Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-09-05
Long Straightens
Road Law Tangles

Burlington, Sept. 5.-"What are the
most misrepresentcd and misunder-
stood features of the road law?' was
the question put at Joe Long, founder
of the Blue Grass road and for doz-
en- years we'll known as a speaker ana
writer and organizer in the cause or
highway improvement.
We'll, I should say there were four
or five points that especially persist in
getting twisted and in most of them
there is ample opportunity for trouble
Probably the one that causes most APP
rrchension is the limit of special, as
sessments.
Most people have heard that it Is
per cent altho many get the % per
cent OF the cost of the pavement mixed
up and they think it is % per cent or
the value of the property, but fully
one half of the people believe you can
be assessed 4. per cent whenever you
are caught in an assessment district.
Now the law plainly says Under no
circumstances whether in one or more
assessment districts" can any land be
assessed in the aggregate more than I
per cent of its fair market value. IN
other words $500 an acre land could
not be, assessed more than IS if you
built paved roads around II.
State and Federal Funds.
Second. l should say comes the
utter confusion of ideas concerning
state and federal funds and the OPP
tons of the county. You see we have
no state aid in Iowa as in other
states. That is we do not go fifty-fifty
with the county on any work. The
state revenues from the motor Vehicl"
license go into the primary road fund
and are allotted by agreement with the
federal authorities to the counties.
Federal aid is not allotted to counties
by the federal government but only to
states. This money is never turned
over to the county and is not even de-
posted in its name. The county has
book credit for it only, until it uses
it., Des Moihes county, as county
will pay not. one cent for the improve
ment of it's primary system, the only
taxes under the law connected with
that end being the interest in case you
sometime decide to anticipate the al
lotment by more than one year. Then
you must have another vote and tax
all the property in the county to pay
the interest. OF course that question
is not involved in this election.
Third comes the argument whether
a county does or does not lose it's share
of the money If it votes no" Verasity
is often openly questioned on this
matter and the charge of misrepre-
sentation frequently made. There IS
no provision in the acts Of the last
general assembly for a redistribution
of the funds unused. Until such pro-
vision is made the credit on the books
will stand. Some officials take the po-
sition that that the redistribution pro-
vfded under the law Of 1917 applies.
do not believe that it can possibly
apply to anything unless it be the
funds available before the passage OF
the new law and I hardly think it APP
plies there. OF course the next legis-
lature will probably act upon the
question Of redistribution of funds
where counties will not accept them
on work approved by state and federal
authorities.
Fourth. and in some parts of the
state this has been the most bitter ar
gnment Of all. comes the matter OF
whether the fund may be used for
crawling the primary system instead
of paving The counties that have
had graveled roads a long time, like
Greene, or Clay, or Dickinson. voted
heavily for paving the main arteries
because they have learned by eXper-
fence that gravel will not carry this
extra heavy traffic. But in counties
where only a few roads had recently
been graveled the Improvement had
been so great that many thought that
nothing better could possibly be built
and therefore paving was a waste OF
money. 1t was this sentiment that
caused the insertion in the law OF a
provision that the primary funds
could be used for graveling If the
board of supervisors so directed. OF
course iowa cannot bind the federal
government to any plan Of SPENDING
the federal funds and they constitute
one-half Of the cost of the roads. The
federal government has said that they
would not approve gravel projects on
"main thoroughfares." don't know
what their idea OF main thoroughfares
Is, but doubt whether there Is much
other kind Of road in our primary
system. And. moreover. the law pro-
vides that gravel or oil shall be treat
ed on the primary roads as mainte-
nance only"