THE Illinois Agricultural Association Road Study Com- 

 mittee has recommended that Illinois rural roads be 

 consolidated into a county unit system. 

 The report of the lAA Road Study Committee re- 

 cently published, is subject to the approval of the 

 voting delegates to the lAA annual meeting in Chicago, 

 Nov. 14-17. 



Under the Road Committee plan, for example, a county 

 like La Salle with 37 separate township road districts would 

 be reduced to one county road district. 



The lAA Road Committee recommendations, contained 

 in the report, came after a year's study of Illinois' deplorable 

 rural road conditions by 25 farmers. These men represent 

 every section of the state. 



The report suggested further that before there is any con- 

 solidation, the people be given a chance to vote on the county 

 unit district. 



"More than half of the 48 states." the report says, "have 

 permanently abolished districts smaller than a county. The 

 record in these states shows greater mileage of roads built, 

 more effective maintenance, and more road dollars going on 

 the actual roads. 



In criticizing the present system of road administration, 

 the report emphasizes that Illinois has a confusing amount of 

 over-organization in its road system. "This over-organiza- 

 tion," it says, "is responsible for much of the expensiveness 

 of highway service in Illinois road districts and the in- 

 adequacy of the service in many respects, in many localities. 



"Highway commissioners are allowed to spend large 

 sums of money sometimes without the proper understanding 

 of what work should be done and how best to do it. . . 

 Expensive pieces of equipment are bought and used only a 

 few days each year. Labor is ineffectively employed and 



4 



YouV* got to be a cforedevlf to drhra a cor across a bridge llkm 

 this, y«t f/llnofs ha* hundreds that are about as bad ai this. 



IS THIS THE ANSWER TO { 



The ROAD 



Problem? 



lAA Road Study Committee Presents 

 Recommendations For Approval of 

 Voting Delegates at Annual Meeting 



directed. The wrong materials, or those which have not been 

 tested are used in many instances. Also, poor methods of re- 

 pair, construction and maintenance are often followed. The 

 results are a waste of tax money. 



"There is a decided lack of any coordinated highway 

 plan embracing all systems for the state as a whole. There 

 is a great need for the financial planning of highway work on 

 all levels. 



The committee emphasized, however, that there were a 

 number of highway commissioners who were doing a good 

 job with the funds and equipment available. 



"Rural people in Illinois," the report continues, "want 

 better farm-to-highway roads. They want roads that are pass- 

 able every month of the year. They want them maintained 

 and properly supervised. They want the roads they need 

 and are willing to pay a reasonable price for them. They 

 feel they are receiving very little for their dollar in many 

 localities." 



The report points out that the greatest problem facing 

 practically all road administration units is the lack of 

 sufficient revenue. Increased costs of labor, materials and 

 equipment have made the job more difficult. 



"Since users of the highways benefit most from them, the 

 Road Committee believes that an increase in the motor fuel 

 tax would be the most equitable method for raising additional 

 revenue. Revenue from vehicle registrations and motor fuel 

 tax has not increased at the same pace as road costs. The 

 average cost of this tax per vehicle is less than $30 a year. 

 Only six states have an average as low. 



"It is evident," the report continues, "that a majority 

 of the road districts are at present unable to furnish road 

 service consistent with the demands of the road users. Local 

 property taxes do not yield sufficient income. Increasing 

 the road and bridge tax rate will produce but meager addi- 

 tional income in districts with low assessed valuations." 



It is the opinion of the committee as contained in the 

 report, copies of which can be obtained at all Illinois county 

 Farm Bureaus, that the following benefits would be derived 

 from the county unit road system: 



(1) Main feeder roads would be built continuous where 



L A- A. RECORD 



