The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1917-03-21

LARGE SUM OF MONEY AVAIL
IN NEXT FIVE YEARS.
Bill Has Been Reported Out of the
Committee At
Madison.

The Good Road association of Wis
cOnsin has issued from its headquart-
ers in Madison the following summary
of the State Trunk Line Highway Bill
which was introduced in the Senate
recently
The joint committee or highways OF
the Senate and the Assembly after
weeks of preliminary debate and study
and the most careful drafting, has
just reported out the bill providing
for what will be known as the State
Trunk Line Highway System. The
report of the committee is unanimous,
signed by the thirteen members, and it
is expected that there will be little
opposition to it in either house. In
drafting the measure it was necessary
to comply with the requirements of
the federal aid act, under which Wis
cOnsin will receive 81, 925 ,416 for the
building of highways from the federal
government in the next five years
The requirements of this act are rigid
and in order to get this money it was
necessary to comply with them.
The bill in brief provides for the
laying out of State Trunk Highway
System, not to exceed 5000 miles, to
inter-connect every county seat in the
state. This system will be laid out
by the State Highway Commission af-
ter hearings in different localities. Ap-
peal from the decision of the commits
sion may be made to a legislative COM
mittee, made up of three assemblymen
and two senator's, and their decision
shall be final
In the next five years the state will
receive from the federal government,
for the building of this trunk line sys-
tenn $685. ,416. Under the federal act
the state is required to appropriate an
equal amount. It is proposed to raise
this amount and to provide the funds
necessary for the maintenance of the
system By increasing the automobile
license fees to $1,000 for each car.
Under the terms of the bill the coun-
ties Of the state in the aggregate are
required to provide an amount equal
to that provided by the state. This
means that two-thirds OF the cost of
this system will come from the federal
government and the state, and one
third from the counties. Lnasmuch as
the expenditures viii be spread over a
three year period and must come from
seventy-one counties, the amount ann
ually required from each county Is
small. The maintenance Of the sys-
tenn will be done under state direction
by the present county organizations
and will be paid for out of the in
creased automobile license fees. The
federal government requires proper
maintenance or federal aid will be
withdrawn.
The state and federal fund for
building this system will be divided
among the counties on the basis OF
road mileage, area and assessed value
Under the present state aid law the
money is divided on the basis of as
sessed value, which gives the richer
counties, like Milwaukee, a much larg-
er proportion than under the new
trunk line bill. Under this latter bill
the agricultural counties in the state
with large areas and road mileage
will receive a much larger proportion
! The bill finally provides for the erec-
ton by the state of a standard design
| of road markers on the trunk system
the numbering of each of the roads
| tenn by the state.
The trunk line bill merely marks
| the first step and the laying out of a
plan. That the financial outlay under
the provisions of the bill is small is
indicated by the fact that under its
terms in a three year period, S5,776,-
24S will be spent, while under the
present state aid law we are spending
about four and One-haf million doll
ars a year.
Very little opposition to the pro-
posed increase in automobile licenses
| is being manifested by automobile
owners. They realize the added value
in the use of their cars resulting from
the securing of a state wide 5000 mile
system of trunk lines with coherent
plan of construction and adequately
maintained. They realize the saving
that will result from it in the added
life of their machines and the saving
on tires and gasoline-that this vii
far exceed the increase, the fees vii
be still les than in most Of the states
FREAKS HIS LEG.