The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-03-29
Made in Washington County, Re-
ported by Commissioner Gates
AT THE CONFERENCE TODAY
Every Town in the County Was Repre-
sented at Montpelier, and the Total
Attendance Of Selectmen and com
missioners Was Ninety.

The eighth in the list OF county
good roads conferences being held by
State Highway Commissioner C. w.
Gates Of Franklin was held at Mont
pelier to-day, and there were present
ninety selectmen and road commission
ers, representing every one of the twenty
towns Of Washington county. Mr.. Gates
expressed himself as very much gratifed
with the attendance, saying it was one
OF the best evidences of interest he had
seen.
The meeting started at 1880 o'clock,
with Commissioner Gates presiding, after
which welcome to Montpelier was ex-
tended by Mayor Estee and the confer
ence got down to the business at hand.
The greater part of the forenoon session
was taken up with a talk by Commits
sioner Gates. who, during the course of
his remarks, asserted that last year
Washington county was the banner
county OF the state in the average money
voted for permanent roads. Last year
the towns voted So44l, and the same
amount was voted this year at the re-
cent town meetings.
Mr.. Gates said that he had been
watching the progress of good roads in
Washington county for the past five
years, and he had been much encouraged
by the advance. During last season a
total of $4,000 was spent for roads,
and twelve miles of it were built. In
fact, the towns had spent S3,400 more
than they had originally appropriated,
tbs amount being largely due to the
action of the Barre city council in rails
ing its original appropriation by 81 900.
Speaking OF the state at large, Com
missioner Gates revealed the progress rs
indicated by the constantly decreasing
number of towns which have not gone in
for the state aid plan. Six years ago, he
said, 81 towns failed to take advantages
of the states offer to match towns
appropriation up to a certain point; last
year 2s towns failed to take the chance,
while this year only Is towns failed to
vote for the state aid And two or
three of these eighteen towns were going
to call special town meetings, he said,
TO enable them to secure state aid
On the question of actual road build
ing, Mr. Gates warned his audience
against employing as road commissions
ers those people who were not in posi-
tion to give to the work all the time
same brand Of honesty applies to this
good roads movement as to others, and
that workmen in road construction
should not be paid from % to so cents
more per day out of state money than
they are paid out of the town appro-
priation. He warned them also that the
matter of cutting bushes along the road
side has been neglected oftentimes, aud
he impressed upon them the advantage
ii having this work done.
The afternoon session of the confer
,nee adjourned to the Comique theatre
where opportunity was afforded for an
illustrated lecture on the subject of good
-oads. The speaker was j. c. Dodge of
he bureau of good roads in the depart
nent of agriculture at Washington
Mountain Roads" was the subject of
he lecture, and the speaker contrasted
he work as done in Switzerland with
hat done in the United States The adj
lress was closely followed by large
audience there being many besides the
delegates to the conference.