The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1920-07-28
amendment No. |
Needs Your Vote
The BABCOCk PLAN SPONSORED
By THE MINNESOTA HIGHWAY
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

The adoption Of the pending Consti-
tutlonal Amendment No. 1, establishes
IN minnesota State Trunk Highway
system OF approximately 1000 miles
OF nam or arterial roads, which reach
es into every section Of the state, the
highways to be located, constructed
reconstructed, improved and forever
maintained as public highways by the
state Of Minnesota
a The construction and maintenance
the roads in this system is to be
y zone by the state of Minnesota and is
be financed in SO far as it may be
sessary or advisable by bond issue,
,,J5ch bonds are to be retired by the
= 7Oceeds from an increased tax on
sssnot r~Vehicles. Such tax to be in lieu
OF all other taxes on motor vehicles
The amendment limits the issue of
bonds in any calendar year to $10,-
100000 par value and provides that
there shall never be more than $751;
100000 in bonds outstanding. The
amendment does not set any limit to
the number of years within which bond
may be issued, but requires that $75,-
100000 must be paid before any out
standing bonds in excess of addition
~ DSAAtAo Sc1ll OS IOSuCO. Lie dluCuu-
ment simply authorizes the Legislature
to issue bonds but does not make the
issuance of bonds mandatory.
In order to finance the Trunk High
way System established by Amend
nent No. l, it will be necessary to
levy a license fee on automobiles which
IN all probability will average about
Sl8 per car and ranging doubtless
from about $40 to $12 for the smaller
cars up to as much as $50 to $75 for
the larger and more expensive cars
and trucks. If the legislature should
set such an average annual license fee
1t would justify an issue of bonds to
the full limit Of the constitutional
amendment, because the bonds and in
Aasterests thereon could be retired by the
"a pceeds from motor vhicle license
y hose who have made an extended
sdy of the amendment, are of the be-
gfef that it will not be necessary for
%the state to issue small amount for
F1the purpose Of refunding to number
pf counties, the money expended ir
9he construction of portions of the
ltproposed Trunk Highway System.
i At least $5,0O0,000 will be received
from the increased license upon motor
vehicles for the year 1921 and much
larger amount will be received annual
( ly thereafter in consequence of the
rapid increase in the number of motor
vehicles. In all probability such sums
of money would meet the total ex-
penditures in road construction, and
especially for the next few years, be-
cause of the scarcity of both labor and
materials for road construction. The
i practicability, the advisability, or the
Necessity for the issue of bonds is q
matter that may safely be left to the
pod judgment of the peoples repre-
y natives in the legislature.
BY the establishment of the Trunk
| Highway System all of the local road
Hnds-th state aid, county and town
! ship levies are left intact to be used
by local authorities in building and
maintaining the local or feeder roads
These funds, based on the past two
years average, amount to the gigan-
tic total of about 100000 a year
By diverting some of the money to
the exclusive. use of the county and
township road building authorities
they would be enabled to construct
many thousand miles of first-class To-
cal roads.