The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-12-13
The Punishment Should Fit the Crime
(By Roland T. Patten)

A poor road Is perhaps the most
uneconomical thing known to civil
liked community. can recall
peculiarly shaped bowlder which used
to occupy about two-thirds OF the
highway on the Athens road just be-
yond the Revere Sohoolhouse. 1t
road in 1879 That particular jour
ney was on foot and l cannot claim
that I suffered any delay or damage
by the bowlder in question. Later
on, however, I bumped over 1t or
lodged 1t with my bicycle and got by
1t as we'll as I could with horse and
buggy. Still later l encountered 1t
with the wheels of my automobile on
successive Journeys. 1t disappeared
when this part of the highway was
improved by the state road work OF
1921. I have often thought, had /
known at the first how many times 1t
would delay and annoy me through
forty-two years, l could have afforded
to go there with sledge, pick, shovel
and bar in 1872 and removed 1t my
self. There must have been hundreds
or thousands of others encountering
this same rock. No doubt it wrecked
many buggy wheel and fastened
the downfall of innumerable farm We
hicles. 1t must have spawned many
q horse. Perhaps even earlier many
an OK slipped and stumbled over 1t.
In the last fifteen years 1t must have
put the squeaks into innumerable au-
tomobiles and shortened the mileage
Of many an automobile tire. 1t per-
haps cost ten dollars to get 1t out OF
the way. Surely any ten Of us who
have passed over this road could have
prof1ted by the removal of this bowl
der at our own expense. About
striking examples of like economic
error. But arguments are unneces-
sary. Everyone knows that good
roads are a wise investment. The
present problem really is how to raise
the sufficient money for roadwork.
The Maine railroads wish to be re-
lieved of taxes to the amount of
million or more. Maine farms must
be relieved of taxation or they will
all be turned into timber lots or weed
areas. The rest of us are all stag
gering under what seems to be an
excessive tax burden. We know bet
ter highways would pay, but we can't
build them without cash. However
shall we get the money?
We probably haven't yet the faint
est conception of what automobile
traffic should contribute toward the
Highway Fund. have q horse
power Buick. pay $3.50 license
fee for the privilege of using the Maine
highways. Names roads perhaps
cost billion dollars-I can use this
entire outfit 1856 days year II want
to. l could, and probably do, go
out some rainy afternoon and damage
them more in half hour than my
entire annual tax. Such a situation
is preposterous. A car like mine
ought to pay ten dollars a horsepower,
$27O a year, instead of $780,. II we
could tax ourselves even five dollars
a horsepower the result would be
fund ten times larger than we have
ever offered for road purposes. Even
that would not be enough but it
would give us fairly respectable
roads within five years. We shall
never get them il we autoists cling
to the present low license system.
OF course the big cars and the au-
tomobile trucks are the greatest sim
ners In highway destruction. Ii /
could devise a plan would recon-
mend that cars below rs h. p be