Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-18
CRUSADE FOR GOOD ROADS
Pottawattamic Convention is Held with a
Good Attendance.
PERMANENT ORGANIZATION IS EFFECTED
Delegates Are Chosen to the District
Convention and Measures Taken
to Secure the Bettcrment of
the Public Highways.

| The Pottawattamie county Good Roads
convention, held in the court house yester-
day, the first of its kind held in this Sec
| tion OF the state was even better attended
| than had been expected, among those present
| being many Of the township trustees and
road supervisors The members of the Board
of County Supervisors attended in body
and among the other interested persons pres
ent we're: State Senator elect HaZelton,
County Superintendent Sawyer, e. l.. Shu-
CART and S. G. Underwood, both Of whom
own extensive farming interests in the
county.
The convention was called to order in the
superior court room at IL o'clock by Super
visor John NJ. Matthews vice president of
the State Good Roads association for the
Ninth congressional district. He stated the
purposes for which the association had been
formed, which was to secure the betterment
of the roads throughout Iowa by the an
actment of laws. The state association, he
said, would meet in Des Moines next week,
when plan would be formulated for form
ing county organizations. 1t had been sug-
gested he said, that one Of the principal
questions to be brought UP should be the
changing of the present law so that the eX-
penditure of the road fund in the several
counties of the state should be under one
QlTeCU COuITOl, as, uulil that Was uout, IL was
conceded that no improvement in the roads
would be secured. He said a district con-
vention would be held some time in Decem-
ber and that one purpose of the meeting
was to select three delegates to that con-
vention. He named S. G. Underwood as
chairman of the convention and Herman
Mendel of Nicola was elected as secretary.
Favors Permanent Organization.
o55 do
ator-elect Hazelton and County Superintend-
ent Sawyer, both of whom favored the for
nation Of a permanent county organization
Hazelton spoke in favor Of the expenditure
of the township road fund being under the
direct control of some one person or board
for the entire county instead of, as at pres
ent being expended by the township road
supervisors. AS long as the road super
visors had the control Of the expenditure
of this fund, he said, the roads would never
be any better than they are now This, he
said, was clearly shown by the difference In
the condition of the roads, the work on
which had been done under the direction OF
the board of supervisors and those on which
the township road fund had been expended
under the direction of the township road
supervisors. While the county supervisors
had had control of but 1 mill of the levy,
the results had been far greater in propor-
ton than on the roads where mills OF the
levy had been expended by the road super
visors To secure good roads the law should
be changed so as to place the entire control
of the expenditure of the road tax in the
hands of the county supervisors or some one
governing body. If this was done, he said,
it was his opinion that a tax Of not more
than or mills would suffice as against
5 as levied at present under the existing
laws.
On his motion a committee consisting of
Chairman Underwood, Secretary Mendel and
Supervisor Matthews was appointed to re-
port plan for organization. AT this point
in the proceedings an adjournment was
taken until after dinner.
On the convention reassembling the COM
mttee submitted the following report which
was adopted
We, the committee appointed to recon-
mend to the convention system relating
to highway law, report in favor of perma-
nent county organization or association
whose office it shall be to encourage enact,
ment of laws in the interest of general
ing that all highway tax be paid in cash
and collected other county taxes, the
latter recommendation being presented IN
view, of reduction of the levy Wy required;
on an experience of years. when fund, the
product of and mills levy, has not per-
formed the service which one-fourth or
one-tifth the amount would have done II
properly and economically applied.
Delegates to District Convention.
Following the adoption of this report the
convention proceeded to select three dele
gates to the district convention, those chosen |
being S. G. Underwood of Council Bluffs.