The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1903-04-30
More About Contract System.
Editor TIMES.

SoasoA AtaAE<cs
DEARSIR:-I thank youior publish
ing the letter from Col. Walters to
myself In last weeks issue, and your
suggestion that a letter from me ex
planning what we are doing in Sum-
NIT township might be Of interest to
your readers, is my excuse for the
following:
Chapter 16S Of the statutes OF Mo.
among other things gives townships
In counties under township organizs-
ton the privilege Of adopting the
contractsystem Of working the roads
under certain rules and regulations
clearly set forth. Our peop.e, realiz.
ing that we were not getting very
good results from the old system,
concluded to try the new, and after
complying with the requirements
adopted the contract system by
unanimous vote.
This system requires in brief all
road taxes, except poll, to be paid in
money, and requires the Township
Board to put the whole township in
to one road district, and after speci-
flying the work to be done, let the
contract to the lowest and best bid
der.
We compiled by planning and spe-
ciiying our work, and our plan was
that the contractor should furnish
material and work, and take care OF
the roads for one year for 30 much
money. We advertised to receive
bids on this proposition on a certain
date, but no one seemed to have suf-
ncient nerve to tackle it.
OF course, we had to make new
plan; briefly stated it is this.
Our township has, all told, sixty
miles OF road. These roads we dlvid.
ed into four classes according to the
travel on them. There are about 25
miles that are used very much more
than the rest. The law requires that
the money shall be expended on the
roads in proportion to their public
utility.
Realizing that it would be impossi
BILE to put all our roads in good con-
dition with the revenue available in
one year, our plan is to do good sub
stantial work on the mostimportant
roads this year, and after making
the Others passable, hold them from
getting any worse and next year
take up another class. In this way
we hope to have all the roads of the
township in first class condition in
three years.
AS to the contract We have done
this. Let it to the best practical
road man we could get at so much
per day. He will hire men, and work
the roads under the generalspecifca-
tions and the general supervision of
the Board, collect the poll tax and
receipt for same, and look alter the
roads and keep them in repair for a
year; in fact perform the general
duties OF an overseer, and step down
and out when his work fails to salts.
iy the Board.
This in brief is what we are doing
and what we hope to do. The plan
is new one, and we will probably
make some mistakes, in fact have
done so already, but we think the
plan much better than the old sys-
TEN.
AS you will readily see, much de-
pends on the Township Board. They
should be business men aud be inter.
ested in the subject Of good roads. l
don't mean by business men that
they should not be farmers, for
farmer may be a business man or
not as we'll as those in any other
profession.
II any OF your readers think Of
adapting the system, l would advise
to begin to talk it up at once. The
election should be held this fall, and
contract let not later than Jan 1st,
before bidders have made other ar
rangements for the coming year.
Hoping we may get some weather
suitable for road work