The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-02-17

AKA 1dSoT VI tNe commissioners road
superintendents. To my knowledge
and to. the commissioners as welt
bronks have been used on road work
In this county, breaking them in. as
Twork hcrses at the expense OF the tax
payer.
"Of course, 1t is only theoretical
what would be done in connection with
a large gravcled road iro3ect5 but
from road work already performedAin
this, county one has reason to be sorae :
what suspicious that the entire boil
issue would be spent with a possible
deficit Uf considerable proportions re-
naming to complete the road. am
not road builder myself and don (
pretend to be road builder, but I
have n right to- criticise those profess .
ing to be authorities in road building
| when about all they care for is the
piece OF paper with perforated figures
issued from the county clerks office.
What we want IS more value in roa ds
and everything else for the money we
pay into the county as taxes.
"There is another item that has an
important bearing upon the graveled
road question and that concerns the
facilities now available for the COM
infsstOners tc' have the work done un :
der their own jurisdiction. Our pres-
ent road building machinery is totally
inadequate and out ofre pair for sucn
a project. For the county to under
! take the building Of this read wou. 4
entail an expenditure % many addl.
tional thousands of dollars for neces-
sary road machinery. 1t might be true
that such additional equipment would
be necessary for building this grade,;
and graveled road but after the wear
| and tear on such project this equip
ment would probably he useless for
additional work without expensive re-
pairs. If contracts for the gravelc 1
road were let to outside firms this
county would reap but little direct
benefit from the money that would he
expended for the bulk of it would SO
to the contractors and the outside
help they would import. Under pres
ent conditions no small contractors IN
this county has road machinery of his
| own to do the work en- this proposed
! graveled road even If the contracts
covered units Of few miles each.
1T might he possible for the com
mIssioncrs to divert a portion Of the
| highway bond money to the purchase
mount we'll into the thousands Of dol
lars. In fact if the county through
the commissioners decided to build
| the road. providing all legal restric-
| tion We're overcome. the first move
would probably be the purchase Of
| road machinery. II the cc1nmissione -
made such purchases with the SAM.
lack of discretion that they recently
ordered II varload of corrugated cul-
verts. the entire bond issue would he
| absorbed even before IA spade wus
turned for actual road work We've
got an abundance of culverts on hand
! now and other culverts are strun (
| along the roads on Pilgrim creek ani
Little Powder river and they'll prob.
ably rust away before sufficient funds
| accumulatc tc bury them.
/ "Under the existing financial con,i.-
tions ! believe the saddling Of this
bonded Indebtedness on agricultural
and livestock interests of this county
this Year would he tht straw that
would break the cameIs back Tnsre
! is no taxpayer in this county moro
anxious than l for Il good gravel ed
and graded road as our main outlet
| to Miles City to cheaper the cost of
transportation. but I insist that the
time is not opportune this year even
for the commencement Of such prof.
ect. We must have better business
administration of county affairs: soft
jobs must be eliminated and all un-
necessary expenses pruned to the bore.
! In view of past experiences future
county business transactions must inn
prove to the end that the interests Cf
the taxpayer are considered as wei
as those drawing wages and compen-
atiOn for temporary services and ma
terial.
Last year the county commissioners
sought to sell the highway bonds hat
TO no avail for the lack Of bidders and
this year only one official bid was
| received on the date set for sale
for the purchase cf the bonds
at par value. In trying to sell the
bonds the county commissioners have
carried out the wishes of maporit '
of the people who voted fer the bond =
If the commissioners are as consisten.
now they will respect the sentimen,
Of majority Of the people by NJ,
fighting this matter out in the courts
that would cause added and unneces.
sary expense to the taxpayers. with
the probability that this expense will
mount well into hundreds and perhaps
thousands of dollars for the commits.
sioners have already gone on recor5
as snstructins the county attorney (,
handle this suit In the most effectiv.
manner and the commissioners an
nouncing their intention to do every
thing necessary to maintain the va
lidtty Of the bonds. The special elec
tion at which these bonds were votet
!: cost the taxpayers Of this county ap
proxtmately $4,000 and the commits
sioners new seem to have an crror
eous impression that they are com
PEELED to fight this litigation at tn,
expense Of the taxpayers even so IA
as to carry the matter to the suprem
court simply to protect that $2.e0O
} According to my own opinion that in
vestment could be better protected b.
accepting the injunction proceeding
80 they now exist. BY their action l:
deciding to tight the case in the court
; they have the same utter disregard TO
the interests Of the taxpayers as the
nave shown In other business transac