The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-05-20
ROAD IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS

The request of Senator Eberhart to
discuss important questions which will
and ought to be acted upon at the next
session of the legislature is good one.
1t will enable our representatives to
carry out the wishes of their constitu-
ents more definitely, besides being a
great help to them. One of the questions
most agitating is that of better country
roads and | herewith outline my idea
from my standpoint as farmer and sug-
gest those things that | think ought to
be done.
l. A bill for draining public high
ways. 1t should give to somebody (per-
haps the town board) the power, and
make it their duty to drain the surface
water from the roads, letting them de-
eide the coure of the drain. At present
one farmer thinks the water ought to be
drained west, the other east, with the
result that it remains in the road.
IL. A bill which states moderate
minimum sum which must be voted by
each township for road, bridge, and town
purposes. This [ recommend because 1
notice in election returns, that town
ships which have about the same amount
of wealth vote for these purposes above
mentioned all the way from $1,000 down
as low as $500. These later townships
keep down their taxes and then run after
county commissioners for help in fixing
their roads, which they ought to repair
with money voted in their own town
ships.
III. To pay the road taxes in cash
and do away with pathmasters and turn
supervision of the roads over to the town
boards. This is the part which meets
with the greatest opposition, but I think
it ought not to. 1 am farmer and have
to work as hard for my dollar as any
one and l dislike to spend what 1 work
for, as much as the average man when
there is no necessity for it. There is no
necessity for farmer to pay cash and
hire some one to do the work for him,
which he can just as well do for him
self My idea is that the town board
divide the roads in half mile, mile, and
two mile sections, stating what must be
Hona n, oh Such
as grading down hill, certain amount,
the hauling of dirt upon specified place,
etc., wherever improvements are need
ed. Give this work to the lowest bidder
and the result will be that every farmer
will bid in the piece of road in which he
is most interested. He will then work
faithfully to improve this certain strip
and take pride in the piece of road which
he has worked. This is a natural result
based upon human nature. Just as soon
as a pathmaster takes crew of work
men where they are not interested, he
takes with him an unwilling crew. This
system will serve everybody alike. There
will be no Sinking and everybody will
nave to pay alike. If we want our
money back we will have to do GER
tain amount of work for it. Hence we
will get dollars worth or work for
every dollar voted in road improvement.
The work will be more thorough and
as far as expense is concerned will not
be more expensive than the old system
of employing pathmasters. In our old
system the road loses in the first place
the road taxes of the pathmasters. For
he works out his taxes by overseeing the
work of others and besides this he col
lects from $500 to $4,000 in cash from
the town for overwork. Of course, some
unforeseen difficulties may arise in this
system but we will overcome them as we
get more experienced in working this
new system. We want better roads, but
we will never get them until we make
them. And we will never get dollars