Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-08-27

OF the revenues of Pennsylvania
nearly two-thirds is appropriated for
educational eleemosynary and chari-
table purposes, nearly S10.00O,0OO be-
ing for educational purposes, of which
amount over $7,000,000 is applied to-
ward the maintenance of public
schools, as State aid to the local dis
tricts.
What State or empire can produce
a greater showing?
Pennsylvania has reason to be proud
that she is the envy of her sister
States, and the Republican party takes
pride in being the moving cause
thereof.
There are few functions of the gov-
ernment which have more intimate re-
lation to the comfort of the masses
of people and their welfare than the
care of the public highways. Pennsyl-
vania has committed herself to a COM
prehensive and generous plan of aid
ing the local authority in the con-
struction and maiptenance of the
principal public roads of the State. 1t
was proposed that the Commonwealth
should make a loan to carry out this
great plan and make an imm ediate
start upon providing a system of lay
ing the highways which would reach
every important community, but a
majority of those voting upon the con-
needed to make such project posi-
BILE expressed themselves as opposed
to the creation of debt for this pur-
pose. We do not believe that 1t is
the wish of the people of Pennsylvania
that the system of highways taken
over by the State shall be turned back
to the townships to add to the weight
of local taxation, but feel that every
effort should be made to set aside suf-
ficient funds from the revenues of
the Commonwealth to maintain these
roads in a proper manner and speed
lily to provide for their permanent i'm
provement according to the most adj
vanced scientific methods.
We pledge ourselves to insist upon
liberal appropriations for the purpose
and to the economic and businesslike
administration of the State Highway
Department.
The last General Assembly appro-
priated the money received in the
State Treasury from the licenses of
motor vehicles and their operators, for
the specific purpose of maintaining
and improving the State highways;
and many hundreds of thousands of
dollars, sufficient to have placed in
good condition the roads embraced
in the State highway plan were paid
in and became available for this work;
but the Auditor General and the State
treasurer, nOSLlle 10 Ine
party and antagonistic to the State
administration, of which they should
be a cooperative part, persistently re-
fused to honor the acquisitions of the
State Highway Department in the
use of this vast idle fund; and despite
the fact that the court and the law
officers of the Commonwealth swept
aside the legal technicalities and art
full plans which had been interposed
to sustain the impossible position
taken by these officials, they succeed
ed in hampering and hindering the
work of the department, and for more
than a year absolutely tied up the
work of maintaining the State high
way, with the result that not only the
people of the State were inconveni-
enced and injured, but damage
amounting to practical destruction re-
suited to many of the roads of the
State. We shall insist upon the COM
pliance by the officers of the Com
monwealth with the provision of the
law known as dirt road law and
upon the necessary appropriation and
such further legislation as may be
necessary for the maintenance of the
highways known as dirt road" used
by so great a portion of our farming
community.