The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-02-26
ROAD SYSTEM BAD
PIeasantOn Man Tells of COndi-
lions in Kansas.
Cannot Afford to Wait for Con-
stitutiOn Change.
LET COUNTY BUILD ROADS
Kansas Has Poorest Highway
Laws in the Country.
Tax on Land Is Too High, Says
Frank Smith.
LET COUNTY BUILD ROADS

| Il
That the people of Kansas are real
/ iZing more and more the bad system
| of roads in the state is the statement
| of j. Frank Smith of Pleasanton.
Kan, president of the 365-Day Road
| club and secretary of the Jefferson
| Highway in Kansas. Mr.. Smith says
that the tax on land adjacent to pro-
/ posed roads, provided by the Hodges
law, is too high, and that the county
should bear more of the burden. Fol-
lowing is Mr.. Smiths communication
to the State Journal:
/ have read with much interest
your article in the Journal on What
Ais U.s. 1 wish that every tax payer
| in the state could read your statement
about our roads. All you say is true
and at this time, after several weeks
| of mud especially all over the eastern
and central parts of the state, the peo-
pie are beginning to realize that our
roads and our road system are very
bad. Every friend of better roads.
and by this / mean hard surfaced
roads, may well be encouraged at the
rapidly growing sentiment along this
line.
Four years ago a man who would
have had the nerve to get up in a
meeting of farmers and land owners
and advocate rock roads would have
been rare. 1 have attended a good
many road meetings in the last six
months and the chief subject under
discussion was "365-day roads and
what to build them of and what they
will cost" This condition is grow
ing and it is hoped that the time is
not far distant when real campaign
will be started all over Kansas for
hard roads.
Your plan, or suggestion. of having
inter-county highways is rapidly being
accepted as the most practical and
desirab system to be followed. In
Ohio the building of rock and concrete
and brick roads is being carried on
| with probably greater Vigor than in
almost any state. They have state
| law that calls for an ''inter-county
| highway system" which means a hard
road connecting every market center
in every county and connecting at the
county lines with roads from market
| centers in adjoining counties BY
| building up such a system the whole
people are accommodated and at the
same time all of the state or national
highways are taken care Of
Kansas has about the poorest set of
road laws of any state when it comes
to building anything better than dirt
roads. The so-called Hodges law pro-
| vtdeS that rs per cent of the cost of
4 hard roads shall be paid by the adj
Jacent land and the remaining IS per
| cent oy the townships. This heavy
tax on the adjacent land has made the
law so hard to apply that very few, in
fact almost no hard roads, have been
built under its provisions. What
Kansas needs IS. change in the con-
stitution so that the state can aid and
supervise road building. We also need
a law that will allow any county or
number of counties or an extensive
district to levy special road tax or
issue bonds to build hard roads.
We can not wait for change in the
constitution to start road work but
should have a law passed by the next
legislature permitting counties and
districts to build systems of hard
roads.
The Hodges law is designed to build
'snoestrinG' roads where the land
owners so desire and are willing to
pay for it. In building such roa DIS
in Kansas and Missouri the promoters
have overlooked a very important fac
tor which would have increased the
popularity of such roads and also
made it much easier to secure the
necessary support to build them. I re-
fer to what may be termed ''laterals'
or feeders"
Just now several counties in east
ern Kansas are preparing to build the
! proposed Jefferson Highway, or the
portion that is hoped TO be made a
part of this great highway through
Kansas. This work is being done
under the Hodges law. Linn county is
the first to lay out a road with a lib
Grdl OF laI6r1lS' connecting III
to the road. 1 assisted in ma king the
map for this section and after one
week of canva ssing among the farm
1 erS it has been found that these lat
| erals are the life" of the road so fa1
/ as the land owners are concerned
! While many prominent road boosters
i see only the main" roads and theiI
H value, the farmer sees the read from
/ his home to his market and after all il
II the land owners pay the larger pa RI
II thew n irC1
II consideration. L would therefore Sug-
II gest that wherever rock road is pro-
II posed to be built under the Hodges
II law to put in as MANY flataraIs'' as
II are needed and make the tax of the
II whole district sufficient to build the
II system.
4 The Bowman Road Bill" which
II passed the senate at the last session
III provided for county systems aImos
II identicelly the same as the Ohio law
II In Ohio tho state pays so per cent, tho
Il county 25 per cent, the township /;
III per cent and the land 10 per cent OF
II the cost of building all county roads
II In Kansas we have no state road fund
II ! Therefore have the county pay as pei
II cent, the township per cent and tn,
II adjacent land 10 per cent. Or max,
II the land pay even larger per cent
II In this way every dollar of propert,
II in the county would help build tn,
II roads. 1t should be provided that
II petition of IS per cent or so per cen
II OF the tax payers would force th'
III county commissioners to apply tn,
III law, either with an extra road tax o
II the issus of bonds, as petitioned for
Il If 4 state road passed through
III county have such road improved frs
III and in this way all of the state O
III national roads would be taken care OF
III If such law were put into operation
III with the supervision of Il state en-
iii gineer or state highway commission
Hi Kansas would soon be building har,
RI n M n hax
iii a complete system with the stat
iii roads improved.
I'LL 1 enclose herewith a road map tina
iii illustrates my system.
Hi SMITH