Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1904-06-02

engineer and submitted to the state
highway commissioner for approx
al. The county makes the contract
for the work, and the state appoints
an engineer to supervise it. Upon
completion of the improvement, a
warrant is drawn upon the state
treasury for one.third of the cost
properly countersigned BY the state
engineer. who supervised the work
and the ten per cent to be paid by
AUDITING property owners is col
.lected with the next years taxes. A
division of the cost, like that of the
New Jersey state aid system, is
sight and proper. The state should
not ne called upon to pay the whole
expense. The owners of the prop
erty along the road improved
should pay a share of it's cost, be-
cause of the increased value of their
land resulting from the improve
ment. The county should pay lib
eral share of the expense, because
the people of the county furnish the
greatest part of the the travel. The
respective proportion of cost borne
by the state, the county and the
property owners may be varied in
the different states according to the
prevailing conditions in each state
but the principle will ever remain
the same, that of dividing the cost
rood building among all those who
are to be benefited, the cities assist
ing the country districts through
the medium of state and county
taxes.
State aid was first suggested by
the farmers of New Jersey, and the
necessary laws laws for it's estab.
lishment were passed through the
combined efforts of the League OF
American Wheelmen and the farm.
err organizations. New Jerseys state
aid system is justly popular be-
cause il aims to help the improve.
ment of local roads, those used by
the farmers, and connecting farm
houses with the school, the church,
the market town and the railroad
station. Any locality in any county
in the state may take advantage OF
the state aid law in its discretion,
and ners of property along any
given road may petition for its i'm
provement. Without such action
on part of the property owners, no
improvements can be made under
the state aid law. The success OF
this system appears from the fact
that the Highway Commissioners OF
New Jersey has petitions on file in
his office for improvement of roads
requiring many times the appro-
priations made by the state legisla-
ture. New Jersey farmers no long
err fear that the cost of improved
roads must fall upon them alone,
and the greater portion of the High
way Commissioners time is con.
sumed in listening to the pleadings
of farmers from all parts of the
state, urging that their roads may
be the first to be improved under
the state aid law. Any policy OF
road improvement which is not in
the farmers interest is not our pol
icy. This explains the action of the
League of American Wheelmen in
favoring the introduction of state
aid to roads. In advocating such a
system of state aid, and the division
of the cost of building roads among
city and county tax payers, we feel
that we are believing the farmer OF
the burden of responsibility and
taxes for country roads, instead OF
loading him up with heavier bur-
dens, and that we are also helping
to relieve him of the enormous mud
tax, caused by poor roads.
BIG REUNION FEATURE.
The Parker Amusement company
is at Topeka this week. 1t lie the