The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1908-03-19

/ buec6 sbhbee III bufu cubEucl cue OK
ecution OF their enactments to th'
road authorizes, the county author
titles In your county-you might SAL
further down, to the township gu
thorities.
Up to lew years ago every stat
in the Union was working under oul
old system of everybody working
out their taxes on the road, but thi,
system is being fast superseded By
some form OF State aid and supervis
ion and by supervision by men who
make road work study.
In this state the last laws were q
step towards that, inclu ling the Of
flee OF the State and County High
way Engineers. The Idea is simply
to get a head to the road system, to
reorganize it on a business basis and
put somebody In charge who Is max
ing road work study, possibly who
has made It a study, and expects to
make Is life study.
The courts of your county, or you
Tor yourselves, wouldn't put up a
public building costing what your
road expenses are for one year, with
out first looking around to get com.
petent supervision Tor that building.
You wouldwanta superintendent who
knows how to put that building up
the way you want 1t put up and get
the best Of work, But you 60 ahead
this year and spend that much on
your roads-something that is OF
more Importance than your public
buildings, something that interests
every man, woman and child In the
county, and you have been spending
every year on your roads this same
amount without a competent super
intendent.
You haven't thought OF getting q
superintendent who can tell you how
TO do what you want done.
Is is not the intention of forcing on
you expensive roads or burdensome
taxes.
Your own people made those laws
and you can't for a minute think
they went down there and forced a
burdensome tax on themselves. Is
lie simply the idea OF putting it on q
business basis, with a competent
head to It.
The appointment OF this county
engineer puts somebody in charge Of
theroads OF the county and anybody
wishing Information about .heroads
as so how they are done, how they are
built Or how they are constructed or
what any man shall do when he gets
stumped, has a man there who Is the
head OF the road system.
| can report TO you one benefit
which has came to my notice!to the
present time regarding our Highway
Engineer, to one county in this state.
The Highway Engineer was appoint
ed in February and the first thing he
did was to begin diving around see
ing what condition and shape the
different districts were in. He wrote
me a very discouraging letter and he
says, come down here, and | went
down and found him very discourag.
ed. He found every district In that
county was In debt from twenty.f five
to one hundred seventy.five dollars.
There wasn't district In debt. less
than twenty-five dollars and one, one
hundred seventy.five dollars. Each
district knew 1t was In debt. The
court supposed it was moving along
alright, but they had nobody to lock
after 1t. The mere fact that this con.
dition is shown up In the true. light
IA worth the cost OF the Engineers
salary for that year, They know
how to face It. They are not getting
further and further in debt; even II
they are In debt they know 1t. 1t Is
worth something TO know your con-
dition, gentlemen. But now they
know what they have toiiace. They
have q superintendent to look after
it for them. The courts haven't the
time to chase around over the coun.
ty and look into the different little
road problems that arise. They can
not 20 out and look at this culvert
and that culvert and this mud hole
and that mud hole. II they tried
that, there would be a howl raised
at the extra expense. Now you
hava anch a man and Il Ia hie buei