The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-02-18

BILL UP
Letter from J. H. Livingston on
the Subject.

A bill has been introduced in Con-
gress at Washington by the Hon Wal
ter p. Brownlow of Tennessee of the
House, and Hon j. H. Gallinger of
New Hampshire of the Senate, appro-
priating s24, 900 600 as national aid for
the building of roads
The sum to be appropriated is avail
able at the rate of g. OOO, OOOa year for
three years and is to be divided among
the different states according to their
population, except that no state is to
receive less than $3.50 600 of this money.
Vermont would receive the minimum
sum.
Each state county or town receiving
Federal aid must add like amount 20
the sum received from the United
States Government.
Should any state not take the
amount allotted 10 it under this law be-
fore January !, 1904, all such amounts
not taken up are % he re-allotiedl Z in
proportion to the population of the
different states which have taken up
their entire allotment.
Now tina, an opportunity isgiven the
people to have good roads at half
their actual cost, why not bestir our
selves to secure the passage of this
IfIl tl,r,,,,I fr,vnr.re U'big ,op la
done by petition to our congressman
to support the bill. / have such
petition in my possession, and l would
like the signatures OF all the leading
citizens liable to be known to our con-
gressnen TO that petition.
Since the bill is liable to come up at
any time now, the petition should be
signed and forwarded without delay.
Good roads Will add to the value Of
all property abutting thereon or con-
tiguous thereto. 1t will aid the farmer
especially, and what prospers the far
mer in this country prospers every
body else.
think it quite doubtful If even the
farmer, however, fully appreciates
the value of good roads II he never
had them, and therefore it would be
we'll to say that sl.25 will haul ton
five miles 90 a common road, fifteen
miles on well-made stone road,
twenty-five miles on a trolly road, two
hundred and fifty miles on railroad,
and one thousand miles on steam
ship.
When | say common road, | mean
a dirt road in average condition, but
every farmer knows that there are sea-
sons when it would cost good deal
more than s1.25 to haul ton five
miles; when it is impossible to use the
roads at all for heavy traffic
And al the bad season of the year,
the farmer not being able to accomp-
lish much on the farm, is the very sea-
son when he wants to use the roads
most.
In the past ten years the Federal
government has appropriated s176, 226-
934 for river and harbor improvements
and most of this money has been spent
in seaboard and lake states and in the
Mississippi depths, and now it pro-
poses to build canal across the 18th
mas of Panama at q cost of 5000, 900
600. 1t has built great public build
ings in all the larger cities, given inn
mense land grants to the railroads,
spends sl4O, 600, 900 year on pension
ers and devoted other millions to
Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii and the
Philippines. Yet there lies locked up
and idle in the Federal treasury s234-
344, 275, and the income of the govern
ment being so much in excess of ex-
penses, the trouble is to keep the sur
plus In the treasury from becoming to
large,
Let us jointly ''make stab" for the |
passage of this bill.
]. H. Livingston.