Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 April 1919 — WINAMAC TO RENSSELAER ROAD [ARTICLE]

WINAMAC TO RENSSELAER ROAD

May Be Constructed by the State Highway Commission. On last Monday night the commercial club met and reorganized, electing as officers the following men: President, Mr. Reep; vicepresident, Elmer Williams, and sec-retary-treasurer, Owen Horner. Mr. Reep then gave a short talk In which he gave a short outline of the work the club had accomplished and an outline of the immediate future. He ended by introducing the Hon. George W. Hansell as speaker of the evening, who outlined the new road law as much as he was able to do so. Mr. Hansell says that the state highway law was so mangled in the different committees that it would be impossible for him to give a clear outline of it at the present time, but hopes to be fully able to explain it at Xhe next meeting. Mr. Hansell’s speech was followed by a hot discussion of the need of good roads in this part of the county. There were only two roads brought u*p for discussion. Tho road from Winamac..to Reneselaer. and the road from Francesville north to the Starke county line. From the reading of law it is easily understood that the state highway commission will construct the road from Winamac to Rensselaer and

about all the commercial club can do la to try to influence the state commission as to the route over wfcich this road is built. This can be done by petition. Dal Prevo then announced that Francesville was willing to have the road come straight from Winamac to Lackey’s corner, then south to Francesville and then wesf to Rensselaer. By this arrangement both towns will have a good route to Winamac, the county seat. This would be an ideal arrangement if it will be possible to make the state commissioners see it that way. The big discussion was on the Francesville-San Pierre road. The club was about evenly divided as to whether the petition should go to * the state highway commissioners or whether it should go to the county commissioners. According to the reading of the new law the state commissioners are instructed to first build the road connecting the county seats and then after they are built, which no doubt will take many years, they are to construct the state highways. Anyone can easily see that the Francesville-San Pierre road could not be built by the state for a good many years ~yet and what are we to do in the meantime? Plug along through the same old mud and chuck holes. If we ask the county to build this road and get our petitions in at once, no doubt the road w ill be built in the very near future. Somebody says that this will raise the taxes and that if the state builds the roads it will cost the county nothing. Is that true? I believe that we are taxed just as high as the laws allow. So there can be no chance that our taxes will be raised if we ask the county to build this road and if we don’t ask the county to build it and the state commission turns down the petition, which they no doubt will, then we are left in the soup to struggle out the best we may. Fellows citizens, awake! Don’t lose the chance' of having this road built. Why shouldn't the county build one of these good roads on this side? The roads are bound to be built and if we don’t get our petition in early some other part of the county will beat us to it and our road will not be built. But still we will have to pay for the roads. A prominent banker once said that a’ good, hardsurfaced road along or through a farm raised the value of the land 110 per acre. Farmers, does this mean anything to you?—Medaryville Journal.