The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-03-14
ALL MUST Be SPENT ON ROADS
County Must Provide for Purchase of
Machinery From Other Funds and all
Money Received from State Highway
Fund Must Be Spent Building Roads.

used by counties for the purchase or
rental Of machinery, stone quarries or
gravel pits but that every dollar of
the state funds received for road i'm
provement by counties must show up
in an equivalent amount of road work,
was given in response to request for
a determination of the meaning of the
state aid road act by the Milwaukee
county highway commission, and will
prove embarrassing to Highway Com
missioner Kuelling and his associates
in the work Of highway Improvement
in that county.
Milwaukee county has 1852, 900 to ap-
ply on good roads work this year, or
about $4,000 more than double the
amount of state aid apportioned to that
county. It had been planned to expend
about $4,000 in the purchase of ma
chinery, in grading and in construction
work upon about half of the seventeen
miles of road to be improved in the
county this year and to let the rest by
contract, but the question arose Wheth-
er the state commission would regard
expenditures by the county for equip
ment as expenditure in road improve
ment or not, hence the proposition put
up to the attorney general. 1t had
been planned to let the road work up
on contract in the event the law was
construed against the use of state
funds for machinery, but the attorne1
general s opinion will not permit even
this, as he holds the law means what
it says when it provides that counties
must supply the equipment.
There is money enough and in plenty
for the purchase of machinery it IL
would not deplete the county funds So
that there would not be enough to call
for the full apportionment made by
the state, as the county is to supply
So for every 81 given by the state.
The attorney general holds in his
opinion that where work is let by con-
tract separate specifications are to be
made of rental and wear Of machinery
and that sums allowed for these pur-
poses shall not figure. as a basis TO:
claims for state aid. The justice of
this view is apparent when it is con,
sidered that otherwise the county that
fails to provide suitable road machin-
cry would have an advantage over
counties that do so provide.
Another question which Is troubling
some of the county highway commits
sioners Of the state is whether or not
the low rates granted to the state COM
mission by the railroads on crushed
rock and gravel, used in read improve
ment of prospective state highways,
will apply to cement used in the con-
struction Of bridges and culverts
This question was discussed somewhat
at the good roads school III Madison
and the opinion of the state comnis-
sion as then stated was adverse to such
a construction of the privilege.
Tt was pointed out that there could
be no certainty that the cement was
to be used in road work and as the
!
rate of half cent per ton mile grant
ed by the roads is lower even than
the charge they make for hauling their
own coal, it was held that, the gener
osity Of the railroads had reached its
limit in handling the stone or gravel
for the improvement of the highways.
The offer is not published tariff and
to take advantage of it the county
must do so through the state highway
commission.
The state commission is not commit
ted to any definite plan for the road
work in the several counties of the
state. State Engineer A. r. Hirst told
the county commissioners at Madison
at the good roads school that the work
Of the first year would be somewhat
experimental but that experience with
Jobs as small and scattered as the work
in this state would be had not been
encouraging under the contract system
Engineering and inspection costs would
be larger on contract work in most of
the counties than where the county
does the work for itself.
The example of such counties as
Ashland and Green, which disregard
local labor and have their regular road
building gangs which travel with the
road outfits and live in tents was
pointed to as worthy of trial by other
counties and viii probably be adopted
by many of the counties out in thu
state. With Milwaukee county the
ease is probably different. because the
work to be done here is on far diff
ferent scale.
1t is probable that the experience of
the first year will lead to radical
snange in the method of financing road
inproyeme Nts ia most Of the counties