of the matter entirely When
ever, however, such a petition is made to
the highway commissioners and is grant
ed, the road described should thereafter
become the property Of the state and be
subject to the jurisdiction of and repair by
the state. This is in substance the pres
ent law of Massachusetts, on the subject,
and you will make no mistake in following
it.