The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-10-30

| Jhose who spoke Tor the different Or
ganizations
1t was 225 O'Clock, after a first
class dinner when President Horton
| d. Walker of the Brattleboro board of
d, trade called the diners to order. He
said that when President Babbitt of
the Greater Vermont association sug-
! gested to President Nichols of the
Bennington board of trade and himself
that such a meeting as this be ar
ranged he did not believe Mr.. Bah
bitt anticipated any such outpouring,I
and as Mr. Babbitt was to blame for
the whole affair he would turn the
meeting over to him, which he did.
Mr.. Babbitt Takes Charge.
l President Babbitt said that as the
Greater Vermont association had insti-
gated the plan it proposed to grab the
. glory. An improved highway would
help the whole state and especially the
! two southern counties. He hoped to-
, live to see the time when the dreams
of Mr.. Walker that the road would
, cause people to say "There used to be
Il Mohawk trail in Massachusetts be
fore we built this better one would
lcome true. He said that he served in
the state legislature with the present
state highway commissioner and that
3, under lis direction the condition of
- -he highways would steadily improve.
, He introduced Mr.. Bates.
= Commissioner Bates thanked the
o. Brattlehoro beard of trade for the priv
d ilegc of accompanying them on the re-
= cent two-days trip into Massachusetts
r and said that he saw many things there
some of which this state can adopt. He
t inoiutcd cut that culverts and ratings
can be built cheapIv, but it is the sur
facing Of the roads that costs money.
Vermont can have, he said, what II
ipavs for.
When the highway law was passed
r. the legislature decided that the proper
thing was to pass a law so that each
town should contribute towards the
maintenance of the state highways BY
appropriating money in q town meet
ing for highway purposes it was ar
ranged so that the state would add to
it in sums of not less than 800 or
more than $1,000, as the town voted.
The surplus left from the state appro-
priation is used by the state highway
commissioner on the roads of the state
as he considers best.
This year he had a surplus, after the
money due towns had been deducted
from the 100000 appropriated, of S92,-
! QJ2 - to spread over the entire state
on the highways This he has expended
where there is demand for it and
4 where. it viii do the most good.
Il There are nine different proposed
a state highways in the state, but two
or three Of them are not of sufficient
q Importance to consider at this time
n This year it was arranged with somt
4 of the towns between BrattlebOro anj
? u, Inc,
q Marlboro has $500, Searsburg 500, anG
M WoodfOrd $1,000
81 In addition to this fund Of 5000,
s. 600 the state has what is known as thu
N maintenance fund which is the mone7
"a received from the automobile traffic
This is used by the commissioner 70
"a the maintenance Of highways. Thi
81 spring his department suggested that
!. would pay One-half of the cost of oil
ing selected highways in towns, provid
ing this half did not exceed $3.50 an
all it was also agreed to pay one-half tn
cost of rcsurfacing any of the selecte
rh- highways up to an amount not to e2
ms cecd $500 in any one town. In tn
smaller towns this rule has bee
. stretched a little.
Maintenance Important.
He said that his hobby, if he ha
one, was that town does not gai
anything by spending $4,000 to bull
Sc, a half-mile of highway and then a
he lowing it to get into bad condition fl
lack of an expenditure of $500 t
wards its maintenance. Towns are mo-
PC ready to appropriate funds for ne
en- roads than they are to appropria+
~ money to maintain those which the
have
He touched upon the new patrol la
by which the commissioner may NAL
an agreement with the selectmen of
town whereby the town and the sta
ing divide the expense of 4 man to patr
a piece of highway, the man to be el
. ployed by and be under the directi
-, of the state. Under this agreement t
state pays one-half of the cost of !
surfacing sections that are patrolle
A section of the road between Br;
tleboro and Bennington, in Woodfol
is being patrolled and the town ?
$500 and the state the balance
He then told of making a trip vest,
day morning from Brattleboro to Woo
ford. Some of the road is average a
some pretty bad. There are some wat
bars, some stones and some hollo
that could be eliminated without
pense He suggested that the pat
system be tried. 1t seemed to him
if with a little more effort on the p;