Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-03-13
HOW TO HAVE GOOD ROADS
The State Highway Commissioner Makes
.-..some Good Suggestions on the Subject.

j. o. Sanford, state highway COM
missioner, has sent the following ar
ticle to the press for publication:
"The highways Their business man
agement-A plea for better town ad
ministration of road affairs. These
head lines seem to indicate that road
matters are going wrong. Not entirely
this. Fair progress has been made in
road improvement throughout the state,
but for the expenditure made we might
do better.
During the ten years of state aid to
towns for highway improvement, there
has been expended of state money the
sum of 1888, GAO and in addition to tb is
the 20 per cent tax that towns are re-
ouired to raise for road maintenance,
which in the same period of time has
amounted to at least 50, 543, $50. max
ing a total expenditure in the last ten
wears of 81, AIS, 200, which is 1896 for
every mile of road in the state, an aver
age per year of about $50 per mile.
Considering that this includes all
streets, roads, back country lanes, and
everything that is an open road, and
taking into account the large mileage
of narrow back roads that are but little
used and but little money expended
upon them, this showing is not salts
factory.
Dissatisfaction appears in some Sec
tions, in the number of towns that APP
piled at the last session of the legisla-
ture for authority to elect more than
one road commissioner in each of those
towns The people of those towns are
chafing under existing conditions, but
their relief will be found in improving
town ministration instead of Great
ing more of it. We were interested to
note that these towns have usually
elected new, inexperienced road com
missioner each year, and have never
settled down to any continuous good
road policy so it may reasonably be
expected that simply increasing the
number of road commissioners will ag-
gravate or increase the difficulty in
stead of diminishing it.
Analysing the subject to find the
cause of inefficiency, unbusinesslike
methods in town management, will be
found the chief cause. The blame can
not be placed upon the road commits
sioner He is the chosen agent or ser
want of the town, and the road bust
ness is the town business. The man
agement Of public road work should be
delegated to none but capable men.
The mistake has frequently been made
of selecting men for road commission
ers because they could accomplish a
large amount of labor or boss gang of
men, but lacking in comprehension,
good road judgment, and business abil-
ity-the most essential qualities.
There is altogether too much done
upon the roads that amounts to but
little. There iS great loss from work
done out of season that should have
been prevented by slight work done at
the right time. Neglecting roads that
are good, or fairly good, until they be-
come bad and expensive to rebuild is
poor and wasteful management. Towns
should not keep commissioner in Of
flee who neglects the roads to attend
to his personal affairs. and works the
roads when convenient for himself.
The responsibility for such conduct
rests with the town, for this is town
business.
More economic measures should be
adopted for maintaining roads, and
more of the town money should be used
with the state money for permanent
TOdu NOlh. IL CoSbo IhoNh ASoo w hSSB
good road good than is now used up
on poor roads that are perpetually poor.
Towns that are succeeding best in
improving their roads are using an in
creasing portion of their town fund,
in connection with the state appropria-
ton, in road building of permanent
character. And if towns were required
by law to provide at least ne-third of
the amount that is expended in those
towns under state supervision, it would
induce better administration, and in
crease the mileage of good roads.
We urge consideration of these mat
tiers, and call attention to the county
road meetings which will soon be held.
At these meetings all these matters are
talked over and freely discussed; eff
forts are made to plan out and secure
the adoption of better methods and a
general working system. The commits
sioners form their plans and get the
key note for the years work, and there
should be a wide-awake general inter
est in these meetings and the subjects
there considered Selectmen especially
should be interested for their towns,
and to aid in advancing the cause of
good roads.