The record., 1917-04-05

'N'J oJShSb lOdu ACCOUNTS ana
Financial ControI-This Would Place
Expenditures on a Sound Basis.
The greatest part of the large annual
expenditure for roads is for construc-
tion, writes E. w. James, chief of main
tenance, United States office of public
roads, i'll the New York Evening Post.
Another large part is spent in repair
ing worn out roads. Very little is spent
systematically for maintaining in good
condition roads already built. The fact
that it is usually impossible to separ-
ate expenditures for construction, re-
pair and maintenance indicates the in
different attitude of local officials to-
ward maintenance. What such indif-
ference means should be thoroughly
understood.
The idea of building roads with bond
money is good one. The arrangement
can often be made to good business ad-
vantage, and is a good device for MAX
ing poSterity share in the payment of
a certain advantage that we 'bequeath
to it. But as usually practiced the
arrangement of issuing bonds serves
actually to Shift all payment to poster
ity and to exhaust the proceeds Of the
sale in our own generation. We are
heavily discOunting the future in road
building, and unless some change is
brought about, financial difficulties are
sure to come that can be met only by
heavy direct taxes that will have to be
expended without any direct benefits.
The first step toward remedying this
condition is really very simple one.
Every mile of improved road built by
q county from any funds whatever
should create a determinable annual
liability against the annual road reve-
nues of the county. This liability is
determined by a competent engineer as
the probable annual cost of mainte-
nance of that particular mile of i'm
proved road.
Let US assume the case OF a county
having $4,000 annual road revenue
under the ma Ximum levy. The county
already has 900 miles of common dirt
roads and is unable to keep them in
good condition for $33 per mile, be-
cause of the heavy traffic near the mar
ket towns. SO it plans to issue bonds
and to construct gravel roads near the
principal market towns or railroad
points or centers of population. The
question is, How many miles of gravel
road should the county build? The en-
gineer advising the county studies the
materials available and estimates that
roads built with the best local gravel
will cost $!20 per mile annually to
maintain. TO maintain the dirt roads
at least $50 per mile should be allowed
on 100 miles. BY simple cOmputa-
tion we find that fifty-six miles Of gray
el road at $125 is $1,000, and 100 miles
of dirt road is $4,000, and our $4,000
revenue is exhausted. This is, then,
the limit of such road that the county
should construct.
Our county governments are not so
efficient as our city governments. How
ever honest county officials may be,
however seriously they take their du-
ties, they labor under heavy bur-
den OF habit and custom that practi-
cally makes impossible any thorough,
effective work by present methods.
In 1911 the United States expended
in all $249, ,U55,0 ,0G7 for road work; a
quarter of a billion dollars; more than
one-third of the value of the 1916 cot
ton crop at 70 cents per pound. If we
would conserve this tremendous annual
investment Of public wealth in public
works so that it may be cumulative in
effect and not dead annual charge fol
transportation. we must revise ou1
methods of conducting road affairs, in
troduce prOEer supervision, proper
business methods, and once and for al
take roads ont of local politics.
The instrEmentality for accomplish
ing these ends is proper system OF
road maintenance, with its auxiliary
system of road accounts and financia
control S;ch system will save the
community from assuming an undue
burden of lied charges, will provide
for the permanent and effective upkeeI
of the public property represented by
the road system, will distribute the an
uual revenues where traffic and invest
ment values demand, and not as sought
by local pcin :cians, and will place th'
largest single item of public eIpendi
ture, that for public roads, on Il bust
ness basis. ['hc result will be that th'
huge investment of annual public reye
nues will have a cumulative value AM
the public property represented by tina
investment will be permanently con
served