The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1939-11-23
Local Administration
of Relief, Without Aid,
F avoredby | axpayers
STATE UNIVERSITY
CRITICISED BY
SENATOR SEIFERT

StTOUS SeIltlIllcill ldVOIlIiS It,
turn to local administration of re-
lief and elimination of state and
federal aids as soon as possible
was expressed at a lively meeting
of 200 men from Redwood and
adjoining counties at Redwood
Falls armory all day Wednesday.
The session at which county
highway and welfare officials and
legislative representative appear
ed to answer questions with in
formation direct from head
quarters" was sponsored by the
Redwood County Taxpayers asso-
citation of which d. L. Crimmins
of Redwood Falls is president.
Answering expressions in favor
of local handling of relief from
l.. O. Bunge and O. A. Stensvad
among others, Jean Tucker, exc
cutive secretary of the Redwood
county welfare board, said that
under the present Set-up the
county relief administration could
not last two months without fed
eral and state funds.
eff Redwood county can't
handle its own relief, God
help the United States" aver
red A. r. A. LaudOn, Red
wood Falls attorney.
Declaring the township to be
the last unit of Democracy in the
country, State Senator Seifert of
Springfield warned his audience
not to give up their rights in that
division of government.
"There is an unseen autocracy
and bureaucracy being built up in
Minnesota. Laws are being pass
ed, clothing officials with more
and more power and taking away
the rights of the common man.
1.-THE worst offender in the
state is the University of
Minnesota which is tOpheavy
and is going to tOpple over.
"There is no justice in build
ing up the third largest university
in the United States at the ex-
penSe of the taxpayer"
The economy of building WPA
bridges in Redwood county was
described by Richard Cook, coun-
ty engineer at the morning ses-
sion and he outlined the county's
new plan of turning back approx
imately one-fourth of the gas tax
roads to townships, a project
made necessary by the reduction
of the state gasoline tax from
four to three cents this year.
One example of expense-saving
through WPA was in construction
of bridge at Sanborn he said.
The county furnished $13,500 for
material and equipment while the
federal government matched that
amount for labor. Only three
quarters of mile away, the state
highway department built a SIM
liar bridge across the same stream
at a contract price of $4,000.
While the state span had 80 foot
roadway and the county's a "a
| foot road, expenses for that part
of construction were not much, he
reported.
eff WPA continues and the
county highway department has
to sponsor projects, we will have
to levy $4,000 a year for that
purpose in addition to normal
needs" he said.
I'VE cut the road and
bridge levy by $4,000 this
year. We can and should take
another cut next year."
Continuing his crusade for a
system of standard levies through
the years, he said, cts foolish to
levy $150,000 in 1880 and $4,000
in 1884 and then come up again.
We should have a highway levy
of $4,000 to 100000, budget ex-
penses and stick to the budget,
regardless of pressure groups"
Summing up an exhaustive
Minnesota highway planning sur
vey made of traffic here, he said
that 213 miles of county and state
aid roads checked carry 1O,998
cars in an eight hour day. Over
the total SIG miles of this type of
highway, 26,625 cars travel daily.
The 100 miles of township roads
(C0ntinI1eJ On naoa tuyoN