The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-12-31

VIII De We'll tndl We give MN MS place
willingly for he is sure to take il ev-
en- if the opposition is strenuous. The
day of the grandfather has passed and
with him his set ideas and notions
that the young must wait.
Here is the quotation from the
speaker referred to:
The soldiers who have been in
France and Belgium and Italy and have
seen the government roads of those
countries, reaching to the smallest
hamlets, will not be satisfied with con-
ditions in our agricultural sections
until We, too. have a system of roads
fairly comparable to those on the con.
tinent. II we expect these boys to
return to the farms from which they
came or go to the farms in new sec
tions, we must prepare the way by a
system of roads that will connect
them not only with their adjacent
communities, but with the county as
a whole
Not one person present at the
Congress, so far as | observed, raised
an objection 10 bond issue for high
way construction. Illinois has just
voted a bond issue of 100000 900 :.
which ii is believed will but supple
ment whatever aid may come from the
national government. mention
Illinois as showing the tendency in
progressive states. This bond issue
in this western state means a tax levy
OF ten dollars per capita to care for il.
After the experience of other states
in building highways on the revenue
from bond flotations, and the still
further desire on the part of other
commonwealths to adopt this policy,
why should Vermont continue to hest
tate in adopting a like policy?
THE only arguments | have ever
heard advanced i'm opposition to bond
issue for highway purposes are first
that we should pay as we 20, and.
second, that Vermont has no bond
Indebtedness and should not have.
This means nothing and the argu
ments are childish cannot conceive
of any Vermonter and it matters not
from what section of the state he may
have gone, who having listened to the
big men present at the Chicago high
way congress listened to their ex
pressed desire to build for the future
could return home with the feeling
that we should continue our present
patchwork policy and pay as we 60"
We listened TO speeches on all
phases of road building, regarding
material and the proper machinery
for handling the material. But we
listened to no speech or no argument.
ffavoring dirt roads
Speaking about machinery it might
be well here 10 remark that Vermont
expending better than a million dol
lars annually at the present time on
our highways owns no road building
machinery not even hoe. Even if
the next Legislature is adverse TO the
adoption OF a new policy and contin
ues to depend upon the towns for
whatever machinery is used in the
building of our highways. il would not
be right II would not be playing
fair with the towns.
Throughout the entire Congress
both while in session and when dis
cussing road building outside the
meetings the universal sentiment was
for efficiency in construction and
a continuance of that same efficiency
In maintenance. While this theme is
III MIND cannot help but recall what
ut the time seemed to be good road
building in our state, was as soon as
completed. apparently forgotten both
by state and town officials and was not
recalled to mind until that particular
piece OF road was completely worn out
ana absolute reconstruction necessary
in order to make it passable. This
certainly is not efficiency. But if IL is
then efiiciencyit meansisomething dii
ferent to me than il does to the ind
viduals building our roads.
Il see no reason why a dollar o,
4 pended on the highways of Vernon
should not show up as dollar wei
expended for either material or labor
and this applies to whatever policy o
road building may be adopted
L am informed that approximately
one million dollars is available yearl,
for highway work in the state. Ever
this expenditure il would seem, /
properly applied should give us hig
ways that would be serviceable i
the early spring and the late fall
, under the present system our higl
ways are quite inpassable until Ma,
and they again become quite impa
e sable in October, or even earlier, as /
S certainly the case the present year
}. am speaking of automobile travel
S Heavy travel. or heavily loade
r trucks, was subject of considerabl
p attention in the Congress. Some ia
] ored practically unlimited tonnag,
S while others would restrict the TO
g mage to as low as three tons, but a
# with the idea of constructing the hig
n ways to hold up under these heav
loads.
D. In building "a new HIGHWAY polio
y for Vermont the coming heavy trav,
n feature OF the future and this is ne,
ii at hand, should be given careful ct
IS sideration.
e In closing may say that a
Of strongly of the opinion that only hal
S. surfaced roads will meet the requi
e. ments of the future. IL the state c,
m tinues the construction OF dirt
G. gravel roads they must be given 81
IN stantial foundation and adequa
* maintenance. And maintenance "
in be necessary and economical no M
= ter what kind of highway is constr6
be- ed
Rebuilding the same highw
every twelve months, or TO be more