Morris tribune., 1920-08-13
LEE ARGUES FOR GRAVEL
IN PLACE OF CONCRETE
Would Build Five Times Many lies of Gravel Roads With the
Changes Cement Trust PrOpaganda-Cites
Attorney General Whether Present
Spent System Continuing the Road Debate

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villages and cities, except streets in
the cities of Minneapolis, st. Paul
and Duluth. The intent, therefore,
is to build within the limits of all
such villages and cities of second,
third and fourth classes.
Very truly yours,
G. H. Christopherson,
! Assistant Attorney General.
/ favor raising a road fund by a
tax on autos, said Senator Lee, and
L also think that the cities should
help pay for the roads in the country,
but when we are putting this tax on
the vehicles which use the roads. is
it proper that only the autos pay?
Why not make the other vehicles
pay?
Then in the cities, Mr.. Babcock has
talked about the rich men with their
autos paying this tax, but he has
said nothing about the man who
makes his living with truck pay
ing the tax from which he gets no
benefit. He just drives his truck
! around the city and the money that
he pays to be spent on trunk high
ways out in the country will be no
benefit to him.
In these days every young man in
the country has to have a Ford Just
the same as he used to have a horse
and buggy, and maybe that is all
the property he owns. So is it right
that he pays the same heavy tax on
that auto as the rich farmer who
also has an auto but has much other
property besides?
In the northeast part of the state
they have great iron mines which
are escaping their just share of tax
alton and are controlled by the steel
trust. The legislature passed a ton
mage tax, but the steel trust con-
trolls the governor so they don't have
to pay. Now under this amendment
the fson mines will not have to pay
one cent? but the poor drayman in
the cities will have to pay.
think the state should build the
main roads, but before vote for this
amendment, 1 would like to know
what kind of surface they are going
to put on the roads. All the talk
is about hard surface, and yet they
are not going to raise taxes. And
they tell you that you'll get it all
by just making cross after the
yes" on the ballot. They must think
we are suckers to vote for it when
they promise us something for
nothing.
We better wait for two years and
start right than to do it now and
start wrong. If you want road for
everybody, the thing to do is for us
all to get together-the governor
could call special session and do it
noW-and propose a new amend
ment and instead of 1000 miles of
! hard surface road build 10000 miles
Of gravel and sand-clay roads, These
hard surface roads the big truck
| owners want and the summer re-
sorts want and the sports want, but
what we want is to vote down this
amendment and fix a better one. If
special session is held it could be
fixed this year. This amendment will
just give good roads for the few and
leave the rest in the mud. Why
build roads for the big Is ton truck?
We don't need them. The ton and
half and two ton truck is big
enough for us.
The cost of these hard surface
roads is going to be much higher
than they figure. wrote to various
counties for copies of the bids for
cement roads, and the lowest bid
there was from Pipestone county at
$4,000 mile. The grading and
bridges and culverts are extra and
would bring the cost up to $4,000
to $4,000 mile. Even at $4,000
a mile, it would take $245, 100000
to hard surface 1000 miles. And
if the auto tax yields SO, 900 a
year, it will take at least rs years
to build this whole system, and will
probably take nearer 70 years, as
Mr.. Ronning said.
Just think, if you had a quarter
section of land, and they built a ce-
ment road past it and charged up the
cost to the land, and the land was
worth $11O an acre, it would just
take that quarter section of land to
pay for the road past it. To build
this system Of roads which they are
planning on would take a strip Of
land mile wide from New York to
San Francisco to pay for it. I'm not
saying that it is not worth it, but
would 1t not be better to have five
times as much Of gravel road.
And the hard surface road will
not last forever but will have to be
maintained? The concrete contracts
and expands and cracks in the heat