Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-02-26
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House bill 1896, offered by Repre-
sentative Brownlow of Tennessee on
the opening day Of the present session,
creates bureau of public roads in the
department of agriculture, the duty of
which will be to instruct, assist and
cooperate in the building and i'm
provement of public roads in all Sec
tons Of the country. The general pol
icy Of the bureau will be to unity the
system of taxation for road purposes
unity the methods of road construc-
ton, repair and maintenance, and to
cooperate with any state or minor po-
litical subdivision thereof in the actual
construction of permanent highways
On application from supervisors or
other public officials having jurisdic-
ton Of public roads, the director Of
the bureau will investigate the road
for which aid is asked, and if it's i'm
portance as public highway war
rants. he will have it surveyed, deter
mine what class of road construction
is most desirable from the standpoint
of utility and economy, prepare plans
and specifications and estimates of
cost. When this shall have been done
the bureau will let the contract and
supervise the construction, One-half
of the expense of such construction TO
be paid from the national treasury and
the other half by the state or political
subdivision asking for the road, it
being expressly provided, however,
that the half to be borne by the state
may be distributed between the state,
county, township and individuals
whose property abuts upon the road.
In actual road construction the ma
tional government has done nothing
since the early years of the last cen-
fury, when it built the national high
way from Cumberland, Md, to st.
Louis 1t abandoned roadmaking not
because Of any change in public senti-
ment on the question, but because of
the opening of other avenues of
national activity which absorbed the
full ability of the national government
in that direction. Instead of public
road building, the government entered
y
ments, Improvement of interior water
ways, harbors, canals and public build
ings. Possibly the fact that these lat
ter classes Of improvements are of
character to command the active and
aggressive support of a small group of
locally important people, as a rule:
while public roads benefit the great
mass Of citizenship as a, whole rather
than confer special favors on the few,
may account for the change in the
governments activity. 1t is fact not
to be gainsaid that in most legislative
bodies it is easier to enact legislation
for the benefit of the few than to Sc
cure general legislation for the benefit
of all.
The enormous sums expended under
the river and harbor appropriation
each year are justified under the gen.
eral welfare clause of the constitution,
and for the sole purpose of aiding in
the development of the resources of
the country. In this manner, for the
purpose of improving internal water
ways and reducing the cost of trans
portation, the national government has
expended upward of $40, 100000. In
every case coming under this head the
national government has paid the full
cost of each improvement. In recent
years the river and harbor appropria-
tons have been as follows: