Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1919-01-24
MEANS MORE THAN
BRANCH RAILROADS
r. W. Keller Favors Big Road Plan
in Communication Replete With
Valuable Suggestions

Good country roads and the motor
truck are going to mean more than
branch railroads to the farms sit
uated at some distance from market,
according to a letter from r. w.
Keeler of Stevens township endOrs-
ing the plan for Good Road to
Every Farm" Mr.. Keller also goes
into the practical question of drain
age necessary in connection with
road building, and considers the to-
tai cost as much less than the bene-
fits will be. His valuable cOmmuni-
cation follows:
"Chokio, Mimi, Jan. 20, 1919.
editor Morris Tribune
81 have given some thought to the
article, Good Road to Every Farm"
as published in your paper recently.
after careful study I feel that it
would be practical thing to do and
that the plan outlined could serve as
a basis from which to start.
"The writer assumes as many do
that the sale of war bonds indicates
the ease with which the money is
secured. Now the facts about the
buying of these bonds is that people
have done it from a sense of duty
and not from an investment stand
point I know that more than fifty
percent of the money for the purchase
of these bonds was borrowed at a
much higher rate of interest than
the bonds draw or else as in a big
per cent of the cases the buyers have
sold their bonds and assumed the
loss. So far as the bond issue is con-
cerned it would have to be largely
financed outside of the county.
Which could be done at a lower rate
of interest than could be obtained
by the people of the county.
Another thing as I understand
it at the present time there are about
one hundred miles Of State roads in
the county that could be deducted
from the total mileage. Also a care
full survey of some of our townships
shows that they contain some miles
of section lines that are not laid out
as roads and that there are also a
number of miles along section lines
over which not to excede fifty to
seventy-five light vehicles per year
travel nor is there any immediate
likelihood of there being any build
ings on these roads so that we could
safely deduct another hundred miles
that would not need to have more
than a slight expense put on them
I1
to put such a plan in full operation
there will have to be some simple
system devised to compel the drain
age of the larger ponds. The present
law is too complicated and expensive
for use in road building, where it
would become necessary to secure
outlets for drains across private pro-
perty should in many cases pay
large part of the cost of the drainage
costs. Then the county should be
organized as single district as it
is useless to incur the expense of or
ganizing more than one road district
and the organization should provide
that work should begin on the main
roads out from each town the same
season so as to forestall any fights
by the towns for preference in Sc
curing the work.
'"This as I see it could be done for
about fifty dollars additional taxes
per quarter section per year for
twenty years, when the bonds would
be paid by the above tax.
"This would be light charge con-
sidering the benefits derived. 1 be-
lieve that these roads could be main
tanned for less road tax than we
are now paying.
'Now for some of the reasons that
would favor this program.
1T would give us good dirt roads