Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1909-02-18

8. The county the unit, doing away
with districts and road bosses.
4. A county engineer who should
be road expert to have supervision
or all road work under the county
commissioners.
3. A survey and profile to be made
by him of the highways all roads to
be named and bridges to be num-
bered.
6. First the construction and i'm
provement of roads into each of the
market places of the county, then con-
Meeting the towns and later the cons
struction of laterals.
I. Special taxation of land abutting
on a highway for building road there
on when voted by two-thirds of the
| land owners.
| Meritorious as was this bill I be-
lieve there should be added to it the
state aid feature. believe now as I
believed then that all the property in
the state should be taxed for improve
ments OF such public character as
roads. In fact, believe the cost of
improving and maintaining our high
ways should be borne by three par
ties in nearly equal proportion, the
United States, the state, the county.
The United States uses our high
wcys for mail delivery. The constitu-
ton grants it authority to build post
roads. Government experts say that
good roads would save s7,OO0,O0O per
| a
Roads are public property, and
think it equity and good business to
tax all property in the state to help
build and maintain them.
The unbrOken record in twenty
states that have adopted state aid is
that the law has been bitterly OBJ
posed until understood and then has
become uniformly popular. People
naturally object to heavy road taxes
| when results are SO unsatisfactory.
We get tired Of pouring water into
rat hole unless we get the rat"
BY state aid we mean that the state
Pay one-third or one-half or some 9th
er part of the cost of goood road
when the local authorities decide to
build
| am here 10 say that we can have
as good roads in South Dakota at one
loufth the cost in any Of the above
mentioned states. Furthermore, we
are financially better able to stand the
expense
Events come rapidly now days, and
WIN public sentiment crystalizing on
state and national aid for our high
ways the outlook is most promising
NOW fer word or two about the
construction OF roads:
IN order to demonstrate what could
| be done with an elevatinp grader on
country roads, | last year bought a
STROUD Little Giant grader and hitch
ed 1t to % horse power gasoline
traction engine This was reasonably
successful With it we made about
three miles of splendid grade. Paw
ment for all help and $40 per day for
engine, with gasoline at 1G cents per
gallon 1t cost three to three and one
half cents per yard to move the dirt.
Inc engine was the second of it's
kind to be made, and l was not salts
hed with the power. | wanted to see
the dirt move faster and cheaper. so
hired Sc horse power steam trac-
ton engine with fuel and attendants
at $50 per day. l furnished a man
10 run the grader or managed it N.Y.
SELF. In ordinary ground free from
stones and not too damp, kept the
ploW IN 9 to II inches, thus moving
a yard of dirt every 80 feet. Not TAX
ing this estimate but the grade when
hnlshed, accurately measured, we
found that the dirt was moved a dis
lance OF 20 feet to an even grade 1S
to 20 feet wide at an expense of 21-2
to 8 81 cents per yard.
PHYSICAL conditions and averaee
education are such that we will never
approach success in road building IN
der our existing system. We have all
diagnosed the disease and agree that
the case is desperate None but spe-
clahsts are competent to prescribe
remedies. We must cut loose from
the old traditions and let advanced
surgery have a free hand.
l am thoroughly of the belief that
an entire change of system of SUPER
vision is advisable.
Should no speedy relief come from
the law-making bodies what can Won
and private citizensdo to improve
our highways. Briefly:
Use nothing but wide tire wagons
ourselves and discourage the sale Of
! any other.
Remove all stones from the road
adjacent to your land.
When say remove don't mean
roll to one side; for next year the
road may not be in the old track but
On the side. When dug, haul them
out Of the sixty-six feet of highway or
pile them around the telephone mole
IT you know more about road work
than the boss, and it's ten to one Won
40, ask him to let you repair or build
a certain piece of road which Won nse
most for your road tax--he to give
you receipt when he is satisfied Won
nave earned it. If when you have
1 worked out your So or S12 or s2n to-