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

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pended with all other moneys in
1913, while the state tax to produce
this $45O,O0O was not levied until
1914, has produced considerable con-
fusion.
1t is due to this fact that the
state taxes levied for highway i'm.
provement in 1914 on many OK the
counties is in excess of what they
received back in 1914 from the state
highway fund. 1t Is simply that the
counties are paying back into the
state treasury their share of the
$3.50, 900 distributed in 1913.
The legislature Of 1913 made many
amendments to the state aid law
which materially strengthen it, and
also provided the sum of $1,000, 00C
annually instead of the $350,000 pre-
viously appropriated as the states
share of construction.
| Source Of State Aid
There is of course, some criticism
OF the fact that the money provided
by the state for road Improvement
does not materialize out of thin air,
and that it is imposed by direct
tax which must be paid by all prop
erty owners. This questions of state
taxes has been so jumbled by indis.
criminate discussion that it seems
Impossible to bring it back to the
solid ground of fact 1t Is true that
all taxes raised for state highway
purposes are direct taxes, or have
been called so. 1t is also true that
if these direct state highway taxes
were not imposed and the money
from the state for road construction
came out Of the indirect revenues OF
the state, then the money now pro.
vided by indirect taxes for some OF
the other activities of the state
would have to come from direct tax
es and nothing would be gained.
Whether the state highway work
(or any other state activity is worth
while or is not worth while does
not rest upon the fact that the mon
ey for it is raised by direct or by
indirect taxes, for in the end all
taxes, whether direct or indirect, are
paid in great part by the citizens OF
the state. The state aid law must
stand or must fall upon it's merits or
demerits, and upon the results Sc
cured. The answers to the following
questions will determine largely
whether it should stand or should
fall:
l. Has the state highway law pro.
duced construction, and Is this con.
struction on roads that will, when
completed, take the farmer and other
citizens of the state from somewhere
to somewhere?
2. Are there commensurate econ
omic or social advantages produced
to offset the expenditures?
8. Are the state roads well con
structed?
4. Is the cost OF the work excess
i've?
s. Is the law such that it can be
and Is economically administered?
s. Would a county aid system pro
duce better results and at less cost
Z. Should town boards be given
more authority to direct work?
g. Is the distribution of cost. as
between towns. counties and the
state fair distribution?
8. Is 1t necessary to have a state
highway commission to supervise the
work?
will endeavor to answer these
questions as far as it is possible to
do in the brief space allotted:
CD Has the State Highway Law
produced construction, and Is the
construction on roads that will, when
completed, take the farmers and 9th
/ cI ClIAcuS vi TIC SIdIS IrOIu 6Omc-
where to somewhere?
That the state highway law has
duced construction is evidenced by
the tremendous increase in perman-
ent construction under the state aid
law in 1912 and 1913, and the con-
struction contemplated for 1914,
over anything heretofore done in
Wisconsin. The fact that this con-
struction is only ON main travelled
highways selected by the county
boards, which must run continuously
from the railway stations and mar
ket towns into every town and must
connect at the county line with the
system of adjoining counties is suf-
ficient indication that they do go
from somewhere to somewhere. When
the system of state highways is COM
pleted there will have been construct
ed practically all of the main tray
eled highways in the state, and these
main highways will serve directly