The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1930-11-06

(Bv Chairman of Minnesota Good
Roads Committee.)
The Minnesota Good Roads COM
mittee was first organized to cam
paign for the gasoline tax amend
ment by which one-third of the
gasoline tax is made available Tor
the construction of a system OF
township or county aid roads. This
committee is active for the I'M
proyement of all classes of roads
from the small feeder roads to the
trunk highways. The committees
slogan is Farm to Market Roads"
what is a farm to market
road?" is the question often asked
him, Ole Langhaung, chairman OF
the Minnesota Good Roads Com
mittee states.
Farm to market roads are all
roads, including trunk highways"
Mr.. Langhaug states. "The farm
to market road starts at the farm
and ends at the terminal market"
Livestock and great many other
farm products are now hauled by
truck directly from the farm to
the terminal market.
mo chain is stronger than its
weakest link" A large part of the
rural roads of today are in such
shape that farmers cannot take
advantage of the modern means of
TRANSPORTATION. Sometimes they
must keep their livestock and lose
a good market on account of the
poor roads. In hauling farm pro-
duce to market. most farmers must
start on a township road and end
with either a state aid road or a
trunk highway or both. No road
is better than it's poorest mile and
if the township road is impossible
or only a small load can be hauled
over it, it has limited usefulness of
the remainder of the road from the
farm to the market.
Many questions have come to me
regarding the county aid or gas
tax system of roads. Many people
do not seem to understand how
this system will work out. Some
state that they would prefer to
have the money come direct to the
township boards.
Under the prospect plan each
county receives an allotment of
money from the gasoline tax to be
used in improving county aid
roads. Any township road may be
designated a county aid road. The
county board confers with the
township boards and with residents
of the townships and designates
the main roads through the town.
ships as gas tax or county aid
roads. The county then furnishes
its engineer to lay out such roads
and builds them when funds are
available. While each township is
required to pay from ten per cent
to thirty per cent of the original
cost of construction if it is able,
the road thenceforth is maintained
and kept up without further cost
to the township.
Except for this small part of the
original cost of construction, coun-
ty aid roads are forever maintained
by money coming in from the tax
on gasoline. BY the removal OF
these more expensive main roads
from the township road system,
the townships will be able eventu-
ally to reduce the tax on real estate
for road purposes or to build adj
ditional roads to serve farms not
now served by good roads.
Another important provision of
the present law" Mr.. Langhaug
stated, lis the one by which any
township may place part or all of
its road levy at the disposal of the
county for building additional gas
tax roads within that township. It
is possible for townships to put in
to the county aid system the great
er part of their road mileage if they
so desire. relieving real estate of
the tax burden and placing the
burden on the gasoline tax"
Counting all present sources of
revenue, we have $17,500,OO0 avail
able each year for the construction
of county and township roads. This
is after deducting twenty per cent
for maintenance. There is an esti-
mate of $4,000 miles or roads to
be built at an estimated cost of
$500 a mile. If this rate of con-
struction could be maintained all
roads could be built in a period of
eight years.
Maintenance costs increase and
take up a larger amount of money
available the longer the period of
construction. There is a money
saving in addition to the saving
made through bringing immediate
benefits to more people through
speeding the highway program
along. This applies to the entire