Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1913-05-28
Huge Road Plans.


Oregon has presented to a joint con.
gressional committee a plan for ex-
pending three billion dollars for
good roads within the United States
Three billions sounds like a huge
sum for any purpose, and it is a
huge sum; but when it is remember
ed that the Bourne suggestion con-
templates extending this appropria-
tion over period of fifty years, the
aggregate seems to lose some of its
mammoth proportions, especially
when one reflects that this amount
is only three times the biennial ap-
propriations made by Congress for
general purposes the Kansas City
Journal says. I'm fifty years at the
present rate-and it is certain to go
higher-Congress will appropriate
$25, 200, 100000. 1t is inevitable
that the expenses of the government
will be increased rather than de-
creased. Spread over fifty years, a
bond issue of three billions means an
annual appropriation of only &c.
900, 700, as contrasted with an an
nual total appropriation by Congress
of half a billion. If the Bourne plan
was adopted the country would
spend for good roads the equivalent
of 13 per cent of it's annual ap-
Enthusiastically not an ex-
travagant outlay for the establish
ment and maintenance of such a tre-
mendous system of highways as
three billion dollars would insure.
In round numbers, the country
spends quarter of a billion every
year on its army and navy, the BIZ
ennial appropriations carrying al
most two dollars for military and
naval purposes for each dollar de-
voted to other expenditures. If in
round numbers, the country spends
$30O,000,000 every year on its army
and navy, is it terrifying to conteIn-
plate the expenditure Of $6,000,000
on good roads, cents for good
roads and SO cents for soldiers, forts,
sailors and battleships?
If $6,O00,000 year for good
roads seems large amount for the
federal government to appropriate,
what shall be said of the figures
which show that last year only five
sixths of the states of the Union
spent ten times that amount for the
same purpose? New York alone
spent $15,000,000, two-and-one-halt
times as much as Mr.. Bourne sug-
gests shall be expended by the fedef-
al government. Illinois spent halt
as much as New York. Iowa spent
$7,0O0,000. Even Missouri, which
has some of the worst roads in the
entire country, as we'll as some OF
the best, expended half as much as
Mr.. Bourne wants the United States
to spend, while Kansas spent almost
| $5,000,000. Other states spent
large sums, and yet the industry
of good roads is only in it's infancy
In New York for instance, the state
which spent S15,000,000 in one
year, though 5000 miles of good
roads were built, there are only H.
900 of the $4,000 miles of roads in
the state classed as improved, and
improved" is proverbially an elias
tic term. The Western states, OF
course, show much smaller percen-
tage of improved roads. In Kansas,
for instance, the figures denote that
there are only 45O miles of improv-
ed highways out of $4,000 miles OF
roads. Missouri shows 4,750 miles
of improved roads out of total
road mileage of 10S,O00. Iowa has
but $500 out of 100000, and Wis
consin has but $4,000 out of $1,000.
In comparison with the immense
sums being disbursed by the several
states, the suggestion that the gov
ernment spend $6,OO0,0OO year
does not seem unreasonable. 1t is
only when one thinks in terms OF
fifty years, rather than in annual
outlays that the total seems formid-
able. Dubuque Telegraph-Herald
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