The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-05-31
Some Ideas on Highways.

WSohb anu 1houkhU ITO was NoIJ bhhh III mo
admission that he didn't propose to teach
the science Of road building hut wanted to
get all the information he could on the sub
ject from practical men used to that kind OF
work. Nothing was said about building
roads Of logs and covering them with dirt
not word. What advice he gave was GER
tainly based on sound common sense.
Thus the Landmark of White River
Junction. "Father Wall was very
frank in his admission that he didn't
propose to teach the science of road
building" etc. That's The idea. The
school master was very frank in his adj
mission that he didn't propose to teach
the science of "reading, 'riting and
'rithmetic," but wanted to get all the
information he could on the subject
from his pupils; or the railroad super
intendent didn't propose to teach the
science of railway management but
wanted TO get all the information he
could on the subject from the section
bosses, station agents, the road master,
etc. This is the story of Vermont
State highway management in nut.
shell. The Landmark has been sin
gularly trenchant in the telling. 1t is
also gratifying to learn that the State
commissioner is saying nothing of roads
of logs covered with dirt by way of il
Illustrating his idea of "the science of
road building"
Another contemporary is of the
opinion that "the first step necessary
in building permanent roads sis to
make sure that the State fund is not di.
verted from its lawful purpose" "Af-
ter this comes the necessity of proper
direction and instruction as to what
constitutes permanent highway and
how to build it, First, raise certain
sum of money for building house.
After that consider what sort of
house you want, how to build it, and
what it will cost. That is the way of
wise and thrifty men. Some others
begin at the other end of the prob
lem. Some mistaken persons hitch the
horse before the cart, but the State
teaches the folly of this relation of We
hicle and motive power.
Before the State embarks in perma-
nent country road building it is desir-
able to know what constitutes such
road, to specify with rational particu-
larty as to material and manner of con-
struction, the machinery and appliances
required, and to understand with rea-
sonable approximation what such
road will cost per rod, or any other
unit of measurement. Then if the
State proposes to embark in the bust
ness of encouraging the towns to build
such roads, it ought to determine what
part of such cost of such roads it will
pay, and what length of road shall be
annually made to be entitled to State
aid; and when the road is made, in
spected and accepted by State high
way commissioner who understands his
duty, and who does not get his ideas or
take his orders from local road commits
sioners, the State should pay the town
the sum of money to which it is entitl-
ed under the law. Thus the towns
would get their money when they had
complied with the conditions of pay
ment, instead of getting the money
first and making the conditions an en-
tirely optional or secondary matter.
When this matter of permanent
country road building is gotten down
out of the clouds of buncombe and
placed on possible and practicable ba-
sis, it will unquestionably be found
that this so-called five per cent State
highway tax is utterly inadequate for
the purpose Of building such roads.
Under the scale of expenditure this tax
would permit, before the last rod of
necessary permanent road in town
had been built the first would have
been worn out. Nor would this tax
allow of desirable degree of expedi-
ton in permanent road building. On
a given stretch of highway that needs
permanent reconstruction few rods,
more or less, of hard road bed does not
render the quagmires, or mud holes, or
furrowed wheel tracks of the remain
der-and the larger part of the road
the more easily passable by loaded
teams or light vehicles.
To give practical efficiency to perma.
nent country road building, in point of
thoroughness of construction and ex-
petition in completing, the State will
need go deeper into the peoples pock.
cts, or its other sources of revenue,
than the five per cent tax. This tax
ought to be maintained as an equalizer
of taxation for road purposes-its orig
inal intent-and the expenditure fol
permanent road construction become 6
separate matter under clearly defined
= 4: 4 e. 4