The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-02-25
GOOD ROADS.

: One man more than any other who
was responsible for the Good Roads
Congress held here so successfully last
fall was Mr.. Logan Waller Page. who
sem his representatives here to arouse
interest in the matter of good roads.
At that time his representative con-
WINGED the large, number of those who
heard him that there is no doubt Of
the actual material benefit of the
movement. 1t was also significant that
the question Of good roads entered into
consideration of the Rural Commission
lately appointed by President Roose-
welt.
Some san and logically consistent
work should be lone by the legislature
along this line. Although Indiana ranks
high as having a great number of i'm
proved roads-it is mostly IN paper in
comparison with the improved roads
ofother states. Mr.. Waller Page, the
director of the department of public
roads OF the department of agriculture
states thc.t the "2.J.CGo miles Of i'm
proved roads in this state are merely
nominal.
Most of the blame fo- this, thinks
Mr.. Page. is Cue to the antiquated sys-
TEN Of working out the road tax"
He says:
This statute is a relic of antiquity
that ought to be repealed in a hurry.
The practice of working out road tax
dates back to Henry VIII of England,
and it never has worked with any de-
gree of satisfaction from that day to
Nearly every state in the union
that has tried it has concluded it is a
dismal failure, and one after another
the statutes have been repealed. In
Indiana however. the system still pre-
wallis in its most %pernicious form"
Mr.. Page has the following sugges-
tons to make to the legislators of the
state:
The legislature ought to create a
state highway commission and a state
engineer Of highways The commission
be unpaid and sould consist of
three members. each to be selected
from the engineering faculty Of one of
the principal colleges OF the state. The
members OF the commission should be
chosen either by the president or by
the memoirs of the faculty OF the col
leg which he represents. The purpose
OF this would be to keep the commits
sion everlastingly out Of politics.
There is nothing that more quickly
the road building service
OF q state than to get into politics. II
the members of the commission were
by the governor of the state
there would sooner or later be some
governor who would prostitute the
service for the benefit of his
party o. himself. The members OF
the highway commission should have
the power OF selecting the state high
way engineer, who should be a compe-
person. and for whose service a
salary should be paid by the state.
while the legislature Is creating this
commission 1t sould revise and codify
the road laws SO as to make them uni
form. Indiana has today the most
and complicated system Of
road laws to be found anywhere in the
country.
Mr.. Page is right in his suggestions
and the wonder is not that we have so
few good roads under the system in
vogue. but that We have so many.
Indiana has rich deposits of the |
best road making material in the coun-
try and a competent geologist at the
head of its department. Why not use
Of the rich road material with
some Of the expert knowledge that is
the disposal Of the state? Nothing
improve u roads except consis- |
tent work under an organized plan,