'Only Another Name for a Sort of Annual Picnic': Washington's Road-Tax Fight

The difference in cost of handling the produce of the farms of the country over bad roads as compared with good ones amounts to millions of dollars each year. If all the money levied as taxes each year should be honestly and intelligently expended the roads would soon be all good. Among the defects of the old-time methods the lack of intelligent engineering, wrong location, bad drainage, wrong material, ignorant and indifferent labor, and enormous cost of supervision were all emphasized and illustrated.

The new road law in Washington, which requires the tax to be paid in cash instead of in unskilled, irresponsible and indifferent labor, is expected to partially remedy some of the evils — by securing more intelligent and economical supervision and direction of labor, proper engineering, better material and complete drainage, resulting in more finished and permanent roads.

One fact was strongly brought out. There is much opposition to the present law. Farmers have been accustomed to working out their road tax at a season of the year when there was time to spare from the farm. Oftentimes road work was only another name for a sort of annual picnic or play spell. It is well understood that work has been thrown away and funds misappropriated, road repairs being too often mere temporary makeshifts rather than permanent improvements. Many seem to reason that the new law, without securing any better results in road building, will concentrate the 'graft or rake-off' in the hands of a few instead of an all-round distribution. To retain the new law and save it from repeal it will be necessary to employ honest, competent, energetic supervisors, who will do intelligent work and secure results. They must leave something permanent to show for every hour of labor or dollar of money expended. If all the provisions of the law are honestly and intelligently carried out there should be such a decided improvement in the condition of the roads as to vindicate the wisdom of the law. If this is not done there is little doubt that the opposition will prevail and the law will be repealed.

Out of about seventy-five supervisors in Spokane county just one had enough interest in good roads to attend the convention.

County Surveyor J. M. Snow of Spokane county said: "The Indians were better road builders than we are. They knew the proper grades to take, and in that way got the best roads; but the settler came in and induced the county commissioners to run roads along the section lines, regardless of grades. The result is that in Spokane county we've got a lot of roads which will have to be relocated before we can ever do anything with them. The reason why some roads were laid out as they were is past finding out."

Pres. E. A. Bryan said: "That pri—" [text cut off]