The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1890-04-05
THE IRON BRIDGE.

The people are getting anxious
for IRON bridges aud it Is said they
are cheaper than wooden ones.
Let us see, and we will take the
Ianglpahoa at Osyka as Il case in
hand.
An IRON bridge there would
Cost the county. ....,............ .S2S00 90
Two wooden approaches 200 %
$1,000 90
Now it Is stated that such a
bridge will last always. We all
know II will not, and we will just
here admit that 1t will last always,
bus no one will argue that its
wooden approaches wilt last long
er than the common wooden
bridge.
Now the county has no spare
money to undertake anything but
such works as are Of prime neces-
sity, and everyone will admit that
money IS worth 10 PER cent. IN
terest.
The interest per annum then on
an outlay for an iron bridge would
be three hundred dollars per year,
and the approaches woull have to
be renewed as any wooden bridge.
Thus the amount paid on the iron
bridge would almost build two
bridges per year across Tang;pa-
hoa at Osyka, as a fine new struct-
ure there has just been completed
at Il cost to the county Of $l70.
Thus you see the interest on the
the amount paid out for an IRON
bridge admitting that the wooden
bridge would last but five years
and the iron one, through all
tune, would build and keep up
pbout eight good wooden bridges
every five years.
Well, besides this, if the iron
bridge should last through all
time, the river will not stay al
ways ID one place. Rivers change
their beds, aud if an lion bridge
had been built at Osyka whore its
first bridge was put, it would now
be an antiquated wonder, as it
could not be cached on the west
ern side as the river has changed
It's bed.
Besides all this, iron bridges
are built by non residents of oul
county. Men who draw the money
in cash and carry 1t out of Pike
and the IRON structure comes here
by rail and gives only trausporta.
ton labor to our citizens.
The wooden bridges are bull
out of Pike county pine, by ouI
owrcounty people, and the money
for the bridge all goes into thu
hands of our citizens, and is al
spent in our county and then tn,
money Is kept at home, clrcula-
ting among our people and help
ing all branches of our business.
Our Alliance men say the,
want home trade aud all marne
OF home helps, and if they meal
!. what they say let them help hom,
by helping homo workmen an,
home interests and not desire t.
insist on building expensive struct
, ures with foreign material an
! foreign workmen, when we hav
!. nor a dollar on hand and can
! take up our own paper. The ar
, gument for the iron bridge is tina
It lasts always. We do not eve
know this fact. They are but ex
periments, and if they lasted til
the resm rection they would b
dear to a people living amids
such forests of pine timber witt
every facility to work with.
The Idea Is close akin TO tina
of the man who bought s4
clock, because ths agent told hlI
il would outlast four or i've clock
he then had, but the man was a
G ready in debt and was paying l
per cent. on advances fol supple
g and he entirely overlooked th
e important fact that the interei
: on his dear clock would hay
h bought him good clock ever
: two years, and left hlm enoug
" over to have purchased his vii
2 and daughter nice dress each.
II We are IN debt and Pike coul
u ty would be silly TO begin lrc
! bridges.
ls If the Board gets into that
= will have plenty Of petitions f
iron bridges.