The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-02-22
ELIMINATE PEANUT POLITICIANS.

,,tntor home He has bought dwelling at Or
mond but a short distance from Daytona, WHICH
he has rebuilt and enlarged as his permanent Will
| ter residence.
The Manufacturers Record which publishes
view of the home and the wide roadway in front
of it, commenting on the change of winter resi-
dence of the muItimonare, says: THE beautiful
road view in front of Mr. Rockefeller's home is
merely typical Of thousands of miles Of splendld
motor roads which, to its everlasting credit FLOP
has built during the last ten years a decade ago
Florida practically had no highways; it had cow
paths and logging roads Of bottomless sand. while
today one can motor for thousands of miles over
really exceptional highways of brick concrete. as
phalt and shell and rock roads,
A recent article, from the Saturday Evening
Post. quoted once before in The Journal, calls at
tention to the good roads Florida, and those in
prospect as one Of this states chief assets. The
Escamba County Roads Association has launched
Il campaign to secure good roads for this part OF
Florida, and West Florida share in public monies for
good roads improvements.
| Texas is doing some splendid work along this
line, and is setting the rest of the country good
pace to follow. The State Highway Department oe
Texas created in 1917 but it is only recently
that it has really begun to function welE
| In view of the fact that less politics
seems 20 have crept into the administration OF the
state good road fund, the following excerpt from
communication from Austin, Texas to the Manu-
facturers Record, may prove of value to the good
road experts of Florida, in warning them of What
not to do"
There concentrated plan for extending
highways entirely across Texas in a systematic
manner; in consequence of which the department.,
now that it would adopt the plan concentrating
energies upon the across state highways there being
need for two in either direction is confronted with
iS ntpJ
where there will not be counties badly hand-
capped they unable to issue bonds.
In some instances the counties have acquired this
handicap through progress plus peanut politics.
That is they have in other years gone the limit in
bond issues for roads, which denoted their progress
and then scattered their bond money in poor roads
through many precincts of the county, with result
that their roads already worn out but the
bond issues not, and they now find that they
are unable to secure good roads. go
The state department is in control of the situa-
ton, and the peanut politics will be eliminated 1t
has no tbeen altogether done away with because
the tribe of peanut politicians is a large one ard
members thereof appear in nearly every county.
But the statute under which the department operates
is broad one and most comprehensive Of the pow
ers conferred
The mamma of the State Highway Department
comes from two sources-Fcdera appropriation for
the former, Texas has received sI6O9I2i5 The re-
cepts from the latter average about S3OO0OOO per
annum but onehalf of this goes to- the counties as
a maintenance fund, and the cost Of collection is
charged against the state department. so that it
receives approximately st,5ooOOO from the tax
The expenses of the department. including freight
aho the hundreds of thousands OF number plates
and seals for the cars evidence that the tax has
been paid; the engineers and the printing which
IS great IN volume because of the variety of report
forms and other red tape to be supplied to the Of
fcias of counties, and the hundred and one renni
sites for the conduct of q department having as
having as many duties as has the highway denart
ment amount to some S5O000O leaving about 81
uooooo per annum for aid in the construction of
roads, and this fund is to be used assisting the
couhtleS Which bear handicaps preventing them
from issuing bonds a sufficient amount in bonds
10 perform the work needed if there is to be nar
feet system of state highways
during the year just ending 100000 cars were
registered in the state and the department has os
tmated that during 1920 there will be about 275
300; this is deemed conservative <as the ratio ~ -
crease which would be natural would RIM This
figure to 100000 and this will add some st3oooo or
more to the available road fund with little addition
to tie expenses
IL has been found somewhat difficult to conpe tba
counties to restrict the use of their nercanta 90
Tue TAX 10 the purpose intended. the maintenance
oil roads, and when there is a surplus in a county,
una IL IS generally felt that it must be spent for
something. Many counties have been enabled -
Uc' some sections of road from this fund
dnder the head Of maintenance, while others oa
rebuilding roads which have been worn out
Hecently there an attack upon tho ,.icb4 J..
the legislature to assess the tax upon autos and fo
supreme Court has upheld that right: so there win
De no doubt Of the continuance of the Assessment
me only danger is that within the next fov ,-oa..
'ne legislature may attempt to separate The sou.