Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-16
CRUSADE FOR GOOD ROADS
Convention Of Ninth Congressional District
Meets in Council Bluffs.
PERMANENT ORGANIZATION IS EFFECTED
Measures Taken to Ensure the Better-
ment of the Public HiRhwnys-
Good Attendance from the
Different Counties.

|
| congressional district, comprising the coun-
| ties OF Adair, Audubon, Cass Guthrie, Har-
rison, Mills, Montgomery Pottawatta
and Shelby, held at the county court
house in this city yesterday, attracted a
| goodly gathering of county officials and men
interested in the improvement of public
thoroughfares. A permanent district organ
ization vas effected and a number of resou-
tions adopted, which will be submitted by
the legislative committee to the next state
general assembly. These resolutions rec
ommend that a number of important
changes be made in the state road laws.
The convention was called to order
shortly after 1 o'clock by County Supervisor
John NJ. Matthews vice president of the
Ninth congressional district, of the state
association. After explaining the objects
for which the convention was called, Vice
President Matthews read the following COM
munication from T. G. Harper, president of
the state association:
Complying with resolution adopted at a
recent meeting of the officers of the State
Good Roads and Public Improvement as
ISOLATION, | write you this letter. We want
your cooperation and assistance Our as
sociation feels this TO be a movement entl-
tied to the friendly support and assistance
of every taxpayer in the state, be he a
farmer, merchant or connected with any
other honest calling. Good roads must be
the common desire of every thoughtful
citizen. An improved road is a symbol of
progress. Good roads indexes of good
men, good women, good homes. good farms
and good communities The first question
crease our taxation? This question should
be sincerely answered. The answer is a
simple no" We intend, in the end, to re-
duce the road tax. When permanent roads
are once established the road tax will not
be so great. The members of this associa-
tion are all taxpayers in this state and
W In
keeping the taxes as low as is consistent
with good government, We are too loyal to
proverbially bad; on the contrary, we as
sert that for the most part of the year
there is large amount of good, roads in
the state. but the fact remains that for
portion of each year we have no roads at
all This movement is intended to put a
stop to the building of patched-up, tenn
struction of permanent roads. Find out
the amount of road tax your county an
so large an amount of money can be dis
posed of, leaving behind 50 slight an evil
dence of 1t. While hard roads means per
manent roads, or should mean that yet
permanent roads can be constructed with
out the use of broken rock, gravel or sand
Permanent roads. therefore, means the best
roads that particular community can
construct with the use of the means at
hand. Our road law, however, should be
tax shall be expended for that purpose
That this is not now done we have but to
consider the vast amount paid annually as
road tax In our state. while we observe
what slight evidence of this money man
ifests itself upon our roads In Iowa we
have over 100000 miles of public highway,
and this vast interest, an interest that is
intimately connected with every citizen in
our state, is without a common head, sys-
Is 1t not time We were giving this impor-
tant matter some careful consideration?
Some Of our bn ey ess tb the @ for
Obliged to construct the. permanent road
should one be made by their farm. They
should get this notion out of their heads
at once, for, as matter of fact they will
build no more of that road than any other
citizen of the township. I have said that
How, then. will we accomplish the making
of permanent roads, without doing this?
This is how. Our laws shoIss be amended
so as to require the road tax to be paid in
money Then this money should be eX-
pended as any other business eXpends their
funds. Not paid to men and teams to set
all day, but to men and teams who nave
given value received by giving the town
and the yarn spinner's days ought to be
numbered and the road builder initiated.
Many of our counties have an anundanee ,.S.nd
be put In shape for improving our roads
at small cost We want our road laws so
amended that the use of these may be in
The surface of the earth in some of our
is rough. Is there a hill between
and not the strength of your team or
wagon, limits the load you draw to market.
We want law that Will Ire remove 6Nnh that II Inn,
reasonable grade. We want the road tax
paid in cash and expended on the roads in
YOU. gentlemen to give this important mat
ter consideration in connection with the
other important matters you have oetore
YOU We will prize your suggestions and
by Joint effort we believe we can bring
about a road system that VIII become a
blessing Let us hear from you. !
Organization Effected.
He then called for the selection of a tenn
porary chairman and secretary, and II. l..
Marshall, auditor of Guthrie county, and c.
p. Kinney, auditor of Mills county, were ap-
rointed chairman and secretary, respectively.
The temporary organization was made per-
manent
The following were appointed a com
mittee on resolutions: DR.. Dosh Guthrie
] r. Whitaker. Harrison county;
Seth Dean. Mills county; j. Markey, Mont
gomery county. and Herman Mendel Pot
tawattamie county. Following the appoint
ment of this committee, the convention ad-
formed for dinner. On reconyening the COM
mite reported a number of resolutions, of
which the following were adopted, the dis.
oussion of them occupying nearly the en- |
tire afternoon:
Resolved. That the convention recon-
mend the following changes in the present |
road laws:
First-That the unit road district for tax
alton and administration purposes shall be |
the county outside the cities and incor- |
porated towns.
Second-That all road tax be made pay
able in cash and expended as far as prac- !
ticable, under some form of the contract |
system.
Third-That the Board of Supervisors !
shall have control of all work done on the /
Fourth-That we favor such change in |
the election laws of this state as will re- |
qure payment of the legal poll tax by |
every person subject to the same before |
he can vote at any general election.
the results of road legislation enacted I'm |
the states of New Jersey Connecticut I
Massachusetts,, New York and others we
recommend that the system of state aid as
applied in those states, be discussed and
considered by the people of Iowa through
town, county, city and state organiza-
tions In order that legislation may be
secured whereby all city and farming in
terests may be promoted by road improve /
ments.
SiXth-That We strongly endorse the cam |
paign for better roads in the United States /
now being conducted by the office of road
inquiry, the Interstate Good Roads and
Public Improvement association and all
other associations devoted to this cause
Seventh-BelieVing that the postal system .
OF the general government was instituted /
upon the theory of serving without discrim- /
inatton all people In Just and liberal man ;
ner and recognizing the many social and
pecuniary advantages of the establishment
of rural free mail service not only Ia tho !