The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-02-21
STATE ROAD IMPROVEMENT
THE REPORT OF Special COMMIT
TEE APPOINTED IN 1897.

Legislation Recommended to the Gen.
eral Assembly-Propcr Distribution OF
lost between State and Toyvn-SinxI,
Head of Dad Commission Is Favored
An Able and Comprehensive Report
Following is the report of the special
legislative committee appointed in 1885,
10 consider the whole subject of state
improvement of highways, and rec
ommend legislation on that line.
10 the General Assembly.
The undersigned, appointed a COM
mlttee under the following resolution
passed at the last session of the Gen
eral Assembly, viz:
General Assembly,
January Session. A. D. 1897.
Resolved, by this assembly, That a
joint committee of nine, composed of
one senator and eight Representatives,
one to be from each county, be raised
whose duty it shall be to investigate
the subject of state road improvement
and to recommend to the next general
assembly such plan as they may deem
advisable for a general system of road
Improvement and providing means for
the payment therefor. Said committee
shall serve without pay or expense to
the state
beg leave to report:
That in pursuance of the purpose of
their appointment they have held pub
lie n1aotinOc in Of no
counties of the state, notice of the time
and place of which meetings were CIV
en- to the selectnlen and other officials
of neighboring towns, to the county
commissioners and to the officers of
banks and other financial Institutions,
besides which public invitation was
given to all persons interested in the
subject matter of the resolution, to ap-
pear before this committee.
The meetings so held were largely
attended, and a large degree of interest
was manifested in the matter under
consideration. We are unanimously of
the opinion that the great mass of pub
lie sentiment throughout the state is
strongly favorable to state road i'm
provement. While the work heretofore
done under the state laws has not in
all of the individual cases been of
satisfactory character we find that the
principal objections relate to the work
done of the earlier stages of the sys-
tenn, sand that the subsequent work has
Sbeen of a satisfactory character, and
that the experience gained in the prog
ress of the work has been valuable
both as to the methods and economy of
construction.
The committee requested from the
selectmen Of each of the towns in the
state an estimate of the number of
miles of inter-town highways in their
several towns, together with the opin-
ion of the selectmen as to the kinds Of
road best adapted to the locality, with
the mileage of each kind, and furnish
ing blanks for reply. From the an
swers we estimate the total mileage of
inter town roads to be about $780, and
that of this mileage about one h-1f
should be of macadam, and one half
gravel {telford) construction. As ma
cadam highway now costs about $4,7OO
per mile and gravel about $1,000. and as
it is estimated the number of miles of
each will be about equal, it is fair to
assume that the average cost per mile
will be about $3.50, The total esti-
mated cost of entire construction is
$6,0OO000.
Under the law of 1895 there has been
constructed seventy-seven miles of ma
cadam, and under that Of 1897, ninety
one miles. OF the 1853 towns in the
state, 100 have awaited themselves of
state aid, at cost to the state of
1882, 7S4.33.
The original law of 1895 provided that
one-third of the expense of construction
should be borne by the state, one
third by the county, and one third by |
the town. The county tax imposed I'M
der this law having been deemed in
many instances unjust, the assembly |
Of 1897 submitted the present law, |
which divides the cost equally between |
the state and the town.
This committee has given long, earn
est and serious consideration to the
matter of proper distribution between
town and state of the cost of inter-
town road construction. Public dis
cussicn thereof was especially invited
at each of our meetings, and the flnan-
cial condition of the towns has been
carefully inquired into. Our conclu-
sion, based upon existing conditions
and having in mind solely the best in
terest of the state at large with the
desire to do full justice to the several
towns, and imposing no hardship upon
the smaller or the least financially
prosperous towns, is that the state
should pay more than one-half and
the Individual town the balance of the
cost.
The consideration of this subject
involves an inquiry into
the sources of state revenue. The re-
mort of the state treasurer for the
last current year shows the moneys ,
70 have been received from the follow
ing sources: !
Military communication tax $154, co. {
Mutual fire insurance companies $40 :
S71.42. 6
Mutual life insurance companies ,
s272, 242.4o.
Railroads, steam, s910,137.50. ,
Railroads. street, $133,05277. 8
Nonresident stock $159, 1888 r
Savings banks $373,37032. +
miscellaneous $17,376.52.
Ayails of courts and forfeited bonds I
S35, 220.44. /
r7x-nraeu oonpanies 81 III o. r