Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1893 — A Gravel Road Bill. [ARTICLE]

A Gravel Road Bill.

David W. Shields is the latest candidate for the post-office, so farreported. David’s special claim upon'the Democracy will no doubt be based upon the persevering manner in which he has worked the Farmers’ Alliance racket to get Republicans to vote the Peoples Party ticket; and the heavy editor ial work he has done in the People's Pilot In making his December settlement, last week, County Treasurer Hemphill was obliged to pay over to the state officers the sum of 85040.77, for state purposes exclusively. Last year at the December settlement the amount required to be paid ove r , for the same purposes was early $2405.84. The increase is $2574.93. or mow than 104 per cent. This more than doubling of the state taxes in this county is the result Solely of the workings of the new tax law, and no cuuniy or township officials were in any degiee responsible for it or able lo p.evm t it. The greater part of this increase falls on farms and lauds, owing to ihe greater increase in the assessments of that class of property.

The biggest humbug of the decade is the national Democratic platform. It caught more suckers and gudgeons than iis framers now know what to do with. AmODg-its prominent, promises is the repeal of the McKinley act, the enforcement of the civil service law, free trade, the free coinage of silver on a parity with gold, and that paper be held at a par, and then on top of these, promised state banks of issue. Old Grover knew very woii whut talking about when Be at that big plutocrat deem the promises we have made to the voters of our land the diffi-

cnlty of onr task can hardly l)*» ex agger:*ed ” Ho and his r>«r*y would like to flunk and don’t see how, but that he and they will very few doubt. —Daily Eagle. The proposition to embody in u new Indiana road law a provision compelling every township to build at least four miles of permanent gravel or stone roud every year, would not, do at nil. j hem j are not more thau three or four i townships in Jasper County rich enough to stand such expense, for Any length of time, without

being bankrupted. In , Milroy township, for instance it would be a great burden to build a single mile of gravel road, each year. In several townships of this county< too, there is for graved rosds, such as the sandy regions bordering on tho Kankakee river* A much more‘feasible and equitable proposition would be to compel each county to build a certain number of miles of good road each year, say ten miles as the minimum amount, and let the county pay half the expense and the property owners most benefitted the other half.

representative Johnson, of Marion county, will introduce a biil before the legislature providin'! that the county commissioners shall have sole charge of road building and improvements, and the bill will provide for it. “All new gravel roads/’ he states, “should be built by contract, and the property owners BfSUg the route should be given the first chance at the work. Each county should build its own roads. One-half the cost should bo as.te£:sc?. cn the abutting property owners, and the other half should oe paid <mt of the general road fund of the county. The bill will 'Wrfttp no n° w officers”