The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1913-07-22
SupcE SMITH WRITES AGAIN
OF THE COUNTY TURNPIkES

Editor Bourbon News:
Please allow me space in your paper
to state a few facts in regard to our
turnpikes, the tax rate and kindred
matters.
/ was a member of the Court Gun
der the old Constitution called Court
of Claims, and the new, Fiscal Court
continuously from 1884 to 1906 and the
first session ! attended IN 1884 l was
appointed on the turnpike committee,
serving continuously on that commit
tee from 1884 to 1900, when / was
elected presiding officer of the Court,
and advised with the turnpike commit
tee from that time until / retired from
Office
During the period from 1884 to 1900
there were more turnpikes construct
ed than any other like period in the
history of the county Those turn
pixies cost from $1,000 to $1,000 per
mile, or an average of $4,000. That in
eluded making the fills, the culverts,
grade, putting on the mapped stone
(nine inches on each side and twelve
inches in the center) the stone dirted
with fine dirt one and one-half inches
TO make a bond, shouldered with dirt,
eighteen inches on the outside of the
stone on each side and ditched on each
side, three feet wide and eight inches
deep on the outside of grade and
shoulders. A turnpike constructed in
this manner was good for fifteen or
twenty years without repairs.
From the best information l can
get the present Fiscal Court has put
$4,000. per mile on the same thirty-five
miles of turnpike every year or two
for the last eight years, using about
the entire road fund for the benefit of
the fovored few and to the detriment
of the many.
/ say most positively and know
whereof / speak, with good business
management the present turnpike fund
properly used, would put good coat
of rock on every rod of turnpike in the
county every two years and have the
roads properly ditched, the new rock
dirted, rolled to bond it and in two
years every turnpike in the county
could be in first-class condition for
travel, as good, yes, even better than
the turnpikes of Clark or Fayette
counties.
The Fiscal Court of 1902 to 1906
kept the turnpikes of the county in
reasonably good repair with a road
fund of $4,000 or $4,000 year and if
the fund had been $4,000 or 100000
a year, by 1906 every turnpike in Bour-
bon County would have been a model
road
About our tax rate and the value
of Bourbon county property: The tax
levy made by the Fiscau Court in 1905
was 80 cents and the value of proper
ty about S14 100000. Today the task
levy is $110 and the property value
about $4,000, an increase of 80 cents
in the tax rate and about one-third in
property value. Practically all the
raise in property has been in land, and
the farmers stock. The city values
have remained about the same, and
this raise of value in property and tax
rate has made the farmers taxes about
double what they were in 1906. VIII
this increase of tax the farmer sees
his turnpike roads lwih the exception
of about 35 miles, more than three
hundred miles, going back to dirt
roads or even worse.
And one word about the malicious
contemplate insult offered me in the
Paris Democrat of July II, because
defended the good names of Judge
Samuels, Judge Halves, Judge Turney
Judge Mann and others. The public
will know the source from which il
came and will make due allowance
H. c.. SMITH.