The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1919-03-27


I :ic-wool~ prohihisionis,s and They'll
eight and cppose anything that Is IA
vertd by a local option mar. The gooS
I road billwas an administration mcasur,
favored By Gov Clement and i
give power TO appoint the commits
Gion- These hidcbound p:ohihit.orist,
saw an opportunity TO trim" Clement
and used the good rof6 bill as the
fe.uh, Forgetting that they were oppos.
ing the progress Of the s.'te and doins
even more injury than the LEGAL option
people in their prosaganos for tying
to defeat nationwide prohibition.
Had anyone else been governor the
road bin would probably have passed
without much opposition. II does not
pay TO elect governor who is 80
dead set against popular will on a
question Of SO much Importance.
Now that the towns representatives
have voted TO continue the present pol
icy Of highway construction and main
tenance IL will be the duty of those
representatives 10 see that their towns
do their work well. But they won't.
The Vermont roads will continue to be
the Laughing stock" Of all the tour
lists from away and Vermonters them.
selves will have to keep pretty close
at home--the present condition Of the
roads will not permit Of much extend
ed travel. Then when spring comes
rs too awful 10 think about.--(Bur-
lingtoh Clipper)
Nothing has ~.rprised us any more
tkAn TO read that the good roads bill
before the legislature had been killed.
We can hardly understand it. What
were the members thinking of? We
supposed they were men who were
progressive; who took real interest
in the affairs of the state; who would
support any measure that would prove
an uplift to the county and town in
which they lived; and which certain
ly would prove benefit TO themselves.
Today state is known throughout
the nation through a record of its
roads, whether good or bad. Every
official automobile Blue Book contains
these records. Every automobile tour
list owns and studies these books. His
trips are frequently governed accord
ing to the roads they describe. II YER
mont should cater to excellent through
highways. and we might add--good
roads in the back districts as well--it |
would soon be known from one end of
the nation to the other. What better
acset is there to a state than good
roads ? They bring people to us, and
these people bring money, and spend
it. No wonder the Burlington Clip
per asks, in referring to the members
of the legislature in their killing of the
bill, "How could they do it," :,
The Clipper lays considerable stress
upon the influence of the prohibition
lists in the killing of the bill because
they were opposed to Governor Gle
ment. While aware that some of
these iron-clad prohibs have done Pc
culiar things in the past, it hardly
seems possible, all things considered,
that they would spite themselves,
knowing the full blessings of good
roads, just for the sake of cpiting a ,
governor whom they imagined was op-
posed to some of their pet schemes.
We would rather believe, as the Clip
per has mentioned, that some Of the
had an idea that the good
roads bill, If passed, would take away
from the taown the towns right to
construct its own roads and to spend
its own money in its own way
We did believe in the town method
Of constructing roads, as stated above.
We do now in measure, especially as
it might apply to back roads. But
through lines on the principal high
ways are different. Our present meth.
cd of constructing roads is "piece-
meal" work-too long drawn out-a
strip Of good road to plunge into
strip Of bad, which is irritating. We
believe our through highways should ,
now become state affairs and be push /,
ed to completion as soon as possible. .
Towns will not work together in unity
in this because they will not 60 be-
yond the limit Of their funds. So we !.
must put up with streak Of good, :
and streak of bad, until we can elect .
of legislature who will see
that this method is wrong. Then pa
trolling the highways. We have seen I.
no mention made of this; and yet, the
only and cheapest way to keep up good ,
roads is to have them patrolled by sec ,,
ton or roadmen chosen for the pur-
pose. We have seen something Of the /.
Dixie and other highways this winter, ,
me the quicker Vermont .