The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-10-20

are none in this category except those
costing less than 500, are made under
his supervision, orr that of a reliable
and high grade foreman, by a repair
crew which he employs. A full days
work for full days pay is exacted.
In other words the county has compe
tent engineer, who is held responsible
for the kind of roads built and for the
honesty of the work done The build
ing of roads, or the repair even of II
cuvert, is not left to Tom, Dick or
Harry, but is handled i'm Il business
like way. Tools and implements and
machinery are not bought to be work
ed for a few weeks by this or that
friend of the road boss and then be
come his private property. They are
put into the hands of the county sur
veyor and he is to be held accountable
for them when he leaves office.
''EIe is also compelled to keep rec
ord of all work done and to report at
the end of the year what has been done
as well as what ought in his Judgment
to be done to improve the road system
or the administration of the road fund.
Finally, construction is done according
to an intelligent program.
This is wide departure from the
town system generally prevailing in
this state, though it has not displaced
the system of town repairs of town
roads. 1t applies only to country roads.
1t is, however, u system that has pro
duced honest and effective results, not
only in Ramsey but in Hennepin county,
and in its essential features it is the
system that has produced results i'll
other states. 1t is not new in any re-
spect. 1t is not an experiment. a sys
tenn of fixed responsibility, of expert
supervision and of centralized manage
ment is the only system that has ever
put a stop to the everlasting waste of
road funds. The sooner the counties OF
the state come to realization of the
need of adopting those principles and of
adopting them to their respective cir
cumstances the sooner the state will
have the sort of highways it ought to
have. The penny wise and pound fool
ish policy of refusing to pay price
that will attract competent road engi-
neer the ancient and dilapidated notion
that any one can build a road the ex-
travagant policy of refusing to put in
permanent roads because they cost more
in the first instance, has cost this state
millions of dollars. with almost nothing
to show for it; while the same money
spent wisely and in a businesslke way
would have gridironed the state with
such roads as are to be found in New
York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massa-
chusetts and other states where the
public has at last awakened to the folly
of the old haphazard and irresponsible
methods of administration.
The Free Press from time to time
has expressed similar sentiments to
those contained in the above. There are
roads in Blue Earth county that have
been worked" year after year after
the manner that the poll tax is usually
worked out on the highways and they
are not much better than they were
the first time the pathmaster called
the boys from the country side to do
their stint. If these roads had been well
constructed in the beginning and care
fully looked after ever since they would
be in first class condition today. And
the value of farms adjacent would be
worth more than they HOW are.
The Free Press stands for the state
ment that there is no coed reason why
most of the highways in Blue Earth
county should not be macadamized. The
material is at hand and the labor can
be procured. The expense would not
be so burdensome to the taxpayers as
they may be led to believe at first
glance.