Morris tribune., 1920-07-30

or any money upon which the legis-
lature can get their hands on? Yes,
there is the state road and bridge
fund. 1t is claimed by the advo-
Gates of this amendment that this
road and bridge fund will not be used
for the trunk highway but that
this will be released for use upon the
other state roads in the different
counties. This is a matter of spe-
culation, but as the legislature will
be pretty hard up for money, much
harder up than the counties and
townships, it will be a strong tempt
alton to take this fund for use on
the trunk highway. They will, no
doubt, have to follow constitutional
provisions that not more than per
cent of that part of the state road and
bridge fund derived from interest on
internal improvement land fund and
from the one mill tax, can be spent
in any one county, but that is not
such great handicap. The legisla-
ture or the highway department can
give 3 per cent of this fund to 22
counties and IL per cent to the other
sc counties, and you have complied
with the constitution.
For the year 1919, the total re-
ceipts of the state road and bridge
fund was about 1 IL million dollars.
Amendment No, will decrease this
fund on account of the license fees
on automobiles, part Of which form
erly went into this fund. For the
year, 1919, this amounted to about
$188,OOO. We will call the state
road and bridge fund IL million
dollars and add this to the 10 mil
lion dollars from the bonds and you
have liz million dollars in the
trunk highway fund.
ADMINISTRATION EXPENSE
What is the first charge against
this fund? In order that this trunk
highway system can be carried out
a large force of engineers, inspectors
and clerks must be employed by the
state highway department. 1t is but
istration expenses of the department
will be taken out of this fund. I am
not in position to give any approx
innate estimate, but the United States
department of agriculture after
five years experience in handling the
federal appropriation, set aside 3 per
cent of the entire federal appropria-
ton for the year ending June, 1921.
AS it required per cent for the de-
partment of agriculture, simply to
examine plans of projects made and
to inspect the work, it will require a
much larger per cent for the state
highway department, which has to
have charge Of all the field work,
surveying, engineering work, draw
ing plans and specifications etc. It
is pretty safe to say it would take at
least half million for administra-
ton expenses. This leaves us II
million in the trunk highway fund.
ENCUMBRANCEs ON FUND
Does this fund come to the state
of Minnesota, free and clear of all
encumbrances? Oh, No! There will
be a big mortgage against it. By
the terms Of the amendment, the leg
islature is authorized to reimburse
any county for money expended by
it subsequent to February list, 1919,
in permanently improving any road
that is a part of the trunk highway
hn 90 n
passed an act authorizing County
Boards to bond their counties UP
to $25O,00O for securing funds for
Ncertain road purposes. The County
Boards were urged to issue bonds
transfer money from other funds
and to otherwise spend all the money
possible upon roads embraced within
, the proposed trunk highway system,
on the assumption that if amend
ment No. passed, they would be re-
embUrsed not only for the bonds is
sued, but for any other money they
spent on this proposed trunk high
way system in permanently improv-
ing the same during the years 1919
! and 1920. Many counties issued
bonds under this SO called emergency
act and up to the month of March,
this year, the bonds issued under the
act totaled Is million dollars Many
counties have issued bonds since that
, time and it would not be surprising
if the bonds issued under this act
will total 20 million dollars by the
end of this year. Permanently i'm
proving the roads, does not mean
hard sufacing the roads, and it is
safe to say that an additional ten
million dollars has been spent in
1919 and 1920 in grading roads
within the proposed trunk highway
! system. This makes a total encum-
: hronoo o~c;re% 4bo 4r,,rIv hsoH, 1880,