Bisbee daily review., 1912-07-17
POWER
NEW ROAD LAW
Bradner Not Certain Pres
ent Measure Will At
tain Object


The practical operation or some OF
the statutes passed at the regular and
( special sessions OF the legislature.
now that they are being viewed in
the light OF detracting somewhat from
the enthusiasm with which these laws
were received in the beginning. One
that belongs to this class, and which
has come in for some rather severe
criticism lately, is the road fund law,
says the Arizona Republican.
Under this law there is an annual
appropriation of s250,O00 which is to
be used in maintaining and extending
the road system Of the state. I'm
der the arrangement part OF this
fund is to be used exclusively in the
counties from which it is collected
and the other part is to be used IN
( the state at large. This matter, how
ever, is Of secondary Importance; the
attempt TO construct a comprehen-
siye system Of roads by taxation les
We'd from year TO year is the feature
that is causing the most dissatisfac.
ton
/ Early in the regular session is be.
/ came evident that there was sharp
division on the road question. There
were some who favored the ideas ex.
jemplfied in the bin and another fac
tion that wanted 4 state bond issue,
believing that in no other way could
anything like a comprehensive high
way system be established.
Il believe in the bond issue plan
and I believe in it yet" said sam
Bradner, speaker of the house and
also now secretary of the live stock
sanitary board, in discussing the mat
ter last night. but the legislature
chose TO adopt the other plan. The
trouble in advocating a bond issue
was that one always met the obiec-
ton that that would be placing the
state in debt. But 1t seems to me
it should be apparent 10 anyone -shaj
my state that expects 10 make any
thing like comprehensive improve
ments must of necessity issue bonds
a. some time in its career; and /
certainly think it an extremely short
sighted policy to attempt 10 com
struct complete system OF roads
under the plan we ate now pursuing.
1T seems to me the history OF
ether states who have tried the plan
to which Arizona now stands com.
mitted should have been enough. This
plan never has been a success, and in
the very nature of things 1t never
can be a success. Furthermore, 1t is
not just We are assuming a burden
not all of which belongs to us. The
roads we are building are built for
all time, and the people in the fu.
ture will get just as much or more
good from them than will we. ~
certainly seems reasonable, then. that
future generations should be required
to help pay the expense.
Mr.. Bradner had prepared bin
authorizing a bond issue of sufficient
size TO pay for the construction OF
comprehensive system of highways.
II was his idea to issue 30 year
bonds which, he believes, could have
been disposed Of readily at. a four
per cent interest rate.
But before his bill was ready for
introduction the bill which actually
became a law was introduced and
was received with such favor that
the Bradner bill was never put into
the hopper
There are good many others, men
OF far seeing vision, who believe that
the Bradaer idea is the correct one
and should have been crystallized
into the law. II has been pointed out
that the state will never get very
far in an attempt to build roads by
piecemeal ard there is a strong prob
ability that should there be another |
extraordinary session of the legisla- /
ture the coming fall there win be
an attempt to change the law to con-
form to this plan.