Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1914-07-17

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laws providing that counties must lay
out a county system of highways,
elect a county highway commissioner,
provide the machinery for construc-
ton, and pay one-half the cost of
all surfaced roads when towns pro-
vided the other half. These laws
stayed on the statute books from 1908
to 1911, inclusive, and % of the II
counties in the state acted under
them, either fully or in part. Some
of these counties did excellent work,
and some of the counties did work
which was indefensible.
| At the end of the four years, as
above stated, % counties were act
ing more Or less theoretically, and
in the last year of the operation of
this law Q911) in these % counties
there was constructed in the neigh
borhood of 1875 miles of road, cost
ing about 100000. 1t will be noted
| that 40 counties in the state failed
utterly to make any provision for
carrying out the provisions of the
county aid laws even though the
laws were compulsory and not OPP
tional. 1t is further true that of the
% counties that did act, not more
than half secured satisfactory re-
suits for the money expended. 1t is
an interesting and remarkable fact
that most of the counties advocating
a change from the state aid to a
county aid system are counties which
never acted in any way, shape, or
form under the county aid laws, nor
constructed one inch of road during
the four years they We're in effect.
| Operations in those counties which
acted under the county aid law in an
efficient way were so successful that
| it seemed desirable to remove the
constitutional bar which prevented
the state from giving aid for inter
nal improvements, so that the state
might participate in road construc-
| ton. An amendment to the cOnstitu-
ton was therefore proposed and
passed in the fall of 1908. The
amendment secured a majority OF
about $4,000 and carried every coun-
~ save seven.
| The State Aid Law
| The legislature of 1911, realizing
| that the county aid law was not
producing the widespread results ad-
visable for the good of the whole
state, passed the present state aid
law. This law provides that counties
should lay out the same kind of a
system of highways, appoint county
| highway commissioner, and provide
| the machinery and construct the
roads in much the same way as UNI
der the county aid laws which were
repealed. A state highway commits
sion, serving without salary was Gre
ated, and an engineering force suffi-
cient to insure proper plans and uni
| formity and efficiency in construction
was provided for. The law provided
that for improvements on highways
laid out by the county board, the
town should pay One-third, the cOun-
ty one-third (unless the county board
desires to make improvements under
the county system in which case the
county pays two-thirds and the state
One-third), and the state One-third,
and provided for the levy upon all
counties of a direct state tax Of
$500 and further provided that II
counties did not make sufficient ap-
preparations, the taxes levied against
those counties might go to those 9TH
er counties which provided appropri-
ations calling for amounts from the
state in excess of the state tax lev
led upon them.
| The intent of this law was plainly
to produce an increase in the con-
struction of modern highways through
the state, and this intent has GER
tainly been realized In the first
year of the law Q911) $50 towns
in IS counties applied for $450,OO0 in
state aid; in the second year Q912)
900 towns in 6S counties acted and
asked for $S30,OOO in state aid, and
in the third year (1913) over 1900
towns, villages and cities in II coun-
ties asked for $1,550,O0O in state aid.
TIL construction in 1912 amounted to
81 300, 900; in 1913, to $2,600,0O0, and
in 1914 will amount to $4,300,00O. In
1912 there were constructed 469 miles
of all types of roads; in 1913 about
/, 900 miles, and in 1914 there will be
constructed about 1000 miles. In the
three years $50 new bridges will have
been constructed
| If it is desirable to construct good
roads and good bridges, the present
state aid law has brought about this
result; if it is desirable that con-
struction should be widespread rath-
err than confined to a few counties,