Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1919 — IS IN A RIDICULOUS POSITION [ARTICLE]

IS IN A RIDICULOUS POSITION

W. L. Wood’s Knowledge of New Road Was Very Peculiar. Representative W. L Wood, in an alleged reply through the Rensselaer Republican to The Democrat’s reference to the filing of the petition for a “state highway’’ north and south through Jasper county under the county unit law, would have people believe that himself and all the other attorneys were perfectly cognizant with all the ins and outs of this new road law long before The Democrat said anything about it, and knew it was as The Democrat stated later. Now as a matter of fact Mr. Wood did not know a thing about how to proceed or else he deliberately misstated the matter in securing names to this particular petition, as he told the writer and scores of other people that he knew the law from a to z and that this was the proper way to proceed, and then, after the petition was filed, and the commissioners found it would cost over $2,000 per mile it went automatically before the state highway ’ commission, who

took full charge of the iooation, construction, etc.; that this was the property way to secure a • slate road.*' We'll confess we •‘fell” for this because we supposed Mr. Wood knew something about the law, as he assumed to, but after reading it ourself we saw that his entire knowledge was apparently assumed; that It was not the way to proceed at all and those who signed the petition did so under a misunderstanding of the law. Mr. Wood now backs up by saying that he knew all the time that no petition was necessary for a state road, but he filed this petition under the county unit law to hold back other county unit petitions, and expects to have the commissioners continue same from term to term until such time as he can get the ear of the state highway commission, then to dismiss it. This, if correct —which it is not, for he did not know a blamed thing about how to proceed—would mean that he deliberately misstated the manner when securing names to the petition, and that he has gone ahead and created a lot of unnecessary costs simply for the purpose of fooling the county commissioners and the people, as he knew this proceeding was all a farce and he Intended to dismiss it at the proper time. The more Mr. Wood talks about this highway law the more ridiculous he makes himself In the eyes of the public.