The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-10-12
OUT Of THE MUD
IS BATTLE CRY
Communicated


Adopting as their slogan "Out Of the
Mud" members of the Minnesota
Farm Bureau have enlisted actively
in the fight for better roads for rural
communities now being waged by the
sponsors of Amendment No. l.
The amendment would authorize
the use of third of the proceeds of
the gasoline tax on the secondary
roads and would enable the counties
to improve hundreds of miles of roads
which cannot be improved at pres
ent with the great burden OF local
taxation. 1t would give a minimum
of $4,000 year and a maximum OF
$4,000 a year to this county for use
on the secondary roads. At present
all the gasoline tax receipts go into
the trunk highway fund along with
the motor vehicle tax money.
Not only has the Minnesota Farm
Bureau Federation endorsed the
amendment, officials of the state or
ganization pointed out this week, but
plans have been made whereby the
10000 members of the farm bureau
will carry on an active fight for the
amendment in the local communities
until election time. Members OF the
local units will join with those in some
1000 other communities in this cam
paign.
In calling for active support Of the
amendment, A. j. Olson, Renville, the
new president of the Minnesota Farm
Bureau, said:
1.-THE amendment is of vital concern
to the rural sections of the state and
all those towns and cities that depend
to any extent upon farming. We must
have better roads for farmers. The
farmers are not so much interested in
visiting or touring along the trunk
highways as they are in getting to and
from market with their produce and
their crops"
Approximately two-thirds of the
farmers of Minnesota still live on dirt
roads despite all of MinneSota's great
progress in highway improvement, the
United States Census indicates, and
during the spring months have to bat
tie with roads of bottomless mud to
get to town or take the alternative of
staying at home. The amendment
thus is meeting with great favor in
the rural sections of the state and
among those who have at heart the
welfare of the state as whole.
1.-The time has come to fill the
promise that was made when the Bah
cock amendment for the trunk high
way system was adopted" Mr. Olson
said in his message to the Farm Bu-
reau. "At that time the promise was
made that if the farmers and others
in the rural communities off of the
trunk highways would come along and
vote for the amendment, aid would
be extended to our side roads when
the trunk highways were put in shape.
1.-THE trunk highways now are in
good shape. More than 80 per cent
of them are paved or surfaced. I
think it is time to consider the men
out on the side roads"
The amendment will result in the
improvement of large mileages not
only of county but township roads,
Senator L. P. Johnson, chairman of
the state committee working for the
amendment, said this week. About
$1,800,000 a year will be distributed
out to the counties from the gas tax
if the amendment passes. With added
funds in the way of this state aid at
their disposal, the counties gradually
may take over and improve more of
the township roads, or, IL it seems
more desirable, they may spend a por-
ton of the local tax fund in aiding
the townships in improving the town.
ship roads as many counties do now.
With this new fund, each county will
be that much freer to push the de-
velopment of roads that cannot be
improved now. e. F..