The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-09-17
4 PERMANENT ROAD
POLICY NOW BEING
OPPOSED BY MANY
CONTINUED from Page One.)

IF permanently improving most of the
principal roads, said one of the large
taxpayers of the city today, Are the
commissioners certain that such
Polcy Is the most efficient and eco
pomical one to5give the county a bet
Ter Highway sssfem?
= He Suggests Remedy.
personally | believe that If an eff
ncient system for maintaining the
gravel roads of the county was estab-
lished ttat within a few years our
roads would be just as serviceable as
the paved highways. 1t Is unfair to
assume tfat our gravel highways have
been failure, because they have new
er been properly cared for. Next year
this county will have a highway COM
missioner and If he is a competent
man and will establish a systematic
method of maintaining the gravel
roads. it will not be long until they
were brought up to their utmost eff
cheney, which would mean an excel
lent highway system servicea BILE all
seasons of the year.
The cost of bringing our highways
up to this point of efficiency would also
be much less than policy calling for
The paving of our roads. There would
also be relief to the taxpayers from
the constantly increasing taxes.
How to Maintain Roads.
"Take a good gravel road, keep 1t
the proper curve so that it will be well
drained; keep it well graveled, and
gravel Is cheap in this locality; keep
the bitches clear and see to it that
the road is we'll worked over with
King drag at frequent intervals, es-
pecially after a rain, and you will soon
have roadway that will stand up I'M
der hard travel and be serviceable
during the worst seasons of the year
Our new highway commissioner could
supervise the work and make such a
system of road maintenance practical
He Is allowed an assistant to every
twenty-five miles of free county road
way and there is now about $50 miles
of such roads in Wayne county. This
mileage could be increased by the
various townships bringing the roads
under their jurisdiction up to the re-
quired standards and then transfer
ing them to the jurisdiction of the
county. BY thus increasing the mile
age of county highways, Wayne county
can increase the percentage of the
state automobile tax it Is entitled to,
which money can be turned into a
special fund for the upkeep of county
highways.
May Drive People Away.
81 sincerely hope that the people of
Wayne county will realize the import
ance of checking this epidemic of road
building under the three mile law
which is sending the tax rate sky
high, and will exert their influence to
have the gravel roads already con-
structed brought up to their maximum
efficiency. If we do not get back to
normal soon on this road building
question our tax rate will be so high
that we will see many people espec-
tally Wayne township people, leaving
this county to engage in business
elsewhere where taxes are not extor-
tionate.
Are paved county roads so essen
tial that they counterbalance the
'hardships they impose on all classes
of our citizens. Much greater tax In
creases will throw our wholesalers and
manufacturers into unfair compete
ton with wholesalers and manufactur
ers in places where taxes are normal
1t can be readily seen what effect such
a condition would have on the other
classes of our citizens