THE PROBLEM OF ROAD IMPROVEMENT IN NEW YORK 95 



The foregoing state?nents of expense and time are not made as argu- 

 ments against state roads, but to call attention to the magnitude of the 

 project and the fact that the work must be carefully planned. It does 

 not seem necessary that the facts should be concealed from the public in 

 order that the work may be undertaken. It should not be assumed that 

 the work can be started only by concealing the total cost. 



The legislation hitherto proposed has chiefly aimed at a few state 

 roads. This is insufficient. We need a trained supervision over all 

 public roads. 



In order to meet these requirements it is most important that a bureau 

 or commission of road improvement be created by the state with, at first, 

 a small appropriation for the practical study of the road problem in New 

 York, and the development of plans for the building of state highways 

 and the working of all other roads under trained supervision. If our 

 next legislature, as all good citizens must hope, shall decide to create a 

 commission or bureau of state highways or a superintendent of highways 

 the measures then enacted should provide not only for the formation of a 

 plan to build certain state roads which shall be models of engineering work 

 but for the intelligent supervision of the general repair work done on the 

 other roads of the state during the centuries which must elapse before our 

 main roads are put in proper condition. 



A bill was introduced into the legislature of 1897 to compel the pay- 

 ment of all road taxes in money. While this is a most important measure 

 which should be made a law, it is insufficient as it provides no supervision 

 over the manner in which the money is to be spent. According to the 

 observation of the writer, there are large areas in New York where the 

 people do not know how to spend their road taxes to advantage, 

 and where the tax if actually paid in money would still be wasted, unless 

 some trained supervision were provided by statute. 



Not every civil engineer is competent to superintend road work, not 

 every farmer is ignorant of road making ; but it frequently happens that 

 commissioners of highways have not the necessary experience and train- 

 ing to fit them for their office; and, serving without salary, they can not 

 afford to give the necessary time to the road districts under their super- 

 vision. It seems indispensable that apart from and in addition to any 

 system for the building of state highways, there should always be a corps 

 of trained inspectors, men of experience and capacity in road building, 

 selected solely for their qualifications and under the direction of a cen- 

 tral bureau or commission, who would in each county, town and road dis- 

 trict supervise the work on roads not yet being rebuilt under state super- 



