The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1922-10-27
ROAD TAX PLAN
HAS BIG BACKING
Many Farmers Are Pleased
With Situation
AID HELPING
Not One Dollar Spent For I'm
provements In Three Larger
Cities In State

In many parts OF Minnesota are
farmers who are sure that reduc-
tons in their road taxes are coming
fast enough and that they want
present highway laws in tho main
left unchanged.
They are farmers who learned at
the highway exhibit at the state
fair how the road money IS raised
and used-What their road taxes
buy for them. To-day they are tell
ing neiShbors and friends the facts
on which they decided that the road
laws can't be bettered.
These farmers, some of whom
travelled by automobile, noted big
improvement in the highways but
felt the roads ought to be better be-
cause they were paying for them
in high takes. At the fair, however,
they learned from the official re-
cords that more than half the trunk
highway funds used on the 1000
miles OF 50 called BRbcock roads
are federal aid and the auto take
paid by Yners in Hennepin, Ramsey
and st. Louis counties, although nos
one dollar OF the money is spent il
The three large cities in those coun-
Minneapolis, st. Paul and Du-
Mth which assessed the full cost OF
street improvements. Less than
one-twenueth OF the trunk route
mileage which Is within those coan :
ties could be- paved within I'VE years
with the auto taxes they pay. But
that is not done and other counties
profit by the plan.
The three counties contribute to.
Al II Il q N
counties under the state aid laws.
last wear they paid in 100000 more
than they received from state aid
fund.
Local Roads Upkeep
The figures showed also that near
" twice Us much money is provided
for the improvement and upkeep OF
local roads by the county, townshi
city and village road officials as is
raised annually for state use on the
trunk highways. This was sur
prise to a few who had wrong ideas
that the state highway department
had charge of all roads, spent all the
road funds as it pleased, and so
forth. They learned also that the
highway commissioner actually
handles none of the money, the trunk
highway like all other state funds
being disbursed. by the state auditor
and state treasurer.
y The big help the three large cities
are giving the road program, when
understood, led to the common
opinion that the best way is to push
road work before present laws are
changed.
Still other figures showed that q
cut of nearly $4,000, 900 in local road
tax leYies came thes first year after
the Babcock plan shifted the big ex;
pense of main road Improvement
and upkeep from the counties to the
state. The state is using the slight
ly increased auto taxes for this
work. But owners in Minneapolis,
st. Paul and Duluth were reported
to be making savings on car upkeep,
tires and gasoline from the better
roads to more than Offset their auto
taxes for road Improvement outside
those cities. The farmers figured
that they were even more ahead be-
cause they use the roads more than
do city people.
With roads fast getting better,
our local road and bridge fund levles
decreasing and our auto taxes ex-
ceeded by good roads y savings on
car repairs and upkeep, also our
city neighbors paying toward the
cost of the country roads, it is hard
to see how to better things espec=
tally when we must have the good
roads and the quicker they are built
the longer we will enjoy them" was
the way one farmer summed up the
situation.