The daily sentinel., 1905-08-31
Last Years Birds Nest

We have it from pretty good
authority that the board of county
commissioners think about as much
of their system of road repairing and
building, under the road supervis-
ors, as they do. to use a figure OF
speech, of a last years bird nest Z"
In fact we have been told that they
recognize the system as simply a
waste of money and they will have
few citizens disagree with them upon
the matter.
The board has been very seriously
considering the proposition of pur
chasing a stone crusher and steam
roller and begin the building of one
first class road between Palisades and
Fruita. The argument and conten-
ton is maze by those who have made
study of country roads that, if
| there is one good highway running
through the populated center of the
county, that IL is an easy matter for
all to seek that road and use il. The
by-roads could remain in their pres
ent condition until such time as they
can be built on the plan proposed
for the main artery of travel through
the county without working any
great hardship upon the public Some
system of construction of country
roads should be adopted. To go on
year in and year out and pile up a
little dirt here and there is simply
wasteing the peoples money.
1t is hard matter to get out of
the rut. The rut of road construc-
tion has become a habit in this as
well as many other counties and to
break loose from that system is hard
But it ought to be done. The only
people who would be materially in
iured would be the present road
overseers and as to scientific road
building there is hardly one of them
that knows anything about it, if they
viii confess the truth to themselves
We regard, and always have re
Sarded the system of road overseers
as small system of necessary polit-
ical grating. These people, and we
are not rejecting upon them anymore
than upon thousands all through the
state, as they are simply part of a
system, are mainly useful to keep
the political organization to which
they belong intact and to bring in the
delegates to the political conven-
tions.
Doubtless someone will hop on us
and charge us with defamation of
the good honest farmer who happens
to be a road overseer If they feel
so inclined, all right, we can stand
It possibly. If they viii, however,
1 just take a moment to think. they will
understand that we are not attacking
/ the road overseers as individuals.
I but the system of country road con
struction under which they work, as
a system
/ 1t has been n wonder to us that
when these road overseers bring their
| bills to be filed that they do not
! laugh in each others faces. They un-
questionably do the best they know
how and do it just like their prede-
cessors.
1t is to be hoped that the idea
which seemed to be terminating in
the minds of the board of county
commissioners. looking TO the pur-
chase of modern rock-crusher and
steam roller will take form and re-
suit in its purchase and that the
board then arbitrarily cut off all ex-
traeous road expenditure on the side
roads and begin at once on the con
struction of a county thoroughfare
which will reflect credit upon their
wise forethought and will be mon
ument to their perspicacity i'm pro-
vidng for the future.