﻿THE 
  PROBLEM 
  OF 
  ROAD 
  IMPROVEMENT 
  IN 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  95 
  

  

  The 
  foregoing 
  sfateme?its 
  of 
  expense 
  and 
  time 
  are 
  not 
  made 
  as 
  argu- 
  

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

   project 
  a?id 
  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 
  m 
  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 
  07ily 
  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 
  geiieral 
  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 
  j 
  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- 
  

  

  