Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1915-11-26
ROAD IMPROVEMENT
Political Interference In Road I'm
provement-- Fact Against State
ment-- Inter County Highways -
An Error Corrected.

Allen, OF Geauga county at the big
banquet Friday evening that road inn
provements in his county were held
up for a year at least by the change
of state administration ought to be
significant to Better Roads enthu-
siasts. Better roads can not come
any too soon. There ought not to be
any political interference"
The above is an editorial in last
weeks Democratic Expositor inspired
by a statement of County Agent Allen
Of Geauga county, in his address at
the banquet rendered to the farmers
and business men of the county on
Agricultural Day by the Booster
Club of Wauseon. It demonstrates
again how easy it is to do injustice
to an opponent in our eagerness to
find fault with him or his administra-
ton by repeating derogatory state
ments that happen to tickle our ears.
The quotation above is not what Mr..
Allen said at all and If he had said it
Il would not have been true, as any
one knows who takes the time to read
the law providing for the state ex-
pending money for the construction
Of public highways.
What Mr.. Allen did say was said
in telling how he had interested the
farmers of his county to cooperate
in road building and how they had
succeeded in getting the state high
way commissioner TO change a route
of an Inter-County highway and how
work had been commenced upon that
road and then stopped by change
of administration. Notice it was one
road and not "road improvements"
as given in the editorial.
AS to the correctness of Mr.. Aliens
statement, want to say that l be-
lieve that Mr.. Allen made the state
ment in good faith, believing that he
was telling the truth. also believe
that he got the statement from some
one and is relying upon that person
for its truthfulness. 1t is also evident
that the author of the statement was
unfriendly to Gov. Willis and took
this opportunity to prejudice the peo-
pie of Geauga county against him.
Fact Against Statement.
The law provides that the state can
spend money for the construction, i'm
provement, repair or maintenance on
but two kinds of roads-Main Mar
ket and Inter-County. The location
of the Main Market roads is fixed by
statute see, Vol 1903, o. S. L., page
1856, so that the Governor nor the
state highway commissioner could
not designate a new Main Market
road or change the route Of one If they
wanted to do so. The law and the
records in the state highway commits
sioner's office show that Geauga
county does not have a foot of Main
Market road. It is over the Main
Market roads that the state highway
commissioner and the governor have
absolute control. They decide which
Main Market road shall be improved
first, how it shall be built, and how
much It is to cost. The governor and
the state highway commissioner are
the only persons who have a word to
say about constructing the Main Mar
ket roads.
II Geauga county had Main Mar
ket road, then l might think that State
Highway Commissioner Marker, Gov.
Cox's appointee, might have promised
to build il, for in preparing the ap-
preparation bill found that Mr..
Marker had promised two counties
through which Main Market roads
passed a million dollars more for
their construction than the last Demo-
cratic legislature had given him for
that purpose, and that he had made
Illegal contracts by reason of not hav-
ing the money on hand or in the pro-
sess Of collection as REQUIRED by law
TO the amount of $165, 100000, and this
amount by a special act, see Vol. 1e5-
L. a. k, Aolr
the Main Market road fund which
should have been spent in 1915, to pay
the debts contracted by the former ad-
ministration. Ask county Auditor
Alderman about this county. Thus
Gov. Willis administration is handi.
capped in constructing Main Market
roads by being compelled TO take about
one third Of the amount of money
that he should have had this year fol-
that purpose TO pay illegal debts Of
the previous administration. He hac
either TO do that or repudiate thes,
contracts and this would have caused
hardship upon a number Of contrac
tors who had entered into these con
tracts in good faith and had done mucl
of the work. IL would have caused
them financial ruin. Thus Gov. Wilt
did not hold up a single Main Marke
road Improvement.
Inter County Highways.
The state highway commissions
can not enter a county to spend a cen
~ state money for the construction
Of an Inter-County highway until afte
the county commissioners have frs
been given an opportunity to desig
nate which Inter County highwa'
shall be improved. II the county com
missioners fail TO file an application
then after the first day of May tn
state highway commissioner shall i'm