Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1876 — State Roads. [ARTICLE]

State Roads.

The committee of the state road association charged with the duty of preparing a bill upon the subject of road management for action by the legislature, met in the city yesterday and completed their work. The proposed law, if enacted, will make a radical change in the management of our public highways, and is a matter of great interest to the people. The first section of the bill provides that the boards of county commissioners at the June session shall levy a tax not exceeding cents on each 9100 of properly, and cents on each poll, for public highway purposes, and a similar levy for free gravel and macadamized road purposes, to ba placed on the duplicate separately, and designated “public highway fund” and “free gravel road fund.” The second section provides for the appointment by the board of commissioners at the March session, of a road commissioner for the county, to take under his charge and supervision all the public highways, gravel and macadamized roads oi the county, first executing bond and taking the oath of office. This officer is subject to removal, for which the third section provides. The fourth section provides for fixing the salary of the commissioner, and regulated by the amount of taxables. The fifth section enjoins upon the commissioner the duty of preparing a road inap of the county and tabular statement, and the sixth section the duty of making annual estimates of the cost of keeping the several kinds of roads io repair the ensuing year, to be submitted to the board at their May session. The seventh section makes it the duty of the road commissioner to give two weeks’ notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for proposals for the improvement of all public highways, gravel and macadamized roads, as approved and ordered by the board of commissioners, to be paid out of the respective funds as designated. The bill contains thirty sections. In submitting its report the committee says: “The proposed con tract system will, it is hoped, effect > saving to the people, and what is still more desirable, secure better roads. As to the openit g of new and change and vacation>of old highways, the law is simplified and much less expensive than the old system.”— lndianapolis Journal.