St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-01-26
A State Highway System.


With the subject of highway improv-
ment occupying such a prominent place
in the public mind consideration of
system of operation becomes very i'm
portant. For many years Vermont has
been raising a state highway tax and al
lowing the town authorities to expend
it. The results were unsatisfactory.
For years Vermont raised a state school
tax for expenditure by town school au-
thorities. The results were unsatisfac-
tory. There was no real advancement
in education or uniformity in education
al methods. Realizing this Vermont has
in recent years been giving the state adj
ditional power and control in education
al work. 1t has resulted in real adj
vancemeut in educational work. A
study of the progress made in education
al matters shows that it is largely the
result of the enlargement of the powers
of the state in the field of education.
The local school authorities did not pos
sess the experience and ability to initiate
and carry out actual reform. We believe
the same is true regarding highway
work in this state.
The state of Vermont needs a general
system of road Improvement, one that
includes all the main thoroughfares of
the state whether they run up and down
or across the state. Some progress has
already been made in this direction and
more effective state highway work has
been done this past season than before.
But we need still more of it. One thing
that has made people afraid of state
schemes of highway improvement has
been an agitation to conhne state work
to the construction of expensive trunk
lines through limited sections of the
state. 1t will be long time before the
public will be- ready to endorse such a
scheme because the expense is so great
and the improvement SO slow. AS we
have previously stated it would necessi-
tate the rebuilding of the good as well
as the poor sections of our highways.
That we cannot afford to do nor will it
give us good roads fast enough. We
need a system that will not destroy the
good roads we already have but that
will reconstruct the poor roads so we
will have continuous system of good
roads.
One of the advantages of our state
control of schools has been the introduc-
tion of good methods in all schools re-
CARELESS of their location. The same re-
SuItS I,OY11d Obtain in a state SvSfeu IF
roads. 1t would introduce good road
building into every section of the state
regardless of its location or financial
ability 1t would make possible the en-
ployment of expert road builders on all
of the main thoroughfares of the state.
1t would relieve the towns of the expense
OF maintaining quite proportion of
their highways and give them more
money to care for the remainder of their
roads and so make further improve
ments of their less important road pos
sible.
The state already has a highway fund
of 1925, 900 a year which could be used
for this purpose without increasing the
burdens of the towns cent. State rev.
enues are increasing and if we adopted a
definite plan it would be possible to in
crease the state road funds without in
creasing local tax rates. In view OF
these facts it would seem as though the
time has come for the introduction of a
progressive state system of highway
construction in Vermont.