Mexico Missouri message., 1901-10-03
AGAINST BONDS.
A Word Regarding Road
Improvement.

EDITOR MESSAGE:
| see a number of communica-
tons to your valuable paper in the
last few months, relating to gravel
or rock roads in Audrain county.
| do not want any space, as the
correspondent in your last issue,
to eulogize DR.. Hawkins and his
gravel road scheme. | suppose
DR.. Hawkins is a good citizen and
nice gentleman, and very sym.
pathetic for the poor renter, but
it takes a vast deal more than that
to build rock roads. In all that
has been said on the subject | have
not yet seen anything but general
statements showing the import
ance of good roads, which | sup.
pose everybody cheerfully indorses
and would be glad to have our
roads made better. But there has
been no estimate made as to the
cost of rocking the roads of the
county. If so, | have failed to
notice it.
believe the Hawkins plan" is
to bond the county for $500, 900
on twenty years time and to spend
that vast sum in building rock
roads in the several townships of
the county, i'll proportion to the
amount of taxes collected in each
township. Now, this would seem
very fair and just to the tax pay
er, but let us see what this will
bring in the way of rock roads in
each township. With 800 miles
of roads in the county, $500, 900
divided by 800 equals $Gl5 per
mile of road. A township is six
miles square; now, allow two roads
across it both ways and we have
twenty four miles of road, and
there are very few townships that
haven't more roads than these.
Twenty. four miles at $62j per
mile equals $l5, 600, which would
be the amount received by each
township in the county. That n
mount will not build more than
two miles of rock road in your
township. Then you will have
twenty-five miles of dirt road, as
now, and two miles of rock road
somewhere i'll your township and
your road taxes cannot be reduced
any, for You will have as much
road work as now, and the inter
est on these bonds must be paid
annually, and each township of
six miles square will have $lJ, 900
of these bonds to carry. That a
mount at per cent will be $6OC
you must pay every year for TWEEN
ty years, in addition to your taxes
as now, and at the end of twenty
years YOU then owe $lj, 600 du,
and payable.
One of your scribes cites us to 0
rock road that the toll paid the IA
mount invested with 10 per cen
interest every fifteen years, so a
the end Of fifteen years the roat
was paid for, and because this in
dividual enterprise of few mile
of road entering little city wher,
there was much travel and whcr,
rock was abundant and at hant
was success, he advocates bond
ing the county for 500, 600 ant
going into the rock road business
Now, let us see. The interest at
per cent on the bonds will he $50,
600 a year; the sinking fund so,
| 600 for twenty years. This amOun
of So 900 must hc paid annual
for twenty years, and will amour
to 5000, 600, which makes 81 p
} per acre on every acre of land i
the county, and if "A man OWNS lG
acres of land he must pay $34I
That amount stands virtually rs
mortgage against it and you wi
. have to show for it II few miles q
rock road IN your township, which
from II practical standpoint
r amounts to nothing.
2 Ccntralia, Mo. ID. j. Maycs.