New Ulm review., 1913-02-19
Washington Letter

3 s.s-~nssen.e !
The Post Once appropriation act
of last year contained 4 provision
for the appointment of joint COM
mittee composed Of five members OF
the Senate and an equal number Of
the House, to make inquiry into the
subject of federal aid In the con-
struction of Post Roads and report
at the earliest practicable date. This
committee. of which Senator Jonathan
Bourne, Jr., of Oregon, is the chair
man has been conducting an ex-
haustive investigation covering good
roads. Hearings are being held, the
testimony of road experts is being
solicited, and, in addition. q thoro in.
quiry by correspondence Is being con-
Quoted.
AS result Of this committees
activities and Investigations It Is be.
lieved that much valuable data and
information will be collected which
will be of great aid to Congress In
framing future good'road legislation.
Senator Bourne has already made his
preliminary report to the committee,
and it covers q wide field Of investi.
CATION in this and foreign countries.
It contains the replies of governors
and State highway commissioners who
were requested to furnish definite in.
formation on ten different points.
Among the questions propounded. the
following will serve, to illustrate, the
scope and tendency of the present
good.road investigation: what Off,
GERS of your State are charged with
the custody of public,road funds? Do
the laws of your State authorize the
issuance or the incurring Of other
indebtedness for permanent highway
improvements? Are the road laws
Of your State such as to permit OF
your participation in a plan for road
construction in cooperation with the
Government? II you are an advocate
of Federal participation in : highway
construction, please outline briefly
your idea of the plan on which such
participation should be based"
In connection with this last inquiry
it may be interesting to note the views
of Geo. w. Cooley, State Highway
Commissioner of Minnesota, as ex-
pressed in his letter to Senator
Bourne, and made portion of the
report referred to above. Mr.. Cooley
writes, in. part, as follows: Il believe
the general sentiment throughout the
West is almost. if not quite unanl-
mously, in favor of Federal coopera-
ton. The people who settled the
great West, contributed to the trans
continental railways s25O,000,OO0, or
rather they paid double minimum
prices for even sections lying within
the railroad land grants in order to
make good the price of such grants
by the Government, and we believe
We are justified in asking a return
of this money for the purpose OF
still further improving our means
of intercommunication
Mr.. Cooley suggests the creation
of national commission OF such num-
ber as may be deemed best to have
charge of the distribution on an
equitable basis of a federal appro- |
priation on $25,OO0,0OO annually for
ten years. He points out in his letter
to Senator Bourne that we have built
at considerable expense a large mile
age of post roads, and, in his opinion,
the government should help maintain
them. This may be done, he thinks
by an allowance of $40 to $25 per
mile per annum. He declares II q
national highway commission should
be organized along the line he has
indicated proper rules could be for.
mulated for the maintenance of all
roads. on which government aid hao
been allowed, or cause the same 70
be maintained out of the annual al
lowance. In his opinion the proper
ton of government aid should be 5o
per cent, the States and local com
munities contributing the other hall,
with such conditions of construction
laid down to insure good, permanent
highways and bridges.
Another feature of the report is
that dealing with the road situation
in foreign countries. A glance at the
chart prepared by Senator Bourne,
containing a compilation of figures
on the status of good roads III
Europe convinces one that we are
far behind other nations in this re-
spect. While the United States main
tains an investigative and educatlona!
department, known as the othce OF
public roads, in most OF the foreign
countries covered by the investigator
the national governments go much
further and have close supervision
over the subject of road construc'
ton. This is the situation in Austria,
Hungary, France and Italy. Denmark
has a general superintendent of high.
ways, who has supervision over all
roads in the Kingdom. In Austria
road construction is let to CONTRACT
under government engineers. but
maintenance and reconstruction is
left to the Province, district or town.
France, which boasts of 23,754 miles
of national highways, constructed at
an average cost of $4,000 per mile,
has full and complete charge OF gov
ernment roads. A minister of public
works in Italy supervises the national
highways. New Zealand has a sys-
tenn of joint supervision by the gov
ernment department of public WORKS
and the various local units. Russia
H.. p,i1oS. nf most roads most.