Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1922-06-15
HIGHWAY BOARD
NOT PREJUD|CED /.
IN POLK MATTER

Denying that the highway COM
mission has any prejudice against
Polk county on account Of the liti-
cation that has been carried on In
that state over highway problems,
r. A. Booth. chairman of the COM
mission. in a statement issued
here Wednesday, declared that the
commission is determined to finish
the West Side highway through
that county as soon as 1t can be
done without doing injustice to
other counties that have complied
with the law and the rules of the
commission.
To- Rush Project.
THE commission is not only
unanimously of the opinion that
~improvement of that part of the
West Side highway in Polk coun-
ty should be hurried to completion
as soon as possible but are anxious
that it may be done this season
that a full account Of the improve
ment OF the Pacific highway, both
east and west, may be included in
the commission annual report
that the law requires to be made
to the governor not later than the
30th Of November" Booth stated.
1T is extremely unfortunate
that the controversy has been SO
long continued and to some extent
still exists This controversy
however, is not between the high
way commission and the county,
as represented by the court, but
has been due to the desire of some
of the citizens in certain sections
of the county to change the loca-
tion of that formerly adopted un-
der an agreement with the people
of the county, and in this way led
to the long legal controversy. The
matter of location, however, hav-
ing now been determined by
Judge Kelly's decision, which he
says has the same force as the
supreme courts, 1t appears to be
a reasonable supposition that fur
ther effort to restrain the build
ing OF the road is not apt to con-
tinue.
Decision Big Handicap.
For the moment, however,
there is one hindrance on account
of Judge Kelly's decision that
market road money can not be
used on a state highway. This
not only hinders the road program
in Polk county, but in various
counties of the state. A prominent
case in point is Lane county
where the citizens voted a $2,000,-
600 bond issue but did not provide
any part of the bond issue for do
ing the work legally required by
the county ON the Pacific highway
but appropriated it to roads most
ly lateral to the Pacific highway
or other market roads. 1t neces-
sarily followed, therefore, in doing
the part that the law required the
county to do, they would be him
dered or prevented at least for an
other year in finishing their work
on the Pacific highway through
the county, unless they could use
the market funds. The same
thing occurs In several of the
counties of the state.
I'm this state, practically the
entire system OF state highways
are market roads. 1t is true, at
least, OF some section of every
highway and it will prove a great
embarrassment to the counties II
they are not permitted to use the
market road money on the state
system.
Appeal Indicated.
1.-THE market road money comes
from a state levy amounting to
two mills, producing now two
million dollars, and this will auto
matically increase as the states
wealth advances. 1t must, there
fore, follow that If this direct tax
is to continue, the widest use for
the funds derived therefrom
should be permitted the county in
improving all classes of market
roads. whether in cooperation