The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-01-21
ROAD TAX WORK
PERMITS CRAFTS
COSTING $4,000
System Makes Issuance of
Receipt for Small Amount
of Work Rob Roads of
Labor.
JONES BLAMES LAWS
Chamness Supports Highway
Superintendent's Stand
Against Plan Which Costs
County Thousands.

The township road supervisory and
work tax system was denounced as a
system of graft" in which hundreds
of taxpayers participate, every year to
the loss Of the county, in comment
made today by w. o. Jones, county
highway superintendent.
Incompetent supervisors, unscrupu-
lous workers, and poor methods have
left miles and miles of township roads
untouched for a year while the county
is out.$47, 1888 as u result of this petty
graft" Mr.. Jones said.
He declared that the farmers of
Wayne county were receiving credit
for work contrary to law. M.
Men Only Reported.
'The supervisors know that the law
requires that days work for a team
Is no less than hauling at least yard
of gravel" the highway superintendent
said. "Yet / know men who reported
for work and then spent the, day in
their truck gardens working for them
selves. They were given receipt by
the supervisor and were given credit
for $3.50 on their taxes.
Another case of which there are
dozens similar, is of a farmer who was
sent with his team a distance of one
mile to haul scoops. He did this work
which should not have taken him more
than an hour. Then he went around to
the supervisor and was given a receipt
for days work at $3.50.
THE farmers will not let go of this
system and that is the reason l can
not have more township roads put un-
der the county road laws. Ninety-five
per cent of the men who are working
out taxes on the roads are farmers.
"The system is to blame. In the
first place it is impossible to get CON-
petent supervisors. Supervisors are
elected by the people of the townships
and are absolutely independent. BY
law they cannot work more than sixty
days year at 50 day. A days work
consists in handing out receipts to
farmers whose chief work consists of
going after the receipts. This is not
true of all supervisors.
Not township road was graded,
dragged or rolled. The work on them
is few loads of gravel scattered
about. The conscientious farmer does
not like to work on the roads any
more because of these conditions
The money all township have spent is
equal to 500 mile upkeep expense for
the roads and yet miles have not been
touched.
"The county paid out in actual cash
in the various township $4,000 which
came out of the township funds. In
addition $2O,40O was worked out in
taxes. In this the county is paying
practically double what it should. The
supervisor is supposed to provide a
certain number of men to work with
teams at $1.75 a day to load and un-
load the gravel wagons and scatter
the gravel Instead of this being the
case, all the farmers who can get
teams, bring them and load and unload
what little gravel they haul. They
also scatter it out themselves. These
men get $3.50 day while the teams
are idle most of the time.
County Treasurer Chamness, former
township trustee bore out the remarks
of the highway superintendent
"It has been said and l believe it
is true. that the county can take fifty
cents in cash and do more with than
it is getting out of dollar in road
work tax" Mr. Chamness said.
He has just completed table show
ing the amount of tax worked out on
the roads in each township by the tax
payers. 1t follows: Arlington. $47S.O5: !:
Boston, $1,295.79; Center, $2,244.S2; !;
Clay, $1,O07.54; Dalton, $74O.81 !;
Franklin, s2,141.51; Greene. s1,031.23;
Harrison, $756.45; Jackson, S1,357.29;
Jefferson, $1,647.37; New Garden,
$1,23S.41; Perry, $1.O14.67; Washing
ton $1,695.O6; Wayne $2,624.O9; Web.
ster, $S70.38.
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