Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-07-24
Communicated
SECTION LINE ROADS.

! Editor Tribune: In times past when
/ this was more of pioneer country,
than it is it the present time, no at
tempt was made to follow section
: lines. A farmer or ranchman living
in the country would travel from his
residence straight across to his near
est town or market place.
AS the country developed these
! roads are gradually shut off, and peo-
/ pie are forced to follow section lines.
! Since the time when we first began
/ to travel these roads, the land has in
! creased greatly in value, and has be-
come the property of private individu-
| ais who desire to improve the same.
Often one of the first things to be
done in the way of improvement is to
fence the land, thus closing the road,
and compelling travellers to follow the
section lines.
We always hear more or less com.
plant when a road is thus closed, the
argument against such closing is near
ly always of the same nature, the
only difference being that where it
affects several persons at the same
time they are able to bring In longer
petition, and being few more in
number, are able to make louder
noise.
The principle, however, is the same,
il it is Just and fair, that such an
old trail should be upheld as public
highway in one case, it is equally just
and fair that it should stand in every
similar case. Snider and Jones, liv.
ing northeast of Bismarck. get up in
the morning and hitch up their teams
and strike a be line for town, they
travel a little ways, and then couple
of miles further south, they notice
Hall and Smith, also going to town.
Hall and Smith go one mile south
and then one mile west, then one mile
south and one mile west again,
and so on, until they finally reach a
road that leads to Bismarck. And
Jones says to Snider, "see those fel.
lows down there? They live two miles
have to travel as far as we do In or
der to get there" Such a state OF
affairs may look like joke in the
eyes of some people, but the road
problem is serious one, and it is
facts and not jokes that the people
want 1t is of interest to the people
of the city. as we'll as to the farmer,
that every one of us, has the best, as
we'll as the shortest road he possibly
can have to town.
II we maintain that it would be right
for few of us living northeast of
Bismarck, to have a bee line to town
we must remember that there are 9th
eff people in the county, who bear
their burdens of taxation, equally with
US. and should be entitled to the same
privileges.
We know there are extreme cases
where it would be much cheaper for
the county to buy right of way than
to follow the section line. But the
county commissioners are able to take
care Of that. Considerable improve
ments have already been made on our |
roads, following section lines, and it
is we'll established fact in this cOun-
ty that the section lines are the prop |
er places for the roads. Without pre-
tending to know much about what the
law is, or will be, governing these
angling or cross Gu: roads, we Will
mention a few facts that certainly |
are against them.
First. Every citizen of this republic
is endowed with certain rights, which
are inalienable, and among them is
the right to the possession of his prop
erty. A man will not stand idly by |
to see either the public or any pri-
vate citizen divest him of his property |
provided he has any means of his de-
fence; consequently it would lead to
law suits, and the result Of
that would be. a wholesale squander-
ing of money, perhaps of human life. |
Second It ia orr duty and Driyil- |