Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 April 1919 — PETITIONERS HELD FOR COSTS [ARTICLE]

PETITIONERS HELD FOR COSTS

As Many Gnavel or Stone Road Petitions Must Be Turned Down. Petitioners are Afield liable for all costs occasioned on stone or gravel roads petitioned for under the county unit law if the petitions are turned down by either the county commissioners or county council. And the great majority of the many petitions must necessarily be

turned down, as anyone with horse sense must know, as all these roads, cannot be many of them should not beouilt —at least for years to come —at county expense, as they benefit but one or two men. A farmer was telling us Saturday that he" was going to sign every road petition presented to him, but he didn’t think many of the roads could be built under the rounty unit law. One of the half-dozen petitions he had already signed benefited but two men, he said, but he had made up his mind to treat ’em all alike and sign every one presented to him. He did not know nor stop to think that those who sign a petition are liable for the costs, and when informed that they were he took a different notion and will hardly sign any more petitions until he sees how he comes out on those already signed. Jasper county needs some trunk line roads, and it was such roads, no doubt, that were intended to be built under the county unit law, but with the scones of petitions coming in, many for the sole benefit of one or two people, it will plauily be seen that very few if any of these roads can be built. We certainly do not want to fexhaust our financial ability in 'this direction —and we cannot go beyond the 2 % limit —to build roads that are seldom used or that are of no general benefit. A halt should be called at once on all these roads of minor importance and go after the main roads. There is a whole lot of expense* already made on numerous petitions that will have to be paid by people who have signed these petitions without giving the matter any thought.