The Falls City tribune., 1911-02-10

state into a common fund for the
building of roads. also throwing the
county road funds into a single ac-
count and having state engineers or
county engineers plan fer the cxpend-
lures of the funds.
They complain thai under the pres
ent system, we are wasting money
and not getting good roads. This
may be the truth in some eases and
in others "a good many too.) 1t is
certain That we do get as much out
OF the. money expended, as we do in
other lines of public work.
We believe that a certain percent
Of the funds must 20 toward fixing Il
especially bad places of roads that
may exist and also to build expensive
bridges that are for the benefit Of
the whole section, but most of the
money OUGHT to be used directly on
the roads of the lands where ii is
raised. or what benefit to the
people of Il score Of counties, will a
state road be from Omaha to Den
yer.
OF what benefit to two thirds Of tn
county would a road be, that crossed
that county.
We will find a dozen men in every
county waiting for the chance TO get
contracts. These men will are a
bout as much for the general well
fare as an old hen does for a spring
hat. All they will want Is n chance
at the funds.
We may waste some money under
the present plan, but it belongs to
the people who are right on the
ground to see it wasted or used prop
erly if they SO desire.
Several years ago we spent a lot
of money hiring an expert road build
er to go over the state and tell us
how to make the cheapest and most
practical roads out of the material
right on the spot. They were roads
that did not require expensive ma
chinery and expensive engineers to
build. Simply build a grade with "A
good machine and then drag through
the year with a split log drag.
This work could be done with the
force already found in every COM
munity, il is rapidly executed and
makes good roads. Now we have
about one mile out Of every twenty
five worked to n limited extent by
this method.
Every stroke of work has paid and
every one says that the drag is all
right. But in many sections the
authorities refused to recognize this
plan. They would not build drags,
nor pay a farmer for building his
own drag and using it.
Wherever it was done right, the
thing has been a decided success.
Now some of the people want to
get a more expensive system. They
want to centralize the work and
build SOME good roads.
We believe that if our legislators
who profess to be in Lincoln, work
ing for the general good, desire to
do us a real favor, they will enact
a law that will allow and compel the
local authorities to pay reasonably
every farmer dragging his own roads.
In this way each mar could af-
ford to drag the roads passing his
farm. If any farmer refused to do
this work or was so situated hat he
could not get to it, it should be made
profitable enough to induce some
one of his neighbors to do it.
Let us use the system We have
paid the experts to explain to us and
which a few liberal people AVE dem
onstrated, vas a success.
Tax the farmer good and strong
and other people as well, then per
NIT us to work out a goodly share of
this tax in dragging our %neighbor-
hood roads.
Do not compel the farmer to do
it, but make it as profitable as pos
sible for him to do it and have ii
done under systematic methods.
If every mile of road in Nebraska
was worked under this system, there
would only be isolated stretches
where any other work would be need
ed. If you need a county engineer
at all, it would be to build perma-
nent bridges and we think that this
can be done withou such an officer
and centralizing all the funds.
Let us have a road law that will
enable us to use the known and
tried plans and keep most of the
money right in the n~eighborhood that
pays it out.
If we must have a county engineer,
let us have the funds kept in the
IL