Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1904-06-02
MUST THE FARMER PAY FOR
GOOD ROADS?
Aims of the League of American
Wheelmen-State Athletics
Should Help.


CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK.
The League of American Wheelmen
therefore favors the levy of state
taxes for road building purposes,
because such tax is levied upon
all property and upon all classes OF
people alike, upon city and country
population, according to amount of
property he owns. A fair share of
state taxes is collected from CAPT.
talists, merchants and manufactur.
ers, the wealthy corporations, rail-
road, express, insurance, telegraph
aud telephone companies. They
contribute to the maintenance of
state institutions by contributing
to state taxes. If part of the cost
of road building were paid out of
state taxes, they would thus share
in the cost of building roads as
we'll.
1t may be argued that the city tax
payers can be made to contribute
to the cost of country roads without
a state tax; that county road tax
would accomplish the same results.
True, but county tax cannot be ex'
pended outside of the county where
il is levied. The large cities of the
United States should do more than
to help support the roads in the
county where they are situated.
Philadelphia, Boston. Chicago, New
York and St. Louis should help, to
a reasonable extent, to build roads
for some considerable distance be-
yond their own counties. They
draw their trade from large area
of country about them. and any
thing which contributes to the wei
fare of this territory, helps their
material welfare. The came thing
is true of all the tifty-eight cities in
the United States of $4,000 or more
population, and to a greater or less
degree, of every town or city. A
state road tax would be shared by
every city in the state, according to
it's size. The larger the city, the
larger it's share of the tax, and the
larger the area to be benefited. A
county road could never accomp-
lish this result.
State taxes for road building pur-
poses are not new in the United
States, although now but little in
use. In Washington and Massa.
chusetts certain highways are now
selected as state roads, and improv-
ed at state expense. State road tax
es are becoming popular, however,
as part of system of state aid to
roads. Connecticut and Rhode IL.
land have such a system of state
aid on a small scale. New York has
just adopted system of state aid
to roads. Pennsylvania provides
for state aid by the Hamilton road
law, passed early in 1897. New Jer-
sey adopted system of state aid,
several years ago which has deserv-
edly become highly popular, espe'
cially in the farming communities.
Under this state aid law the cost OF
building macadamized roads is d.
vided among the state, the county
and the adjoining property owners.
One Advantage of this system exists
in the fact that road lie never inn.
proved except with the consent of
those residing in the vicinity, who
are expected to bear a part of it's
cost. The adjoining property own
er pays ten per cent of the cost, the
state pays one-third and the county
the. remainder.
To get the matter started, a petit
ton is necessary from the owners
residing upon the road to be inn
proved; plans are made by county