Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-10-24

At the last session of the Wisconsin
legislature a law was passed which
may work a revolution in the matter
of highway construction and improve
ment. If it works out as its trainers
and friends hope that it will work out
it will in an effective manner greatly
reduce the cost of freighting, in addit-
ion to giving the people easy and
pleasant roads to travel over. The
Milwaukee Journal says:
Few of the laws passed at the last
session of the legislature are Of such
potential Importance as the enactment
relating to roads. The meeting of the
county boards throughout the state
early In November signalizes the be-
ginning of the execution of the law
when each county board will choose a
highway commissioner to have charge
of the roads selected as county roads.
1.-THE law provides that any town
may levy a special tax for highway
fund which shall be used solely to
build gravel Or macadam or equally
good roads under the direction of the
chairman of the town and of the
county highway commissioner and
that all appropriations by the towns
so expended must be followed by
equal appropriation by the county
board out of special road fund. The
county board must levy at least 81 900
a year for such fund even if the towns
fail to make appropriations.
1.-THE law therefore gives the peo-
pie of any town who are progressive
enough to know the value of good
roads the chance to go ahead and
raise the money with the assurance
that the county as a whole must also
provide enough money to duplicate
every dollar which each town expends.
More than that, the roads so built on
the main highways and accepted as
county roads will also be maintained
out of the special county road fund so
that once q road is built the town will
have no further expense with it except
its small contributions to the county
each county in its entirety.
1.-THE towns that act first will get
the greatest benefit of this law. The
towns that hesitate may keep on hest
Eating but they will be compelled to
raise their share of whatever tax the
county is compelled to levy because
of what each wide awake town has
appropriated to the special road fund.
Here 1t seems that Wisconsin has
a law by which roads can be built and
maintained in a systematic way. The
sample roads recently built near
GAINESVILLE were reported to be built
for q little more than 81 900 a mile.
With the present method OF repairing
dirt roads under the pay-in-labor
system, roads are no better at the end
OF the year than at the beginning.
With the new system, an appropria-
ton by each town of So 900 each year
will build nearly five miles of perma-
nent road. Few Wisconsin citizens
would argue longer against the neces-
sity OF good roads, since their urgent
need is so obviously evident.
This is the season when farmers
in many parts of the state are having
social sessions along the highway
hedges while incidentally mending
roads. They might proftably talk
about how to interest their represent
tatives on the comfy boards in select
ing good county highway COM
missioner at the November meeting
and in making large appropriation
to the special county highway fund.
Then az the town meetings next spring
they can continue the good work by
making a large levy for this same
fund, and begin to get at least a few
miles of good road built in every
town in the state of Wisconsin.
Those few miles as soon as they are
built will make the people OF the state
enthusiastic about good roads, be-
cause they have enjoyed in practi-
cal way their inestimable advantages.
Then there will be no doubt about the
continuation of the appropriation and
that they will be materially increased
from year to year