The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1913-01-04
i. PROJECT THAT DESERVES
UNANIMOUS SUPPORT.

of the police jury will be held at the
courthouse next Wednesday to con
slider the feasibility Of constructing
gravel roads on both sides of tht
river in this parish from the IberVille
to the st. James line, and on bott
sides Of Bayou Lafourche from Don
jacksonville to the Assumption line
The distance included in this terri
tory is estimated at approximately
fifty miles, and at the price at which
gravel roads have been built in her
VILE parish, $I700 mile, the cost Of
constructing the highways would ag
gregate $85,000
For the past ten years, Ascension
has been spending upwards CT $500
a year in maintaining the roads il
the first and second road districts
comprised between the above lines
And what have we to show for the
money? Right now large part Of
these roads are almost impossible, as
a result of the heavy rains of the
past few weeks, and this is a condi
ton which obtains at least two OF
three times every year. Counting the
cost of permanent highN avs at @$170o
mile, and they can be built for
that, as Iberville has demonstrated
the money almost uselessly expend.
ed in the first and second road dis
tricts during the past decade would
pay for upwards of twenty miles OF
substantial roads, good in all kinds
of weather.
A plan has been worked out by
Secretary-Treasurer C. G. Weber of
the police jury whereby it may prove
possible to construct gravel roads in
the districts named without the levy
ing of a special tax for that purpose.
For the fiscal year 1928 there has
been appropriated to the first road
district $500, and to the second dis
trict $1,000, making total Of s310o.
The vehicle license tax in the first
district. for the past two years has
yielded a revenue of about $3.50 per
annun1, and with better methods of
collection at least $500 can be real
lied from this source. In the same
way, this tax in the second district
can be made to yield $3.50 annually.
Adding this $3.50 to the appropriation
of $500 for the first and second dis
tricts for the current fiscal year, a
total OF $3.50 is shown, which can
be increased to $4,000 by an addition
al appropriation OF $3.50 from the po-
lice jury. A special appropriation of
one-quarter of a mill from the. gen
eraI fund, which can readily be
spared, will yield $1,000, increasing
the total sum available for road-build-
ing purposes to $1,000. 1t is pro-
posed to fund this amount into an
of $$57 900, represented
by certificates bearing 5 per cent in
.erest, and payable in twenty-five or
thirty years; the sum OF $4,000 yearly,
ess 5000 to be set aside for the
and upkeep of the roads,
oeing sufficient to pay the interest
III the certificates and create a sink
ng fund to redeem them in the Pc
ciod stated.
The remaining $4,000 required will
De obtained from the State Highway
Department, coming out Of the pro-
eeeds of the u ~ at ar=uliI good roads
AK which Ascension, like the other
parishes in Louisiana, has been pay
ng since 1910 We are entitled by
aw to demand from the state, for
road building purposes, one-third of
he total amount to be. expended in |
he construction of permanent high
ways, which in this instance would |
amount to $2S,ooD
In brief, this is the plan suggested |
~ roll dc |
project, and it looks good to us. |
There is no getting away from the |
act that money spent for the build
ng of any sort OF roads except the |
kind is money absolutely |
brown away. The lesson has been |
costly one for Ascension, and es-
,ecially for Donaldsonville, which has
ost thousands of dollars Of business
Trough the interruption of traffic /
yer the roads leading to this city
t certain periods of the year. This
vas demonstrated il particularly
tril1ing manner during the recent /
Holiday season, when the volume Of
BUSINESS done by our merchants suf=
cred Woeful depreciation from
ormer years because the roads were
a such condition that the country
eople could not come to town to
make their purchases.
Now we are making an effort to
ct away from the Wasteful, extraFa-
ant, ineffective system of building
Dads heretofore in use. Every mer-
hant, every business man, every pub.
citizen, not only of Don
ldsonville and the first and second
DAD districts, but of the parish at
arge, should attend the police jury
leeting Wednesday and participate
4 the discussion of this important
ubject to the end that something
efinite may be accomplished to-
ard redeeming Ascension from it's
resent condition OF llett.hlargy and
as regards its p4bliHa
Dad system, and placing it in the
ont rank of the states most pro-
ressiFe and prosperous parishes.