The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-04-29
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF THE GOOD
ROADS AMENDMENT TO THE CON-
STITUTION OF THE STATE OF
OKLAHOMA.



roads it could reasonably expect dur
ing the next seventeen years. The
Senators and Representatives in the
Legislature from that section would
Immediately proceed to oppose the ap'
preparation of any more money to
build roads in other parts fthe State
and the locality having the next
strongest political pull with the locat'
ing autority would secure the second
years appropriation and when that
money was spent and the road in that
locality built, the people in that Sec
ti0n could not expect the building of
any more roads there during the next
sixteen years, and the same thing
would happen with the third years ap
preparation and so on until before half
the system had been built there would
be q majority OF the Senate and House
with the roads already built in their
counties and the Legislature would re.
fuse to appropriate any more money to
build roads in other sections of the
State or to complete the system. 1t
would be unwilling to impose any
more taxes on the constituents of the
Senators and Representatives from the
counties in which the roads had al.
ready been constructed to build roads
for the rest of the State The building
OF the system would therefore stop.
The rest Of the State would forever
continue to crawl through the mud.
fln hoc xxybo Il ,ot
ed would be mere patch work of
roads scattered over the State in sec
tions having the strongest political
pull with the Legislature or the locat.
ing authority. A bond issue could not
then be voted to complete the system
because those sections of the State
which had gotten their roads would
not vote to bond themselves to build
roads for the rest of the people of
the State. 1t is therefore impossible
to build a statewide system in any
other way than a bond issue.
The proposed Amendment does not
fix the width of the roads nor the
speci cations thereof, because it is i'm
practicable to do so. That is purely
an engineering proposition. Where
there is a great amount of travel and
traffic, and the loading of the road is
heavy, the road should have heavy
construction and be of sufficient
width to accommodate the travel
thereon. In localities where the vol
ume Of travel and traffic is not SO
great, and the loading Of the rCaI is
not so heavy, there is no need Of such
heavy construction. nor Of building tho
road so wide The varying conditions
Of the different sections of the State
render it impracticable to fix rigid
standard of width Or specifications. It
is necessary to have some elasticity
in that respect and to place in the
hands of the Commission the deter
mination of what particular character
of road and what particular width of,
road should be constructed in any
particular locality.
The counties are not required to
contribute anything whatever toward
the construction of this trunk line sys-
tenn nor is the adjacent property re.
quired to contribute anything. The
counties and adjacent property are left
free and unburdened so that they
may have the means and ability to
build hard surface lateral roads from
this trunk line system leading out into
the various sections not touched by
the trunk lines, to the end that all the
people of the State may have access
to and enjoy the benefits and blessings
of the system of roads constructed By
the State
Wherever the trunk line system ira
verses the Incorporated limits of
town or city which has the power un-
der the law to pave its streets. the,
cost of construction of the road within
the corporate limits of such town or
city can not be met out of the State
bond issue, but If the city or town has
not such power the State builds the
road through the city and pays the
entire cost Of construction. Amy other
plan would be unfair to the wide
awake, progressive cities of the State
which have already paved their
streets.
1t will require a certain Clnount of
cost to build the state
system of roads whether they are built
On the bond issue plan or some other
plan. There must be a corps Of en-
ployees to supervise the spending of
The money and the building of the
roads in whatever plan may be adopt
I'D. There must be clerks, stenogra-
piers, engineers, inspectors and other
employees Of the State and the cost /
VIII be the same under whatever sys,
lem may be adopted.