The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-05-24
AGel.!l,!l|.,N'! A0l "a 81
&; M! :|
Trunk Line Highways

bill was introduced providing for the
building of trunk roads in tne state.
The bill was hardly given serious at
tention. A bin for expanding a large
sum Of money for building such roads
IN New Hampshire was passed by the
legislature of that state and there
are now chances that Vermont will
lag behind New Hampshire in the mat
ter of road improyement.-Lyndon-
vile Union-Journal.
The UuionJournal' complaint is
practically, but not exactly, correct.
House bill 81, to which reference is
made, was introduced into the House
October 20tn, long before the gener-
al decentralization OF the post Christ
mas recess was dreamed of. Its au-
thor, Mr.. Howe of Bennington was
frankly skeptical as to its success, but
introduced it largely for educational
purposes" To the surprise of near
ly every one, including the author, the
bill met with immediate, If not gen
eral favor 1t was laughed at by the
socalled "house-leaders." but it is an
open question whether it would not
have passed the house If it had been
promptly and fairly reported.
The committee on appropriations,
however. followed the usual custom of
holding up the large majority of its
bills until the budget could be made
up and the trunk line proposition re-
posed i'm a pigeon-hole until the wick
ed extravaganza of the legislature
along other lines had made its case
not only hopeless but inconsiderable.
In brief, if the state nad not vast
ed so much money in other directions
II. 81 would have had at least fight
ing chance and would have been Civ
en- an intelligent discussion. The
Herald is no believer in clOgging the
files of the legislature with foolish and
hopeless bills. but It would be idle to
claim that there was not merit in II.
81 or that it did not receive consider
able and extremely favorable support,
though silent and un-recorded
1t IS true that New Hampshire has
passed such a bill and that one of the
trunk lines will probably pass through
Hnsdale and along the east bank of
the Connecticut river. This means
hat the automobile travel that now
comes to Brattleboro via Vernon and
thence northward through Vermont,
VIII naturally be diverted to New
Hampshire and northward through
that state. along the new turnpike
which the state will build.
Thus, New Hampshire, which has
steadily led Vermont in the intelli-
gent outstanding and exploitation Of
aer resources and summer attractions,
again leads a strong card with every
chance Of taking another trick in the
business game.
How much longer Is Vermont going
to sit still and see the best of the
summer business appropriated by New
Hampshire without one-half the nat
ural advantages and beauties OF Yer
mont?
This brings us naturally TO the pro
position that the town system of
making roads is all wrong and repre-
sents a deplorable waste of money.
Hardly a legislature convenes without
several towns approaching the state
with "a prayer for aid in repairing
highways. and the appropria atoms are
made on the ground that highways
may properly be built in these towns
with state money because highways
are state assets
This being the ease, why should the
| state not build all roads ard tax all
people alike for their maintenance?
1t is absurd 10 say-that the duty OF
maintaining roads in Mendon is prop.
erly the duty of that town, when prob.
ably nine-tenths OF the travel over its
roads comes from Rutland and other
places. 1t is absurd to tax the town
Of Baltimore small, weak and hope
lcssly in debt, for maintaining roads
| that the state and Windsor county
use more than the inhabitants do
themselves
State supervision is getting us some
state roads. state roads constitutes an
object lesson that will tell, the tenden-
cy is inevitably to state control of all
highway money and expenditure by
the states experts
| The Herald has advocated trunk
line highways in and out Of season and
they are surely coming. So also is
the states aand in taxation and main
tenance. Get used to the idea.-Rut
| land Herald.