The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-01-27
OUR ROADS FOR THE
YEAR 1921

Considerable anxiety is being ex-
pressed over the question of how we
shall take care of our roads for the
season 1921. The county has only
$4,000 to expend on roads for the
whole year and that will only be
about enough to replace broken
planks and keep the bridges and
culverts in repair. It is generally
agreed that our new bond roads will
need considerable attention to keep
from cutting thru and getting rutty
because they are not we'll packed yet,
and there is merit in that contention.
On the other hand the commission
ers are ambitious to keep the road
expense down this year SO that they
shall not be under the necessity OF
drawing deficiency warrants or other
wise violating the law. If they can
get new start a year from now with
the taxes to be collected in 1922 that
will be going in debt, but it will not
be going in debt in violation Of the
law. The commissioners propose to
hold the road work down to $4,000
this year if it is humanity possible.
That brings up the question of
what is going to become of our new
bond road. There are 1O4 miles of
grades that are not very we'll packed
yet and that need protection to keep
the mfrom taking harm from the
traffic.
That matter need not worry the
people of this county very long; they
have the remedy within their own
hands and are able to apply it. 1t
will require some sacrifice on the
part of individuals living along the
road, but as they receive more bene-
fit from the road than anyone else
they may be willing to consider max
ing such sacrifices.
The Way to Do 1t
1t is always desirable to do some
work with the horses in the spring to
get them hardened ready for the field
work in advance of the actual field
operations. We have had a wet fall
and winter and the graded roads will
begin to dry up before the fields are
ready to work If the farmers living
along the line of the bonded roads
would get out with harrows and
drags and work short time each
day putting the roads in condition
and getting the horses toughened in
ready for spring work it might be
done at time when they would not
feel that it was much Of a burden
to the roads, getting them smoothed
and packed and If this work were
done at the right time the season
would open with the roads in unusu-
ally good condition.
If the county had money in the
treasury that it could use it would
be willing to pay for all this drag
cling, but since there is no money
that can be expended for that pur-
pose the next best plan is for those
who have the means of protecting
the roads to go along and protect
them at such times as they can and
then for the public to watch carefully
and not travel in streaks to make
new ruts.
1t will not be said that this is ask
ing too much of the people who live
along these new roadways: they get
more of the benefits of them than
ANYBODY else and in an emergency
such measures must be taken as are
POSSIBLE under the circumstances
The people of the towns are some
times called upon to raise sums of
money for emergencies and in these
M tiers the country people are not
often asked to contribute. For in
stance, there is the improvement of
the road between Blackfoot and
Arco. Plans are under consideration
for raising a couple of thousand dol
lars in Blackfoot and $1,000 in Arco
for emergency work in improving
that road. 1t will be benefit to the
country at large. but when such
things are done the people in the