The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1915-03-23
THE roar nshL VIA KEEP.

the pocket veto HOUSE Hni No. si0.
better known a. the blood cad bin.
n any fault lies Tor the failure q this
bin 10 becosne law. however. IL Fesss
not with the governor. from whose
hands u took an extensive appoinslve
power. but with the Republican, two
thirds majority In the legislature who
had ample Time ~ whIch 20 pass the
bin before the pocket veto became
effective. and who had plenty Of
votes with which TO pass the bni over
a veto IN both houses. had the ex-
ecullve returned u to the assembly
without mis- approval THAT the Re-
publlcans left this bin, which embod-
led one Of IT, platform pledges 70
the peopiu. until the ;ass hours Of the
session, after n had been before them
for weeks. is the FAULT Of no ene but
h Republican majority,
This bin originally was drawn by
Francis = Lester and u. b. Holt and
presented 20 a state good roads con-
venelon held In Santa Fe last sum
mer. In w original form II provided
Tor sse appointment Of eounty high
cyay e~nsins>ss BY the county comrnis-
sioners. sub1es> TO the Approval OF
sheir selections by the state highway
commission. and thus ~insurinE. IA
place Of the county road boards
which IL sought 10 throw out. eohe-
sion In the road system Of the state.
and Some form Of supervision by the
central authority; a supervision now
recognized as necessary In lost OF
the states 20 any effective program
Of road construction and mainten-
ance.
The bill. however. was 20 amended
In ihe Legislature that when u
reached the governor all provision
for approval n selections for the po-
rieion Of county highway commission
e. had been eliminated: the several
county commissions were made abso-
iutely independent authorities over
the road building In their several
counties. INC all provision for effect
i've supervision BY the central state
road authority had been eliminated.
TO many people. and particularly 10
students OF state road building Or
ssnization and practice. this fact
alone furnishes ample Justification
for the exercise Of the r7cket veto
by Governor Mcdonald.
There has been widespread Oblec-
ton 10 tina county road board system
which remains In eject. for thre'
main reasons; that the roed boards
use their powers. or permit them q
be used. for political purposes. that
they are not always In harmony with
the boards OF county commlsslcnei'
and thus produce confusion; and thai
they are no wholly under control Of
the state highway commission as e
subordinate county road construction
and maintenance 10 the interests oI
the main state highways. There u
ground for ell Of these objections II
all but a few counties. that OF pc.
litIcal activity by the pa board
being Ina least serious A few In
n have arisen where the inter
este OF main state highway oonstrac'
tlon have FLASHED with thosa u neces
sary county or focal roa building
and in which the latter work hal
suffered. The most serious objection
has been that Of lack OF harmony be
tween the road boardS and the count
commissioner. In . fes instance
OF which we know. this lack u har
mony has been due 10 tho desire o
h county commissioner 20 use IN
road board end the road funds f.
political purposes. a. wsH the cas-
In years gone by IN others u ha
besu due 20 a simple clash 81 author
ity.
IL Is certain. however, that NJ
charge Of political use Of road boar
authority can be made which IL any
thing nke az serious as would hav
been the condition had the provision
81 House Bin No. sis become effect
i've. without any supervision owe
shs selections for county highwa.
commissioner and without any con
trol over his operations aside iron
that exercised by the county com
mlssioners. the county road system o
the state would have been pretty Ger
tain 20 have slipped back into IN
old system under which county roa'
funds we're used AZ political pap an
county road work either as q poi''
cal favor or a nolitical sandbag'
Il ~ well enough that his bi
failed 10 become law The e"nn'
roed bnard mas mot had q fair trih