The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-01-24
ROAD MAKING IN
STATE COST $4,000
Washington County Ranks Second In
State In Amount Expended, Quail
ity of Work and Promptness-
Orleans and Caledonia Next.

Burlington, Jan. "a The annual meet
ing OF the county highway supervisors
OF the state opened with State High
way Commissioner g. w. Gates of
Franklin at the hotel Vermont here yes
terday, when they went over the work
Of the past year and laid plans for the
future. 1t was stated that over $4,000
was expended during 1911 on the $4,000
miles of highway in the state. The
meeting lasted through the afternoon
a most pointed and effective way against
the way in which the officials Of some
towns hold the work back.
He said in part that il used to be the
fashion for selectman in charge of the
work to hire his townsmen, who had
elected him, to use their teams in the
road work during the part Of the year
when they would be the least busy about
their own work which was generally
in the autumn. and this custom cost the
state thousands of dcllars, because when
a little rut il discovered in road in
the spring and then is left until fall
before repairs are made the result is
that what was small early in the season
has become Of considerably increased
size, with the probability that wash
ont has occurred and increased the cost
of repairing from few dollars to
considerable sum Furthermore, by the
time the repairs are made the sumner
travel is over and the next spring
same conditions are gone over. In many
towns this was remediel last year. as
it was evident to all the old system
was most unsatisfactory.
II is only By finding men fit for tic
position of supervisor and then training
them, if they need It, that the tropble
can he removed, and. the state is aiding
materially with the automobile fund and
other surplus money that has been
turned over to the state road work
The special automobile tax last year
amounted to S60000. half Of which went
to repair roads and the other half to re-
move dangerous curves III the roads. The
legislature voted Sf50.000 for read pur-
poses, the towns 100000 and the rest
of the s4l0,000 used last year was de-
rived from the five per cent tax ON tie
grand list The Sl0oe00 voted by the
towns was the largest total ever reached
Next to Franklin county. which stood
first in road work for 1911, Mr. Gates
iiHiitAA " h9tttitR kAh tbNHtNA NstN dAtti
that Orleans and Caledonia. In all
these counties the work was well done
and commenced as early in the spring
rs weather conditions would permit. 1
Their reports were all in promptly and
as result they were awarded a much
larger share of the surplus than some
Of the others Rutland and Bennington
counties We're blacklisted as being slow
to work, slow TO appropriate money /
and had even failed TO get the money
which was due them and might have |
been apportioned to them Chittenden /
county, as whole. ranked we'll but a
few places. including Underhill and Shell
Durne, were 80 backward that 4
hey kept back the whole coun-
ty from ranking wei among /
The rest. About $4,000 Of the surplus |
money was apporti7ned to Chittcnden
county, much of it going to South Bur-
ington. which was the banner town Gf I
.he county It is planned to improve
,bout 500 miles Of the total 1000 |
niles of trunk road in the state during
he present year
The meeting continued to-day.