The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-05-02
THE TRUNK LINE SYSTEM
Is Vermont Building Roads on the
"Strng Bean" Plan?

ally follow the well defined streams
of travel north and south throughout
both the west and east sides of Yer
mont with occasional connecting
cross lines to make the east and west
sides easily approachable from any
part of the State. These lines would
follow the Connecticut valley from
Vernon to ST. Johnsbury and thence
to New port; through Vermont's
more beautiful Berkshires from Pow
nal to Rutland, thence through the
Champlain valley to Burlington, st.
Adams and Richford, Cross lines
would occur between such points as
Richford through Newport to Island
Pond; Burlington through Morrisville
to st. Johnsbury; Middlebury through
Montpelier to Wells River; Rutland
through Woodstock to White River
Junction; Manchester through Lon
donderry to Bellows Falls; and Ben
nington through Wilmington to Brat
tleboro. Still another line should be
built commencing at Morrisville and
passing through Montpelier, North
| field, Randolph, Bethel, Royalton,
Barnard, Bridgewater, Ludlow, Lon
! donderry, Jamaica to Wilmington,
| the scenic climax of eastern Ameri-
| ca.
These lines would approximate
| 900 miles in length. Additional mile
age would quickly follow connecting
with those trunk lines such towns as
| Swanton, Highgate, Fairfax, Mont
gomery and Bakersfield iR Franklin
county; Essex. Richmond Underhill
and Jericho in Chittenden county;
Bristol, New Haven. Bridport, Orwell
and Shoreham in Addison county:
Sudbury, Castleton, Fair Haven, Poult
ney and Middletown Springs in Rut-
land county; Springfield, Chester,
Rochester and Sharon in Windsor
county; Chelsea and Williamstown in
Orange county; Stowe and Cambridge
in Lamoille county; Lunenburg in Els
sex county; and the towns of Grand
Isle county A completed system of
the magnitude of State built, State
controlled and State maintained high
ways costing S6,000,000 to SS.000,000
and worth to the State five to ten
times as much. As against the pres
ent system, and continuation of the
present policy through period Of ten
years during which at least S13, 900,
600 will be expended by the State,
submit that the trunk line system
outlined above will be immensely
more valuable and more satisfactory
to the inhabitants of Vermont as a
whole.
'In the pursuance of the present
highway policy, including methods of
construction and organization and
string bean results, is Vermont right
and all of her sister States in the
union which are building highways
wrong? Have you thought that Yer.
mont is the only State in the union
which has deliberately turned down
the trunk line construction and as de-
liberately adopted the string bean
policy? Massachusetts, Maine, New
Hampshire, Connecticut Rhode Is
land, New York, New Jersey, Califor-
mia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, the
most progressive States in the bust
ness of road building, all have adopt
ed the trunk line system. Vermont
alone seems paralyzed in her grasp
of this great problem which demands
the treatment of the best brains and
the highest engineering skill of any
public question that has engaged the
thought of her people since the Civil
War. Why do we not thing this prob
lem out logically and intelligently?
Are we paralyzed by its magnitude
and Importance? Or are we permit
ting. through sheer inattention and
careless uncOncern, the continuance
of a drain upon the resources of the
State mounting a million dollars a
year and expended in ways condemn
ed by sound business judgment and
unsupported by experience of prece-
dent anywhere else in the whole
world?
The one largest and most impor-
tant interest in the building of perma-
nent State roads is the farmers in
terest This is not a thought to catch
the unwary tiller of the soil am not
speaking from the viewpoint of the
automobile owner. for | care little for
him. ] never owned a machine in my
life and | would much prefer to drive
fire engine through hades than to
operate an automobile over Vermont
highways during ten months of the
9fais Ing it-hAlg tulltu luuu ldN IN
Vermont is the largest tax paid by
the farmer We hear much today
about amending our wretched tax law
so that double taxation will be remov-
ed and the other manifest inequalities
of Nermont's taxation system elm
mated from the body OF our laws. A
farmer, or anyone else for that mat
ter, will howl long and loudly for re-
lief from the six dollar tax which he
pays upon property which he does not
own But he cheerfully and reverent-
~ walks up to the Legislature and de
nounces by voice and vote a measure
that will cost him one dollar and save
him ten by building from his front
door TO his market a highway that will
enable him TO draw three tons where
he could formerly draw only one. do
it in One-half the time and with one
fourth the wear and tear upon his
team, wagon and harness. These are
not extravagant statements but deter
mined facts. Il has been conserva-
lively estimated by competent author
! ity that the extra cost of transporta-
ton Of farm products and manufac-
lures over the highways Of the United