Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-08-09

the result viii b $50 70 800 miles Of
first class highway covering the
county WITH Detroit - Q center. By
spreading the payment over 20 years II
b found the Increase Ia taxation is 50
small - not to b noticeable. On IN
average 90 acre farm It viii be some
thing hke $40 . rear.
Roads well built are permanent,
given Q moderate amount OF attention.
and expense for maintenance.
. There 10 no reason Why the present
generation should carry the whole bur.
den, and the future should be relieved
therefrom.
The plan Of building Q small piece Of
road every year BY an annual tax, and
extending the road q mile or two Of I
ume 10 unsatisfactory In results, the
cost 10 considerable more than n
should be, and 1t tskes q lous time 10
get the roads. II 20 miles we're buin
at one time In Q township, there would
Be strong composition among contract.
ore and the tar payers would And they
could get their roads from. 10 to rs
per cent. less money. that they would
have better built roads and would have
them to use at once instead OF valtins
ten years or more to build them piece
meal. and have the first mile prac,L
eaily worn out before the last one was
nnished. OF course there would bs
Interest to pay on the bonds, but II the
use OF the roads 10 not worth more 10
the community than the interest on the
bonds. It would not pay to build the
rosds. Money can be borrowed ct four
or nve per cent, and those IN q posi.
ZION to form. GOOD judgment, viii say
that hrst class roads will pay for them.
selves every ave years, or 10 Other
words, that their use 10 worth 20 Der
cent Of the cost each rear.
. One sometimes hears q farmer. who
10 opposed 10 the building Of hard
roads, say that he can raise 10 more
grain or get . larger return from tho
farm by reason Of having good roads.
such q one will attempt to sustain his
position BY stating only part Of tie
whole proposition. OF course Il is true
hat the road has no influence upon
theproduetiyity Of the farm along which
passes, but II does not follow that
the net results are the same, whether
the roads are good or bad.
Only q few days ago the writer was
down In the corn belt Of Illinois AMI
saw four horses hauling q load Of corn
into town. 1t was oil the horses con'd
10 to handle the load. although the
country was comparatively level. Tn.
mud In the road was nearly q foe,
deep. No fair minded man will say
that q crop can be marketed under
such conditions as cbeaply as when fhe
roads are good, and a single team. car
handle the same at twice the speed.
The value Of the farm does not de
pend alone upon what the soil will bro
duce, but upon its accessibility Il
market. the environment and whether
the farm Is In every way desirable a,
place to live. We spend money fol
pleasure and for comfort, and Il /,
right that we should do 80. Probab,
as q rule too little 10 spent 10,
this. Whenever good roads have beef
ouilt In any community, there ha,
been q sharp advance In the price O
land, because the farms are more &C
eessible, The writer has In mind /,
county In northern Indiana vher,
about ten years ago Q system Of 2,
miles Of hard roads we're built. cover
Ing the main highways Of the town
ship. About tSb,O0O we're spent upor
the Improvements, the payment spreat
over ten years. Within q year site,
the roads were built the farmers ver.
asking and getting SIS to ,25 On scr.
more for their farms than they could
nave gotten before the roads Yer,
built. 10 some cases the advance wa,
even more. The increase In taxation
was hardly felt.
one q the prominent residents Of
the township, in commenting upon N,
Improvement, said that the building Of
ne roads eIerted q powerful innuencs
upon the lives Of the people Of N,
toWnship-everybody began to SLICK
ip' q new picket fence replaced the old
tumble down board fence, the house
was painted, walks laid out, and au air
OF thrift was apparent everywhere
Also following the good roads, a toSn.
ship high school was built, and ar.
ransements made to carry the children
10 and from school This was q area,
relief to the isolation tie youua
people were placed under before Inc
roads were built. The new school be.
came the social center and they found
In NAT township that the buildlns Of q
system OF roads was the best invest.
ment they had ever made, and under
no circumstances could they be in.
dueed to 20 back To the old way II
is the same story everywhere; In ever
locality where any community ever be.
gan to build good highways, and had
the experience Of building. usins and
paying for them, the community was
not only satisfied but kept on build.
ing more and more roads. o.,
In the last analysis It will DO found
that the building Of Highways sdds to
the value Of the farm served BY them
several times Tie cost, and this In
crease In farm values 10 only one O,