The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1921-12-15
ADJUSTING THE TAXES HOW BINGHAM
COUNTY LOST ITS MONEY ON HIGHWAYS
Roads Are Built and Rebuilt in Effort to Have
the State Accept Them as Highways
and Aid in Upkeep

hands and turned over to the stat,
to maintain, piowed up Ions
stretches of fairly good road ant
graded 1t in early summer, hopins
there would be rains following tt
pack 1t down. OF course, It did mo-
rain, and the road was ruined. Ou,
own local people complained bitterly
OF the blunder and the tourists con.
demned us from Dan to Beershaba
IN the course Of the summer and fall
much OF the dust blew away, leaving
holes and ruts in the road and when
winter came with rain and snow II
was something awful. The next ad.
ministration had to take the ruined
highway and try to do what the other
Fellows had paid for, and when they
got 1t graded about right, the state
highway commissioner looked it over
and said the grades were too soft and
the bridges and culverts did not
come up to specifications and he
would not accept it. This was the
second time we had bought" that
highway, and in both instances It was
done with that certain kind OF ma
terial that hades is said to be paved
With-good intentions.
Repeated the Dose
BY this time another board of
commissioners had been elected and
the tourist travel was so heavy thew
mad to do something about the high
way and they found that by having a
little trimming done here and there
they would have it acceptable to the
state. So they tore up some pretty
good road to put on finishing touches
and in order to know Just what to do |
they had to have it surveyed. The
state furnished the surveyors and
they had to be paid by this county.
and their bills were considered ont.
rageous, but we had agreed to that
arrangement and had to pay. When
we finally got the road into proper
condition for the state to accept. the
'tate had no money and could not
keep the road in repair. Thev
imply sat back and let the road 20
Q pieces and we got the blame and
'uffered the inconvenience. We had
o travel the road, the state govern
nent and the highway department.
ould go by rail thru this part Of
daho, so we had to take uD the
urden again, after having 'bought"
state road three times. II
Making Us the Goat
In the course of all these trans
ctlons, the state kept charging to
ne county account the wages. carl
ire, hotel expense and various other +
llngs expended by it's men looking
fter this survey work, and the
)unty on different occasions maid
Ills for the state and charged the 9
ems to the state. Each party was !,
opposed to approve and pay the bills =
presented, but the state is said to
ave always omitted payment of it's
lare. once when the county had =
IL against the state for about $1OOOT v
the state had bill against the .
'unty for about $500, neither party y
ia, and the commissioner of the y
ghway department sat down with 9
= commissioners and showed them :,
nat lots of things the state had u
me for the county which had not
'en charged at all, but might have
zen II he had not been so anxious q
is county and that would have run
9 Dill up to more than the $500, B
a more than the bill the county b,
d charged against the state, and r
IN the course of the conference, F
ey agreed to balance the accounts 81
tnout paying any money either ei
". That was for business done in te
Continued on page four