The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1915-01-22
GOOD ROADS TALK
FROM LEWISTON

Lewiston Tribune. lie S
have been received from Culdesac
and Lapwai relative to the DISPOSE
tion of the road question by the
people of the Potlatch section and
up to the present no one in Lewis
ton is able to answer. The Pot
latch people held meeting at Le-
land last week, at which time the
construction of permanent high
ways in the county was considered
and the Potlatch people expressed
themselves as favorable to good
roads but did not make expression
as to their position on county
bond issue to provide the money
necessary to make the road i'm
provements. They held this deci-
sion in allegiance to be determined
in the future, the date Of which
was not decided and no word Of
further action by the Potlatch peo-
pie has been received.
The move for the permanent i'm
provement Of the roads throughout
the county was launched by the
Culdesac people and Immediately
taken up by the Lapwai people and
endorsed. The view expressed by
Culdesac citizens was that the mat
ter should be kept alive if the peo-
pie of the county want the per-
manent highways and all the pre-
liminary arrangements should be
made as soon as possible so that
the construction work can be in
augurated this summer if there is
to be such construction work.
The Culdesac people have brought
out number of strong points in
favor Of the good roads movement
and included in these arguments
are the facts that money expended
annually in road improvement and
from which little is secured will go
long was toward paying the in
terest on the bonds necessary to
provide the permanent good roads
and also that within a few years a
vast area of valuble Indian agricul-
tural land becomes taxible, so that
the burden on the present taxable
land of the county will be less than
at the present time even if bonds
sufficient to construct all desirable
highways are voted.
The assessed value of property in
Nez Perce county subject to taxa
tion is in excess of SIG, 100000,
according to the 1914 rolls, and at
the present time a tax of l mill is
levied for the general road fund, to
say nothing of the amount raised
for bridges. In most of the dis
tricts special road taxes have been
authorized so that the fund now
raised for road maintenance would
be sufficient to pay the interest on
the money needed for permanent
highway construction. 1t is ad-
mitted that some money would be
needed for road maintenance after
the permanent highways, are con-
structed, but the expense would be
small when compared to the present
plan of road maintenance. 1t is
argued that provisions for a sinking
fund would not be necessary, as the
increased valuations in the county
and the placing of the Indian lands
on the assessment books would pro-
. vide the sinking fund before the
bonds mature, if the levy necessary
to take care of the interest in the
beginning is carried through to the
maturity of the bonds. 1t is sug-
gested that ! IL mill levy would
be sufficient to take care of the in
terest of bond issue of sufficient
size to make the road improvements
and this would mean the taxpayer
of the county having property with
an assessed value of 1000 would
be asked to pay $3.50 per year for
permanent highways throughout
the county. 1t is stated that pres
entation is what has converted the
farmers to the good roads move
ment, as the farmers of the county
are the people who are called upon
to pay the heaviest tolls because of
moor roads