The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-02-22
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Editor Journal:

! t''sNNi ''Nt iNsf
Will you give me space in the Jour
nal 10 give my views on subject thai
every citizen Of Manchester is intcl
ested in? That is, who is to be roaC
commissioner for this year? have
heard there are five of our residents
and taxpayers who will be candidates
for this office: Al. Hosley, Jay Bentley
Jay Thompson, Jesse Eaton, Mike
Casey, all my friends and all friendly
men. In my estimation any one of
them would make good, efficient com
missioners.
May explain my views as to the
duties Of highway commissioner Z?
Honesty is the first requirement.
What mean is this: He should give
value for every dollar charged the
town. He should be fair: that is, he
ought to give the outlying districts
in road work, what the taxes in that
section amount to. think in the past
this phase of the matter has been ig-
nored and taxpayers on the back
farms have not been treated quite
like men," Don't we all know that
Now in some instances the rights of
property owners should be considered
by commissioner in preference to
what the official might consider the
rights of the travelling public. This
is our town. 1t does not belong to
strangers who simply pass this way,
does it? Not much! We elect citizen
of our town to keep in repair our
roads. He is working for us. We are
his employers, and we will stand
back" of him Ito use a business
phrase), and we expect him to work
for our interests just as faithfully as
if he was working for us individually,
Furthermore, we expect our road com
missioner to attend strictly to his job
for it is a job that will not bear
soldering; it is job for the whole
year and nearly every work day in
the year. 1t is his business to repair
bad places in the highway as soon as
possible, for that is what we pay him
for.
A road commissioner who does not
personally conduct the work is like a
captain of an ocean liner sending his
ship on voyage while he is attending
matters on land
1t has been inserted in the warning |
by the selectmen ITO see if the town
will vote to instruct the selectmen to |
appoint one or two road commission
ers instead of electing them by ballot"
Can you see "nigger in the wood
pile 2" 1t would be just as sensible to
instruct the selectmen to act on every
article in the warning from the LIST to
the 10Th. If the taxpayers Of Man
chester are qualified to vote at all it
is their right to vote on all public
questions. / prefer the judgment of
my fellow townsmen rather than that
Of three interested individuals.
The idea of two road commissioner
Is simply preposterous for town like
1t would be ridiculous t.
have two equipments for road work in
A town of two thousand inhabitants.
Two gangs Of men with two sets Of
tools, to work out something like
81 500 each.. fancy a man capable
IF handling our road work would not
ARE to be obliged TO spend the season
'or the job. A careful supervision of
he roads is of more consequence lin
ny opinion) than TO work lot Of men
md teams on short stretch of high
way 10 the neglect Of the entire sys-
EN-. II needs man Of brains Tor, as a
writer would say: man
With vision). This is not temporary
work; the value of this seasons work
should show into other years, and a
TO be successful man,
must so plan his operations that the
feet Of his administration can meet
he approval Of the users Of our high
for more than the present sea-
on.
Another thing wish TO mention 10
his: We have spent for permanent
i~hway improvement in the east part
( the town as near as ] can learn
bout 81 600 on one mile Of road. How
many years shall we be constructing