The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-01-30

localities state participation has beef
added in nearly every state in thu
Union, but even this has not been suf
ficient, and the demand for federal ait
has become general and insistent.
Because the nation stands higher
in the esteem of the people than does
any state or community, and because
the nation usually gives attention tt
the larger and more important works
for the common welfare. everything IL
which the nation participates natural
ly assumes a more important charac.
ter. 1t Is for this reason that when the
government undertakes the good
roads movement that movement will
Immediately be accorded in the pub
it has today. Every individual through
out the length and breadth of the
| United States will then give more
careful thought and more earnest eff
fort to the good-roads movement"
1t is believed that these are the
fundamental reasons for the almost
universal demand for federal aid in
highway improvement. During the last
ten years hundreds of bills of almost
every conceivable character relative
to road improvement were introduced
in congress. The majority of them.
however, apparently had for their
main purpose the getting of funds
from the United States treasury, and
did not provide for a general compre-
hensive system of federal participa-
ton with reasonable assurance that
funds appropriated would be spent
| wisely. Through the cooperative eff
forts, however, of the state highway
officials and the committees on post
offices and post roads in the Sixty
fourth congress, a bill was prepared
which meS with the approval of con-
gress and became law July IL, 1916.
1t Is the desire of the federal gov
eminent that it should be thoroughly
understood that the principle Of the
act is COOPERATION; and the pur-
pose of the act is to promote con-
struction Of rural post roads by grant
ing aid to the various states; to pro-
vide further money AID toward the
construction Of roads and trails
wholly or partly within the national
forests; to encourage supervision OF
roads within the state by competent
state officials.
AS is generally known this law, In
brief, appropriates $75.OOO.OOO TO AID
in the improvement of such roads as
are now or may be post roads, and
provides that the work shall be done
through q cooperative agreement be-
tween the federal government and the
several states, the secretary or agrl-
culture and the several state highway
departments for and on behalf of their
respective states, except that states
desiring to receive their proportional
through their legislatures assent to
the provisions of the act Of congress.
In general, the act provides that the
state highway departments shall mi
tiate schemes, projects and plans Tor
cooperative road work in their respec-
tive states, and gives the secretary
general authority to approve or dis
approve them. If the authority to ap-
prove or disapprove were exercised
automatically it might be possible for
the federal authorities to compel the
work to be done along hard and fast
lines laid down by them, and practic-
ally set aside the right of initiative OF
the state authorities. Such action,
however, would entirely prevent CO.
operative work between the federal
and state agencies without which fed
eral participation in road work is fore
doomed to failure. No one is more
anxious than the federal officials to
make this work truly cooperative, and
YOU may be assured that friendly con-
sideration will be given to all schemes,
projects and plans that may be propos-
ed by the state highway departments.
While the act of congress authorized
the SECRETARY VI " SO-OpO1-
ate with the states in the construction
of rural post roads, it also, to con-
siderable extent, sets out how he may
co cooperate and outlines certain things
that the states shall do If they desire
their proportional parts of the federal
aid funds; and, since we are now
ready to prepare for this CO. cooperative
work, it seems to be worth while to
discuss some Of the conditions to be
met by the states.
One of the specific requirements Of
the act is that the state is required to
assent to the conditions of the act of
congress. A mere formal assent is not
sufficient. The state should provide the
necessary machinery and funds for
performing its part Of the work. A
state highway department, empowered
to initiate and execute the construction
of any road logically a part of state
highway system and authorized to CO.