Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-28
/ B. MOVREY WRITES
ON GOOD ROADS IDEA

ganization in their state or the line
of road Improvement. This move, in
my judgment, should interest every
individual, for much depends upon the
condition of the roads in many ways.
We often hear that the railroads
have a very light business on account
of the roads being in such condition
that grain and produce and stock can
not be moved. We often hear the re-
mark made by the merchant that his
trade has been dull for some three or
four weeks on account of the condition
of the roads as the farmers cannot
get to town to market their produce.
We often see the clerks in the stores
not being busy and the grain merchant
but little, and business generally Is
very quiet, when the farmer cannot
reach the markets with his produce.
Hence, we are all interested in the
road improvement and it should be
talked about and agitated until we
fall upon some definite plan to better
the roads. If we could only macad-
amize even five or ten miles a year of
the roads reaching to our city, it
would not he many years until the
principal highways would reach out
to quite large part of the surround
ing country, and we would hardly re-
alize the expense of this improvement
as it would come gradually.
My attention has been directed to
the Ohio law of macadamiZing the
public highways. l find that they have
a great many miles of pike roads, and
when in Ohio last fall, made inquiry
as to the plan they had to meet the
expenses of building the pike road,
and | found that the land adjoining
| the macadamized road on each side
for a mile and a half back, is assess
ed for the payment of the same as fol-
lows: $1.50 per acre for the first half
mile on each side; next half mile rs
cents per acre on either side of the
road and so until the get back one and
one-half miles, in some cases two
miles, but usually it is assessed on a
mile and a half on either side of the
road, and all other lands in same coun-
ty further than mile and half is
assessed SO many mills on the dollar
which makes the assessment touch
everyone a little, and it is paid jim
yearly payments, the same as we are
assessed on our city pavements.
Their roads are about sixty feet
wide, but they only grade up about
twenty-four feet wide and macadamize
with stone or gravel about eleven feet
wide, putting the gravel or stone on
one side and they have a summer track
on the other half of grade, which
makes the macadamizing only eleven
i feet wide and the summer drive thir.
i teen feet wide and it makes beauti.
4 full road They make the road as near.
ly uniform as they can, grading down
the nigh points and filling up the low
places. The material used is limestone
broken or crushed with a crusher
A which machinery they get in Chicago
or, some portion is made with gravel
Il found that the cost of the stone as
i handy to line of pike was from 81 zoe
to $4,000 per mile. This varies as the
I price of the stone and the distance the
stone or gravel has to be hauled. The
acre tax and the three mill tax that
they levy in their county settles the
: tax question to defray the expenses OF
!, grading and matchmaking the roads
| | have personally travelled the roads
in this county and adjoining county
J some few years ago for sixteen years
to do great deal of thing along the
line of our roads in order to make the
road bed dry, or we cannot macada-
mize successfully; but with a proper
:, system Of drainage, have no doub
but what we can have just as gooC
: roads as those of any other state.
1t is true that experienced mer
should be employed in every town
ship to superintend the working of the
roads, and none other A great dea
depends upon the one who knows how
the road should be worked and ther,
should be some uniform plan adopt
ed.
!, A delegate from Burlington remark
ed to me that it had been mentioned
to him that this movement had beer
gotten up largely in the interest of tn,
cities, or some person interested in bi
cycles or driving, but such thought al
this should not be entertained for
moment, as the business of the countr,
!, depends upon the. movement of tn
: products of our country and the con
: venience that the farmer has to marke
: the same. We often hear our packin,
house people make the remark tina
the run of hogs is very light on &C
: count of the bad condition of the road
! and we fully realize that in our bust
: ness, as we do not get SO many item
:, from them when there are not so man
hogs being marketed. Hence, the bus
y mess is much affected by the cond
! ton of the roads.
/ In conclusion we would say, that ey
! cry individual in busienss or out O
. business should be interested in tn
i road movement j. B. Mowery.
i IOWA VETS TO MEET
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