The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-07-28
A Question of City Economy.
(St. Adams Messenger.)

hecu Oh better roads IN its own burg. |
IL says the trouble in st. Adams is |
that many of the roads are not prop
erly constructed in the first place and
that none of them are properly main
| tanned. No doubt this diagnosis is |
accurate, but will The Messenger ex-
| PLAIN how these faults can be rectified
as long as the highways are in charge
Of officials elected from year to year
and Obliged to spend ali their money
on the surface in order to hold their
] Jobs !''-Brattleboro Reformer
Under conditions as set forward byl
| The Reformer the course which gives
| the greatest promise of results is to
open the eyes of the taxpayers to the
| folly of the present course and to
awaken them to the necessity of put
| ting a competent man on the Job and
| letting him stay there until definite
| policy, which has been outlined and
| publicly accepted, has been completed
| This is an extremely difficult thing
| to do, for somehow or other the cleo
| torate often shows great indifference
to constructive policy, being pri-
marily interested in any such scheme
only as it affects them as individuals.
! The electorate must think in commu-
nifty terms, instead of personal ones
| The individual mind must give way to
the community mind. The Messenger
| predicts that if The Reformer will fol
low up its strong article of the other
day it will awaken public interest and
public understanding to the point
| where something substantial will be OBJ
tanned. And after that it is a case of
| keeping at it.
The situation in st Adams is some
what different from what it is in
Brattieboro. The superintendent of
streets here is not an elective officer.
He is the creation of the council, and,
therefore, is not driven into foolish
policy because of the fear that his of
fee will be taken away from him the
next year. He acts under orders of
, the city council and that board has
the hiring and firing.
{ This is true in the cities in Vermont.
1t shows the necessity of the councils
engaging men who are competent to
carry out instructions. In many places
i it probably is true that the street SUI
perintendents are not men who have
been educated in the science of road
building, but are graduates, or to put
: it more correctly undergraduates OF
: the school of experience.
And this fact brings one to con-
sideration of the economy of such a
plan. 1t is wiser for city to edu-
: cate its street superintendent at its
= own expense or hire someone at an adj
vanced salary who has already Sc
cured his training? Home education
of this kind is very expensive to the
taxpayers, and the years of instruc
= ton are well represented by streets
that are poorly built and 90 to pieces
rapidly.
For road building has become boti
an art and science and the mere APP
pointing of q man to the position OF
!, street superintendent does not make
: him n street builder by any means
There is no magic in such an appoint
:. ment that makes him capable of doing
: off-hand what really requires definite
: training And in the meantime, il
nine hundred and ninety-nine case,
: out of every thousand, he builds poo
! roads at the start lit would be unjus
to expect him to do anything differ
ent) and the taxpayers pay a higl
: price for his course in road construc
tion.
Then, after years of experimenting
Gf he has political friends enough t
) hold him in place while the storm O.
popular dissatisfaction centers aroun,
! his head, he may come out realI,
! competent man capable of buildin,
: the best of streets and of giving ex
: cellent satisfaction. But when he ha
: arrived at the proficient stage he ma,
= have lost favor with the city fathers
new council may be in office an
Il appoint its own inexperienced favor
tie to the post.
Then the whole wasteful circle j
Z entered upon again. Another ma
whose acquaintance with a road ha
I been only that of the average ind
| vidual, takes up the job and is ais
| educated at public expense, with tn
| probability that he also will suffer tn
/ fate of his predecessor and give wa
/ to another inexperienced man. This
q diagnosis which the Messeng &C
/. thinks applies correctly to many con
i munities.
4 The point to be considered i
| whether 1T is more economical to bull
| streets under expert supervision or no
| As the expert is usually worth his hir
in other walks of life, there is reaso
to believe that he is worth it in stree
| building. This does not of necessit
| mean the hiring of a resident enginee
| the year round, although there is niue
to be said in favor of this plan, fC
the road work might be let out to COZ
| tractors.
| Unfortunately road work done b
| contractors has been a prolific sourc
of graft and is somewhat under th
cloud of suspicion. But this might
| seems desirable over the wasteful hon
council. Whatever way of obtainin
i an expert may seem more feasibl
1 seems desirable over the wasteful hon
education course that is generally fo
lowed now.