The Princeton union., 1916-10-12
FEDERAL ROAD AID
The Expenditure of the Same Will be
Rigidly Supervised by Fed
eral Road Authorities.
Intention is to Aid in the COnstruc-
tiOn of Connected Trunk Line
ROads.-No Patch Work.

else SCrlcC supervision over the eX-
penditure of Federal aid to roads has
another guess coming. Mile Lacs
county expects a generous slice of
the Federal appropriation for the i'm
provement of State Road No. 1, which
runs through the center of the county
from the Sherburne to the Crow Wing
county line, and is an important link
in the Scenic Highway from the Twin
Cities to the International boundary
At the ensuing election on the 7th of
next month, the voters of Mile Lacs
county will vote on the question of
issuing 20 year bonds to provide means
to meet the Federal aid. The voters
supervision of the State and Federal
road authorities the money will be
properly expended.
The following Washington dispatch
tells just what the Federal road au-
thorities expect and will insist upon:
Washington, Oct. 6.-Elaborate
plans to prevent the diversion into i'm
proper channels of any part of the
$75,OO0,000 which the Federal govern
ment is to spend in cooperation with
states on good roads within the next
five years have been made to Logan
Waller Page, director of the Office of
Public roads and Rural engineering
which will supervise the work.
The government is determined, Of
ficials say, that there shall be no rep
etition of the lax methods and waste
which have characterized the building
of roads in many sections and that a
dollars worth of road bed shall be con-
structed for every dollar spent Fur
ther, the Public Roads office is pre-
pairing to see to it that the roads for
which the government money is spent
are places where the traffic demand is
the heaviest and not where politicians
or others desire them.~ -.
When the plans of state for road
building, accompanied by a request for
Federal aid is received, they will be
fully investigated by government
agents, and if acceptable the state will
receive from the government it's ap-
portionment of the appropriation made
for the purpose. Under the terms of
the act the Federal government pays
the bill for one-half the cost and the
state pays the other half. More than
a score Of states already have indi-
Gated their intention to ask for Fed
eral aid and two, California and Con-
neticut, have filed formal applications.
Each project statement must be ac-
companied by sketch map showing
the location of the proposed project
and the main contiguous transporta-
ton features, and suitable samples of
material must be submitted whenever
requested.
Rights of way and damages to ad-
joining property have to be paid for
by the states, and the Federal govern
ment will not pay any part of the ex-
pense of making surveys, plans, speci-
fcations or estimates prior to the be-
ginning of construction.
The regulations require, too, that no
part Of the Federal money be paid un-
til it has been shown to the satisfac-
ton of the secretary that adequate
means were employed prior to the be-
ginning Of the construction to insure
economical and practical expenditure.
Prior to the acceptance of any bid,
sufficient opportunity must be given
the office of public roads to have rep
resentative present if it so desires.
If a contract should be awarded to
any other than the lowest responsible
bidder, the government will not pay
more than it's pro rata Of the lowest
bid, unless it can be satisfactorily
shown that it was advantageous to the
work to accept the higher bid. Copies
of all contracts must be certified by
the respective state highway depart
ments and furnished the Office of pub
lie roads, and specifications and plans
muSC De LlduS d f9eaAt y VI <"aa NoAA1A e'SSn''
Certified vouchers showing the
amounts expended upon any project
and the amount claimed to be due
from the Federal government must be
submitted upon the completion of the
work, or, if the Secretary of Agricul-
ture has determined to make payments
as construction progresses, at inter
walls of not less than one month. ~
The office Of public roads will, as fa1
as is practicable, endeavor to have the
roads of one state connect with those
Of another. The effort will be to have
the roads continuous in the states, ane
patches here and patches there viii