Jefferson jimplecute. (Jefferson, Tex.) 1907-1926, 1913-08-14

| DOnulnE STATUTES are TeNiSeu ana
eoditied.
The present law, which re
quires a thirds majority vote
to carry road bond election in
a county and in division OF
a county seems to be ultra con
sentative. This should be
amended so that majority of
the people may determine wheth
er or not they wish to issue
bonds.
Another question which fire.
quently comes tous is the rate of
interest on these bonds. The
law requires that the bonds
shall bear not to exceed ) l2 per
cent interest, and that they shall
be sold at par and accrued in
terest. The intent of this is to
compel careless and incompe-
tent county officials to secure
full value for their bonds. While
this intent is laudable, this law
smacks strongly of an effort to
legislate real value into piece
of paper which may not be worth
full price in the financial markets
of the country. Such efforts
have always proven failure and
always do So The lower the
rate of interest, the higher the
limit of the amount Of the bonds,
the poorer the type Of construct
ion, and the less care given to
the maintainence Of the roads,
all are factors that tend to cut
down the price the bonds will
bring in the market A per
cent bond which has to be heavi-
ly dicounted in the market may
cost more than 5 12 per cent
bond, which brings par.
Proper Expediture of Bond
Money:
The proper expenditure of
money realized by the sale Of
bonds is of vital importance. In
the first place, as | have indica.
ted above, the bonds themselves
will be more means as desirable
commercial paper are assured
that the money will be judicious-
ly expended and will buy the
community it's full value in i'm :
provements. A bond, the pro-
ceeds of which are squandered,
is by no means saleable if the
buyers of tie bonds per as a
bond whose proceeds have
brought real value to the commu-
nifty which have thus obligated
itself.
But the big end af the ques-
ton has reference to the people
in the community who pay the
costs. We borrow money on
bonds. If they are 5 per cent
bonds ard run for forty years,
we will have paid out in inter
est and principal CONSIDERABLY
more than twice the face of the
bonds, and we will be over a
generation in making final set
Element. 1t is, therefore obvi-
Gus that such money should be
expended most carefully and
with view to permanence. If
we do not give our people dol
lars worth of road for every dol
lar expended, especially from
bond money. there will soon
come a time when the flare
back" will come and the good
roads cause will be tremendously
hampered on account Of the fail
ure of these roads, though fire.
quently built at high cost.
Maintainence:
1t is almost impossible to Sc
parate good construction and
good maintainence. | am sure
that every person here realizes
that a road cannot be built so
we'll as to last always. In other
words, there is no such a thing
as a really permanent road.
Permanence should, therefore,
have reference to those types of
construction which will last as
long as possible and will lend
themselves readily TO proper
and continual maintainence. In
this way, and this only in this
way, can roads be made to last
throughout the life of the bond.
Just as poorly constructed roads
to give adequate service without
proper maintainen g. These
two things are interdependent,
and must be insperabley linked
together if we would secure per
manent good roads.
All OF you know that | am an
ardent advocate OF the bond
method in securing money to i'm
prove our roads. | spend a great
deal of my time in such cam
paigns and have been connected
with a great number of them.
But | wish TO go on record here
and now, as | have done on many
former occasions, by saying that
we are not justified in adyocat-
ing the issuance of bonds for the
construction of good roads, un-
less We at the same time advo-