The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-09-17


Der 2, 1920. Relieves the coun-
ties and townships or the bur-
den of maintaining the state
highways and leaves all county
and township ROAD funds for the
construction and maintenance Of
each county. Will put every farm
in the state within q short dis
lance Of a gravel surfaced road
leading to the main concrete high
way only short distance away.
Note-This road plan will be
designated as Amendment No l
on the ballot.
The 50 called Babcock plan as en-
braeed In the pending constitutional
amendment provides in itself for
trunk highway system Of approx
matsly 1000 miles OF roads reaching
into all parts of the state of Mime
sofa connecting every county seat
and important city and village with
every other county seat and impor-
tant city or village In the state. It
provides that this system shall be
located, constructed, reconstructed
improved and forever maintained as
D DsSI,s highways by the state of Min
To Reach Ever Nook And Corner
The full Importance Of this plan
Is not to be comprehended without
a complete understanding CT high
way problems in the state Of Minue-
sofa. The mere establishment Of a
trunk highway system while It is
worth hundreds of millions of doll
ars to the state does not give to the
people the full benefits to be derived
by good roads. It's real importance
this trunk system Is to be the main
line of comprehensive system Of
highways reaching into every nook
and corner of the state and giving
the benefits OF good highway trans
portation to the most Isolated COM
munists
Minnesota has and has had for
many years healthy road building
fund. One Is astonished by an ex-
animation Of statistics which reveals
the facts that the state has spent in
100000 for road construction, but
this establishment is increased when
we learn that these funds have been
mounting rapidly each year and the
average total funds available from
state aid county and township levies
for the past two years amounts to
$10, $3.50 year.
But with these enormous funds at
its disposal the state has not been
able to keep pace with demand for
psrmanent highway construction
of motor car and motor truck traffic.
The volume Of this traffic moving
over the main highways has made
necessary the expenditure of a large
portion OF these available funds each
year in the main roads am as a re-
suit there has been little money avail
able for the building OF secondary
roads or those highways which lead
from the main roads out into the
farming communities.
Long Experience.
connection with the highway depart
ment Of the state thai past two years
as commissioner of highways has
realized that there is need Of good
road from the place where the traffic
starts to the place where II ends and
that although under existing condi-
lions It might be possible to keep the
main highways in a passable condi-
ton the farmers of the state would
not be well served until it became
possible to improve the roads con-
hCSSAA6 lhOiA ioA Will lAOoC
roads. "A road Is no better than its
poorest spot" is the maxim which
Mr.. Babcock keeps in mind at all
times.
eff we can remove this burden of
main roads from the counties and
townships" Mr.. Babcock argued
"and leave the funds which they have
been spending on them available for
construction Of secondary roads we
can solve the road problem in Mime
sofa"
With this in mind he conceived the
idea OF creating an entirely new fund
to be raised by bond issue which in
turn was TO be betrayed by the own
ers of motor vehicles through an in
creased license fee, with which he
proposed to build the trunk highway
system. He submitted this PROPOSE
ton to representatives OF automobile
clubs and other organizations and
learned that they would gladly sup
stantia1 increase in their motor We
hicle licenses If the entire proceeds
were to be devoted to the building of
highways.
State Cannot Do II.
It was then necessary to determine
Just what form the proposed legisla-
ton would take. The constitution
fOrDids the state as state to en-
gage In works .of internal improve
ment and the supreme court has held
that the building of roads and bridges
as a work of internal improvements
within the meaning Of the provisions
of the constitution The state Is also
forbidden In the construction to incur
debt In excess Of $250,000. There are
two provisions must be removed from
the constitution.
There were two forms In which a
bond issue proposition might be plac-
ed before the people One of motor
vehicles on a different basis these
simply was to authorize the legisla-
ture to issue the bonds Of the state
to some stated amount and then leave
the selection of the roads to, be i'm
proved to future legislators or some
designated board. The other plan
was to lay out a definite system OF
roads and authorize the legislature to
issue bonds IN such amounts as would
be necessary to finance their con-
struction.
There are many objections to the
first plan, among these were the fact
that no one would know just where
the money was to be spent nor would
LIT be known whether the money
would be eouitably distributed over
the state. There was still another
objection which was the benefit of
the construction work Wsoffld not ac-