The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-09-22
PUBLIC HIGHWAYS FIRST.

CdlleQ upon Tor a rev remarks, and
among other things he said he would
like to see the legislature convened
in extraordinary session-ten days
ought to be sufficient to act upon
the proposed amendment to the
federal constitution relative to an
income tax, to reapportion the state
fairly on the basis of population as
contemplated by the constitution,
and to submit an amendment to the
state constitution-to be voted upon
at the next which, if
adopted, would enable the legislature
to levy a general one mill tax for the
improvement of the highways of the
state. All three propositions seemed
to meet with the appreciation of the
legislators present.
Estimating the total valuation of
the state for assessment purposes
at $1,200,O0O,OOO one mill tax
would produce revenue of $780,
900 which would give each of the
eighty-five counties of the state an
average appropriation of over $4,000
annually. That amount, intelligently
expended, would mean at least ten
miles of permanent road improve
ment in each county annually-for
the state appropriation would be
supplemented by town and county
road taxes. Inside of a decade Min
nesota would have 10000 miles of
frst-class roads. There is nothing
chimerlcal about this proposition.
1t is only fair in this age of
automobiles that the city millionaire
should contribute a little of his
wealth in taxes toward the improve
ment of country roads and the up
building of the state. The steel trust
alone, under present valuations,
would contribute 100000 annually,
or one-sixth of the amount that a
one-mill tax would produce.
But the Pioneer Press seems to
labor under the delusion-for de-
fusion it is-that an imaginary
system of waterways is the alpha
and omega of state development.
We quote from that paper:
But the greatest reason of ALL
the desirability of some legislative
action which shall pave the way
to the cooperation of the state of !
Minnesota with the national govern
ment in the development of water
transportation and water-power-he |
forgets altogether. Yet the carrying
out of one waterway project alone, |
that of Engineer Mershon, would !
bring more benefits to the state than
all the measures mentioned by the
so-called Sage of Princeton
With all due respect to the editorial
colossus who penned the above there
is no question of more Importance to
the people of this state today-more
especially to the farmers of the state
that of the permanent i'm.
provement Of the public highways of
the state. There is, nothing that
would prove more conducive to the
happiness and prosperity of the
people of the state than system of
good permanent highways. State
can be summed up in
two words-GOOD ROADS.
The utopian system of waterways
so glowingly depicted by the Pioneer
Press on numerous occasions is i'm
possible of realization in the near
future. The amount of money that
would be required to build zig gag
canals up and down and across
the state, as advocated by the Pho.
neer Press, would pay for the con-
struction of 100 miles of first class|
roads in each of the IS counties of
the state, and the roads would be oil
one hundred times more benefit to
the people of the state than the
1inky little proposed waterways.
1t is sheer nonsense to talk of the
national government expanding
millions of dollars in internal i'm
orovements in state that is not
suffering for lack of transportation
when the great national
"aterway-the Mississippi river
or half its length is. hardly navig- f
lble for boats of four feet draught.
The so-called Sage of Princeton"
Maintains that the permanent i'm
'rovement of public highways is
he paramount issue in this state
oday, and that the first stem in that