The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-01-11
ROOT DISCUSSES
ROAD PROBLEMS
Brooklyn, N. Y. Jan. /. 1917.

oSost uao Wifcu luc Couuty JuuBc uIk'
ing the appointment of roadmaster te
take charge of our county road work.
Ii is matter of such vast import.
ance TO the future prosperity of Hood
River that venture to trespass on
your space to state the case as many OF
US see it. hoping to'reach the eyes OF
some whose opinions are not already
formed on the question.
To argue the value of good roads
would be a waste of time. All agree
with Mr.. Mason that of all our taxes
the heaviest and most costly is our
mud tax. The destructive wear aud
tear on our stock and our vehicles. CON-
bined with the greater economic waste
from hauling light loads where heavy
loads should be rolling, make our bad
roads serious drain on the profits OF
our ranches.
There 10 also the discouraging effect
on tourist travel. Los Angeles, the
biggest city in the west, was built by
tourists. If it were ringed.. ..about with
roads like our East Side grade and
Davidson hill, who can doubt that il
would be village to this day? Hood
River has no ambition to rival Los
Angeles, except in the intelligence and
energy with which we 60 after pros.
perity by getting the best possible
roads out of the means at hand.
Granted that good roads would be of
Tar reaching benefit to US, we must
face.the fact that our:.climste, soil and
hills make the building and maintain
ing of good roads knotty problem of
engineering and finance. Our wet win.
ters, dry summers. varying soils and
limited tax paying liability combine to
make this problem one to put the best
intelligence, working under the best
possible system, to severe test.
How are we handling 1t? In the pio.
neer days there was only one possible
way to take care of road work. The
scattered settlers had little cash. They
could do their share toward building
roads only by working themselves and
their teams. and certain settlers we're
appointed supervisors. with little ra.
sponsibility and little authority, to:look
after the road work in each district.
A resident of this valley told me that
he never used to think of going to
work out his road tax without taking a
bat and ball along! We have before
our eyes today evidence Of what an in
efficient system IL was, in the wretched
location of many of our old roads
crooked where they might as we'll have
been straight: steep where there might
as we'll have been moderate grades-so
easy to have started right when land
was cheap; all but Interchangeable now
that land is so valuable. But at the
time there was no other way-no mon
ey to hire the special ability to start
things right and get the road work
done to the best advantage.
Why should we be burdened today
with the outgrown and ruinous system
from which our pioneers had no es.
cape?
We divide our county into II districts,
take a rancher from each district, hand
him the money apportioned to that dis
trict, slap him on the back and say,
Go to it. Jim. Do the best you can
with the money. Goodbye"
Can efficiency come out of such a
system? Who is to check up the super.
visors, see that the county gets value
received for the money spent, see that
one supervisor does not undo the work
of the supervisor of the year before,
and by studying the results of differ
ent methods of road building and re-
pair, settle what really is the best
method of handling our roads?
There is only the county court What
chance has the county court to succeed
with this? One member is a lawyer
and insurance man with his business to
attend to, and the others are busy
ranchers. Their first rush season in
the spring comes at the busy season on
the roads. They are provided with no
means of transportation to enable them
to get around and tend daily to the in.
Vulnerable details of the work which
would so richly repay such attention,
and to see to it that there is no spite
work on the roads, the existence of
which in the past no one need doubt
who cares to investigate.
What is the remedy?
How did Uncle Sam build the Panama
canal? Did he pick out II diggers, give
each one his share of the money and
say, "Go to it boys" No. He picked
out one good man. put him in charge
and backed him up. Result, efficiency /:
and canal built at one.third the cost
estimated in advance by some authori.
ties. Is there any reason why we
should not have the benefits of that
simple system-t business like sys-
tenn universal wherever good engineer.
ing work is being done?
No. Our road law insists that it be
done-that the road management be
put in the hands of roadmaster or of
the county engineer, and one man can
hold both Offices. 1t is done in our
neighboring county on the west, where
the road problem is similar to ours in
that il is small. compact and thickly
settled county; and differs from ours
mainly IN that we have much less mon
ey to spend and therefore have still
greater need of system which. will
give the best results per dollar spent.
So I say. for one, let the county
court, first put one capable man In
charge Of our roads. and, second, back
that man up.
The 6rst part of this prayer has been
complied with before now. Though
few people know it, our county engin-
eer is "in charge" of our roads. This
and other courts of our county have
put other men ''in charge" of our
roads, but without success. Why?
Because the second part has never had
the smallest chance-because the coun-
ty court has never given roadmaster
the free hand and the solidily backed
authority necessary to enable him to
get results.
The county court has freely and re-
peatedly given a reason why they have
never allowed the nominal head OF our
road work vestige of actual construc-
tive authority. They say, I'VE cannot
avoid the responsibility for the roads.
so we cannot put the road affairs really
into the hands of the iosdmaster.
Examine that reason both by compar-
son with other affairs in our own coun.
ty. and the road affairs of the neigh.