The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-04-13


of the much mooted question of bet
ter roads for st. Francois county nov
appears to be at hand. But the ques
tion will not settle itself. 1t mus
have aid, even though the effort tina
is called for on the part of those mos
vitality interested and engrossed il
this important matter may be rela
lively small indeed, when considered
in connection with the vast good thai
the necessary effort may accomplish
The one thing that is now neces
sary in order to get the proposed
bond issue before the people, for theil
decision at an election, is the presen.
tation to the County Court of peti.
ton asking that an election be called
for the purpose of voting on bond
issue for the building of permanent
good roads throughout st. Francois
county. The securing of such peti.
tion would require but a minimum de-
gree of effort on the part of a few
interested parties, as 200 names oi
tax-paying citizens is all that is nee
essary to make such a petition valid
1t would not keep one man busy
more than a day in order to get up
such a petition, and a half dozen men
could easily do the same work in an
hours time. Could anything be sim
pier than that? The Times believes
that there are hundreds of men,
throughout st. Francois county, who
would willingly, gladly and freely cir
culate such petitions for signers, if
the papers were but placed in their
hands. Could anything be easier than
that, especially when the vast good
that such effort might accomplish is
considered?
But until a petition, asking that
an election be called for the purpose
of voting on the proposition for the
issuance of road bonds, is presented
to the County Court, that body is
powerless to submit such a PROPOSE
tion to vote of the taxpayers, even
though the County Court Judges
might be ever so anxious to submit
such a plan to the decision of the
people. But the petition plan is SO
exceedingly simple that few of those
most thoroughly aroused to the very
great Importance of permanent good
roads for st. Francois county-auto
owners, for instance-will be hardI
pressed for a reasonable excuse if
they fail to see that such a petition,
with 200 proper signers, is prepared
and presented to the County Court at
an early date.
In the pursuance of our desire for
the Inauguration of a more thorough !
system Of permanent road for st. |
Francois county, a Times reporter
mas recently made a more thorough |
investigation into the condition of
road matters as they at present exist
in this county. Such investigation |
disclosed the fact that the county road
fund is at present overdrawn some
hing over $21,0 900. Think of it,
S21 ,0O0-and yet there is no present !
Indication that such sum of money has I
oeen spent on the county roads in the !
past several years. This is but an il /
of how money can be alb
iolutely "fritted" away in "repairing"
I'D roads, to little or no purpose. The
of money that is practically
lissipated in this manner each year,
With the roads throughout the coun-
,ry gradually growing worse, instead
If being improved, is sufficient not
,nly to pay the interest on $500,OO0
bond issue, but to keep up a sinking
'und also for their final liquidation-l
md then even have a surplus remain
ng.
While the road fund is constantly
'unning further and further behind,
md with the general condition of the
ounty roads as constantly becoming
worse and worse, it is plain that there
S but one of two things to do: Either
IN additional amount of money must
re raised for road purposes by an in
reased tax levy, or else there must
re a bond issue for the building up of
! permanent system of good roads.
n the first instance, the raising of the
on personal property and
cal estate, would mean but frac-
ional part of such raise can be turned ,
nto the county road fund. For in
tance: If John Jones' assessment
1as raised 81 1000, his taxes would be
increased $24.85 But of that amount
he school fund would receive $15.55,