The Somerset reporter., 1907-11-21
Which Is the State Road7

A matter of much Importance to the
tax payers of Mercer is to come be-
fore the Governor and council at the
next meeting or the meeting that fol-
lows, and there is possibility that 1t
may not end there, but may come be-
fore the courts for final adjudication.
During the past year two pieces of
State highways were constructed in
this town, one under the supervision
of the selectmen and the other under
the direction of committee appointed
at special town meeting held May IL,
of the previous year. Only one of these
roads can be accepted by the State
and the question is which road will be
accepted by the governor and council.
At the special town meeting 1t was
voted that the money appropriated by
the town at its annual meeting be ex-
pended by the road commission and
the governor and council will doubt
less be called upon to decide If the
action taken at this meeting was
legal.
Briefly stated the history of the
tanple is as follows: At the annual
town meeting last March an appropri-
alton was made for a State road. On
May II, special town meeting was
held when it was voted that the State
road money, appropriated at the
March meeting, be expended by the
road commission and committee was
appointed to see that the order of the
town, as expressed at the meeting, be
carried out. Whe n the road commits
sioner started in to build the road, hel
was formally notified by the selectmen
not to proceed with the work. The
position Of the selectmen was and is
that the law expressly provides that
municipal officers of towns have the
supervision of the construction of
State roads and therefore the action
taken at the town meeting held May
IL, was illegal and has no binding
force. The road commissioner, how
ever, proceeded with the building Of
the road and completed it. The Sc
lectmen selected a stretch of road
near the village and under their su-
pervision another State road was
built.
The road commissioner and the
committee appointed at the special
town meeting, consulted eminent
counsel who advised then to proceed
with the building of the road, under
the authority given at the special
town meeting, while the selectmen
consulted equally eminent counsel
who advised them that only State
road supervised by them could be
legal and further advise them to go
ahead and build the road. The friends
of the road commissioner claim that
he built the road by order Of the town,
as formerly expressed in town meet
ing, and therefore the town is bound
to stand behind him, while the friends
of the selectmen say the action taken
at the town meeting was illegal and
that the whole matter of building the
road was under it's law, in his hands.
There is considerable feeling over
the matter in town and each side to
controversy has its warm advocates.
The question of which road shall be
accepted by the governor and coun-
Gil will be settled in the immediate
future but there will yet remain the
question Of who will pay for the other
state road. By some it is thought
that the town will have to pay the
bill, but this opinion is not shared by
others who insist that under the con-
ditions surrounding the case the town
cannot legally take such action. 1t is
not at all improbable that the matter
will be brought before the courts for
final adjudication. -Lewiston Journal.