Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-08-17
,eoa4 administration which 4 0n /,

eoaA administration which Is 0nive,s-
~ conceded to he the very acme of
! eftiriency-namei statute labor
the working out Of property Iax
| Men who work out their tax do ::
sruIgingly because they think tfs.
are being imposed upon. They do
poorly because tits work which Oh
know but little about. They render
{ least possible amount Of service =
. cause it seems to be the, general
derstanding that. the object Of q
statute iaborer shonld be to shirk We
rather than TO perform it. There
scarcely aDS attempt at discipline nj
! 1t is obvious that discipline with 81.
, an asSeClNase OF workmcn would !,
impossible. T. - = 4
:, Mary oc the states provide. FOR woft
ing out the property road tax. and Il.
has grown TO be an even greater sour
Of weakness than statute labor, for
1904 about $o6,J00.OOO of the proper
tax was paid in labor, or, in 9th
words. was practically wasted.
Opposition on the part of ultra con
seryatives to the general improveme'
Of the public roads is frequently base
on the belief that the advocates
road Improvement contemplate 81
facing with hard material the emit:
100000 miles Of earth road in &
United States. They point to the f.,
that to macaGamize 100000 miles
$1,000 per mile would cost $10.0600 Ca
000 That this is a mistaken view q.
the subject can be easily demonsirat
ed. When al the roads Of the countr
are classified according to traffic re
quirements it will result in the elinla
nation of many thousands Of miles o
totally unnecessary road and Of man.
more thousands of miles by relocation
Strengthening Of curves and various
other exIedients. ~
Careful investigations have been car
ried on in various parts of the country
which prove that about 20 per cent OF
the roads accommodate about 80 pei
cent of the traffic, so that Ii the reads
nre to be improved in such a way as
to do the greatest good to the great.
est number It will be- necessary to Inn
prove only about one-ffth Of the total
mileage with stone and other hard MA
terials. leaving the rest to be taken
care of as earth roads.
The whole subject OF road improve
ment in the United States is now pass
ing through a transitory stage. We are
striving not only to meet the new
conditions Of traffic with new forms
of construction. but our various state
legislatures are actively engaged in
endearoring to meet the demand for
road Improvement by the enactment OF
suitable legislation and by the appro-
priati6n of the necessary funds.
s. We have tried many expedients In
tie administration OF our public roads.
among fben the Ton road system, which
involves private c0ntrol over q public
utility. This Is manifestly unsonnd in
a public enterprise, and 1t IS source
Of qualification that the toll road sys-
TEN has been largely abandoned.
Even in the states which have fol-
lowed a progressive policy during the
last few years most Of the roads are
still under local control. Year. by year
we have been frittering away our mil
lions maintaining the roads in their
primitive condition until the yearly
tribute Of road taxes in the United
States now amounts to over $4,000
600 and our petty road officials have
grown to an army more than 100000
strong. The Incompetence of a large
number Of officials is more difficult to
than the incompetence of a sin.
gle official. It is manifestly impossible
for district or township with limited
revenues to secure the assistance. adj
vice and supervision Of high grade
engineer. whereas In centralized sys-
tenn the cost Is 50 widely distributed
rs to impose but q slight burden on