The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1911-09-15
TIMES BUREAU,
AT STATE CAPITAL.

Indianapolis. Ind. Sept l3.-Indiana's
system of road building. which was
held up to derision recently by L w.
Page. director of the office of public
roads of the department of agriculture,
has no defenders among men who have
compared ii with methods employed by
other states They sadly admit that all
of the counts in Director Pages in
dictment are only too true.
Indiana may not have the worst
system of road building in the country.
but il is as bad as any asserted Will
liam Holton Dye. an officer of the In
diana Good Roads association. while
other states have forged ahead in the
matter of road building Indiana clings
to ancient methods and ideas. Our
system of road building is Just as SEN
sible as it would be for a railroad com
pany TO build line with different kind
OF ties and rails and roadbed in every
country through which it passed
The two great needs of Indiana
roads are a state highway department.
and the payment of all road taxes in
money. Until we get a central authori-
ty to supervise the building and repair
of roads upon a systematic plan Mr..
Page will be warranted in holding us
up a horrible example.
tAtfLN II ~ Stl6 10 say tNaL IT all
road taxes were paid in cash there
would be so per cent more money
available for road building and i'm
provement without any increase in tax
alton. At present only about 90 per
cent of the road taxes levied ever reach
the roads. Much of the remainder goes
into the pockets of the contractors.
Il have just returned from st. Paul,
and while there I examined the new
automobile road being built from ST.
Paul to Duluth. 1t is of macadam and
is being constructed at great expense.
A portion of the cost is paid by the
state and the remainder is assessed
against the property owners within
two miles on either side of the high
way. The landowners figure that the
Increased value of their property more
than makes up for their share OF the
cost"
Former Governor Durbin is another
who believes that the Indiana road
laws should be revised and that a new
system of road building should be
adopted. Mr.. and Mrs Durbin have
just returned from a two thousand mile
automobile trip through the east and in
Canada. and Mr.. Durbin says he had a
good opportunity to observe the roads
in many of the states. He came home
convinced that New Hampshire has the
road question solved. A tax on auto
mobiles fixed according to the horse
power of the machine yields a revenue
of half a million dollars year for road
purposes. and the finest of roads in New
Hampshire is the result. He thinks the
New Hampshire plan superior to the
Indiana law permitting the building OF
roads of three miles less at town
ship expense. He believes such roads
are not what they ought to be and tina,
it will not be long until Indiana will
be embarrassed by the road condition:
it is no wseeking to improve with tbs
three mile road law.
A strong effort was made in the las
legislature to create a state highwa,
commission. which would have juris
diction over the public roads of ths
state. but the effort failed. Senator
Fleming OF Fort Wayne introduced
bill in the senate for that purpose, a
the request of the Indiana Good Roads
association. but the bill did not maxi