The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-12-14
MAY HAVE COUNTY ELECTION
Total Amount Sought is $4,000 or
$4,000 More Than County May Issue
Under the Law Hold Elections
In January to Decide Question.

The rush IS on among the Kenosha
county towns to build roads by county
bonds and officials of three towns have
appealed to the highway committee of
the County Board to pave the way for
immediate improvements of state high
ways. These are the towns of Somers,
Paris and Bristol and all three of them
desire to hold special elections in order
to have the question of issuing the
county road bonds submitted to the
people of the towns before the session
of the County Board in January.
Somers wants 100000 to complete
the building of its state roads; Paris
$4,000, and Bristol $4,000. The last
named town is something of the
mysterious stranger in the list as it
had not been known that the people
OF Bristol were interested in plans for
the immediate completion of state
highway systems. The County Board
committee has taken the matter up
with the State Highway Commission
and within a few days blanks will be
sent out to the members of the various
town boards providing for the elections.
The amount which would be needed in
county bonds would probably be lined
up as follows: Bristol $4,000, Paris
$4,000 and Somers $4,000. This is
total of $4,000 which the county would
raise to secure the expenditure of
$2lS,O00 for permanent roads in the
county. At the recent meeting of the
County Board bonds to the amount Of
$4,000 were voted for the work in the
town of Pleasant Prairie.
Under the law the county can issue
in any year bonds to the amount of
=$1f6,0ee his VIII make II impossible
for the county to take care Of all the
towns without submitting the question
of bonds to a referendum of the
county. With Q referendum vote tie
county may issue as many bonds as the
people vote. Il is just possible that
one of the towns will be asked to wait
for another year and if the town is
willing to make this sacrifice it will
not be necessary to submit the matter
to referendum. 1T is pretty certain
that the County Board would be will
ing to vote bonds for all the towns If
the amount could be brought within
the amount permitted by the law.
When the Pleasant Prairie bonds were
voted there was an understanding
among the members of the board that
demands for bonds for roads in other
All three of the towns are anxious
to complete the state highway work in
1917. 1t is just possible that the
county can find way out of the diff
fculty by availing itself of federal
road aid for the coming year. $385,000
has been allotted to Wisconsin from the
federal government and it is certain
that Kenosha county will be entitled
to part of this appropriation. It is
possible that the amount would be in
excess of $4,000 and if this could be
secured q referendum vote would not
be necessary. Secretary Frank Cannon
of the Wisconsin Highway Improvement
Association, has sent letter to the
local highway committee declaring that
federal aid could be secured if the
towns, county and the state highway
commissioners would meet the demands.
II might be possible to have the entire
portion of Kenosha s share in the fed
eral appropriation available for work
in 1917. 1t is certain that the activity
on the road question is going to make
the coming January session of the board
a decidedly interesting and busy one.
PYTHIANS At BANQUET.