The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-02-14
Doing With Booze Doesn't Prevent Monday
THE HIGHWAY LAW
Must Be improved, Says George w.
Plumb TO Obtain Improved HlahWays

| The present State highway law pro
vides a five per cent tax on the grant
lists of towns and cities, which tax II
paid into the State treasury and theI
reapport oned to the towns, cities anC
Incorporated villages on the basis o
nad mileage. The funds 80 raised ar,
available for the Sofa led permanent
Improvement of state highways. This
sum for the past fiscal year amounted
TO approximately $4,000, Benn!ng
toms port on being $695.2O Powna
received an equal amount. while
SALISBURY drew $S7577, having the
largest road mileage IN the county
Gong 10 the other extreme, Glasten
bury's share was $27.0S.
There Is also an annual appropria
ton Of $260,000 available for road i'm
provement and superv sion under 10
cal option, the law provid ng that a
town may vote a sum for re ad i'm
proyement of not less than $780, nor
more than $1,000 TO be matched by an
equal amount from this fund.
Bennington, Manchester and Reads
boro were the only towns in this
county voting their full quota of $1,000
each, while Landgrove and Shafts.
bury voted but 800 each Sandgate,
Stanford and Woodford voted moth
ng. The rema nder Of the towns vot.
ed sums ranging from $3.50 to $500
each.
After matching the appropriations
voted by the towns, meeting the ordi.
nary expenses Of the highway com.
missioner's Office, the maintenance
and operating expenses of state
owned draw br dges. the maintenance
Of state owned trucks-which were
donated to the state by the war de-
partment- assisting in Federal Aid
requirements, etc, there is generally
a surplus which Is apport oned to the
various C unit es. This surplus fund
the past year amounted to about
$4,000, OF which Bennington county
was allotted about $4,000.
Road improvements in this county
by funds available from the above
sources was made dur ng the past
season as follows: The IS, 3. and
G.. 81 being an 'abbreyiatlon for
stone base and gravel surgace" while
the other type is OF gravel only.
Arlington, 65 rods, S. B. and G. S.,
ss9l.
Bennington, IS rods, S, b. and G s.,
1880.
Dorset, "a rods, gravel, s1,541.
Glastonbury, 30 rods, gravel, 1928,
NLandgrcyc, 123 rods gravel, ST3s
Manchester, 60 rods, S. y and G.
s., s2,O42,P
Peru, 81 rods. gravel, $1,IS7
'Pownal, 90 rods, gravel, S3.956.
+Readsboro, IL rods, s. D. and G. s.,
s2.ig7.
Rupert, lsl rods, gravel $l.Si2.
Sandgate. 2S rods, gravel, 1904
Searsburg, 81 rods, gravel,
sL73al m t48 gaos
Shaftsbury. 81 rods, gravel $l.076
o Stamford, rods, $ b., and q. 81
s3i7. .fU,slr -l ei ar
Sunderland. 46 rods. gravel, Sls7
'Winhsll, IS rods, S. H. and c. s.,
sil26S. AH s~ae 'i'" aA7o
Wocdford, 81 rods, S. y. and G. s.,
I$L3S3 a4sF
Total. s2S.246.
tLandgroye, Peru and Winhall work
Included the cOmplet on OF Jobs start.
ed last year, while Bennington, Pow.
nal and Sunderland jobs are not com
pleted.
The fact that some towns built
much more road fer the same amount
Of money than other towns, does not
n itself. signify that the people In
one town are moro energetic workers
than In the others, because of the
fact that the physical nature OF loca.
ton, amount of work requ red to OBJ
tan similar results, availability OF
material, etc. enter INTO the proposi-
ton to very considerable extent
However, Rupert and Dorset made
very creditable showing, while with
no appropriat on and at the present
rate OF progress II vii take the pros.
porous town of Stamford SO years TO
complete the improvement OF the re
naming three miles of unimproyed
tate road So much for local op'
ton n road building methods. In
the old days when traffic was OF the
horse-drawn type there was but lite
'nter.tcwn travel and IL the res dents
of a town refused to vote money for
road Improvement they were the ones
to suffer most from it. But today,
with traffic not only OF an inter'town
but CT an inter state nature, the oper'
alton of the present law becomes alb
soute and the State highway DEPART
ment is blamed for conditions VIII ch
4 has absolutely no power to remedy
conditions which under the present
law may never be remedied.
II the people want improved meth
DDS IN highway Improvement they
should first Improve the highway law,
Geo w. Plumb.