Bisbee daily review., 1914-06-11
Thursday Morning, June II, 1914.
ARlzoNAs ROAD PROBLEM


 Petitions were circulated in Bisbee yesterday in fur herance of the proposal for constitutional amendment to provide five million dollar bond issue complete a system of highways in Arizona The issue is the largest ever sought in the history Of the commonwealth l;s size and the consequent demand 1t will make upon the taxable resources of the we'll calculated to give taxpayers pause The ends to which the five millions would be devoted also call for consideration be- fore the proposition is accepted or rejected.
 The subject is one which makes a strong bid for pop ulary and within this attribute is danger Public wei. fare and popularity do always march hand in hand IL is decidedly pleasant to contemplate bond issue which would furnish state highway system But is there suf fceut guarantee that five million dollars worth of good roads would be delivered after the taxpayers had delivered over the money2 The ease ease with which voters can sign petitions and mark affirmative ballots may be lkened to that of endorsing When the note falls due they will have to pay. Before their hands have committed them. their heads should do much thinking.
 Five million dollars is a tremendous bond issue to be applied to single project state having the linn tied population of Arizona approximately greater than New York States s1OOOoOOoO bond issue for good roads or the s17OOooOO voted by California taxpayers in other words should Arizona undertake the burden
 
 that they believe themselves better off economically to swing this obligation than tine citizens of Ne" York and California to swing theirs.
 Are they? Is this your opinion, Mr. Taxpayer, you who have signed or declined sign the petition? You who will vote for or against the amendment
 It has been the history of big bond issues for public improvements in many states that shoclngly large amount of the proceeds found their way into pork barrels Weeds of corruption force themselves to the surface in road making because Of the very nature o the work It is distributed large area; 1t re ouires the employment of large numbers of men and tho use of large quantities of material it is inevitably honeycombed with it has not gone far beyond the experimental stage; and it does not lend itself t' the unified supervision which is possible in less eS tended projects
 A question over which taxpayers should deliberat before committing themselves, is:
 Are the safeguards surrounding the project as ample as the project is alurng?
 Damaging criticism is more readily created thai helpful suggestion. It is thing to destroy pia and another thing to create The plan which Engin ger Lamar coob has prepared reveals the most pains taking care and high order of intelligent treatment In inc last analysis it's success depends absolutely upo tb unouaiaed honesty and efficiency of public official and pubIic officials are politicians Are Mr. Cobb am others friends of the too alruiste in coneeain that honest men only secure public office? Do tn records bear out this concuson2 Are the safeguard sdeouate to combat such dishonesty and neniciency have developed in Che pas? Mr. Cobb answers In the a frmative. and # the taxpayers are of the same mn' ttev win put the stamp of approval on his plan
 The taxpayer who assumes that his verdict on u measure commits him solely to the measure itself coul pot CIT more sreyously. In voting for it, he pledge himself to oonane his vote the next twenty year to honest and enicient governors It is easy enous to propose that five million dollars shall be eHpende ,, state boards of control and state engineers. VIII m easy to secure state boards of control and state e pipeers who WILL give the people value received t' fbeir moneyq Are there safeguards which VIII ava in case there is not succession of governors in Al
 na for the next twenty who will turn their paci to te opportunity of building up their political If nc ersonal fortunes by exercising unwholesome patronal n carving out the road work The expenditure of h' million dollars cannot be otherwise than surcharged w temptations for graft and patronage Human nature a sailed by political fires not yet sufficiently strong