The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1909-04-02
GOOD ROADS
FOR FLORIDA
Bill to Be Introduced Asking
That the State Be Bonded
LEGISLATURE WILL ACT
The Proposed Act Directs the Issuance of
100000 In Bonds Bearing -Four
Per Cent lnterert Per Annum
Arcadia, Fla, March q, 1909.

Arcadia, Fla, March e. 1909.
Editor The Record, st. Augustine:
Dear Sir-Enclosed herewith is a
draft of bill proposed to be presented
to the next legislature, which meets in
April, to be enacted into law. All pro-
gressive citizens of our State recognize
that the greatest need of the State at
the present time is a system of good
roads, because our sand roads become
worse and worse as the State becomes
more thickly settled. Several good road
laws have been proposed from session
to session of the legislature, failing in
some vital point, hence the Board of
Trade of the city of Arcadia recognize
ing that this issue must be raised by
some rural district, have drawn up for
this purpose an act which we believe
| fills all the requirements with the least
possible objections. In the first place
we believe it the duty of the State and
national governments to provide public
highways for its citizens as they have
provided by bonus railways. The State
of Florida can obtain money upon it's
bond at far more favorable rate than
the counties within the State, or its
private citizens, therefore it is econOm-
zeal that the State should bond rather
than the counties. There is always so
much opportunity for dishonesty in the
distribution of large amounts of money
by one man, or set of men, but this bill
while providing sufficient amount of
money to insure the economical build
ing of roads in each county, yet no
great amount of money is in the hands
of one set of men. Yours truly,
BOARD OF TRADE,
City of Arcadia.
The following is a copy of the bill:
An Act to be Entitled an Act to Encour-
age the Construction of System of
Good Roads in the State of Florida,
by Paying Bonus to each County for
each Mile of Hard Surface Road Built
and Constructed by such County.
Be it Enacted by the Legislature of
the State of Florida:
Section |. That upon the passage
and approval of this Act and its ratif-
cation by vote of majority of the
electors of the State of Florida, the
Board of the Internal Improvement
Fund of the State of Florida, shall have
the power, and it is hereby directed to
issue two million dollars in bonds in de-
nominations of one thousand dollars
each, or so much thereof as NAV be
necessary from time to time to fulfill
the requirements of this Act; said bonds
to bear interest at per cent. per an
mum; said bonds to be sold and the pro-
ceeds thereof used in the creation and
establishment OF system of good roads
in the State of Florida and such other
roads as are tributary thereto.
That the said Board of the Internal
Improvement Fund is authorized to
employ State Inspector of roads
whose duty it shall be to inspect all
materials and pass upon their fitness
for making good hard roads before con-
struction is begun, and to inspect said
roads upon completion and issue certi-
fcates to the Board of the Internal
Improvement Fund where roads are
built according to specification, stating
number of miles built, and upon such
certificates the Board shall order the
comptroller to pay to the county COM
missioners of each county for each
mile of road so hard surfaced that is
part of the State system of good roads
hereinafter outlined, $500. And for
each mile of hard surfaced road built
in each county that is part of system
of county roads and not part Of the
State system, $3.50 per mile.
The specification for a hard road
shall require that the material used
shall be of mari or rock or such SUBJ
stance as shall harden when exposed
to the atmosphere, due preference being
given to local materials. and shall be
laid fully 10 feet wide, and when packed
shall not be less than 8 inches thick in
the center and 5 inches thick at the
edges, elevated in the centre.
For the purpose of this Act the sys-
tenn of good roads shall consist of
road from Jacksonville to Pensacola:
from Tampa to Plant City; Plant City
to Lake City and Gainesville; Gaines
vile to Jacksonville via Palatka; Jack
sonville to Miami via St. Augustine;
Plant City to a point on the Jackson
vile and Miami route, near New
Smyrna in Volusia county via Lake.
land and Orlando; Palatka via DeLand,
intersecting road from New Smyrna to
Orlando; Barlow Junction to Fort
Myers via Barlow, Arcadia and Punta
GOrda.
The routes shall be selected by the
board of county commissioners Of the
counties through which the road passes
together with road inspector or COM
missioner of that country, should there
be one, and the State Inspector who
shall decide upon the route through