The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-05-15

macadam would be first class
he would favor paving. Aid
Plymat asked c. H. Saulpaugh how the
macadam on Main street next the hote
compared with that on Front. Mr.. Saul
paugh answered that that on Main seem
ed to be in a little the best shape, but
that it did not have to stand the traffic
that Front street did, Main street is
surfaced with granite, while Front is
surfaced with limestone.
Leo. S. Lamm, on behalf of the Fifth
street property owners stated that If any
Improvements were to be made on Fifth
street, they ought to be of a permanent
character. He said that he would be
highly in favor of asphalt on Fifth
street. He also reminded the council
Of the need of some system to take
care of the surface water that comes
down from the hills. Too much of this
now finds its way into cellars.
Aid. Schroeder spoke for Frank Hoerr
another Fifth street property owner, who
was in favor of asphalt on that street.
Aid. Plymat gave some figures he had
received from taxpayer on Hickory
street. According to these figures, the
macadam there (Which is probably the
best piece in the city, although it is not
subjected to very heavy wear) cost lit
tie less than $1,000 per block, while as
spalt, at Sl.9O square yard, would cost
over $4,000 block.
Mr.. Carpenter Appears.
c. NJ. Carpenter of the Barber Asphalt
company was asked to enlighten the
meeting on some of the salient features
of macadam, brick and asphalt paving.
He stated that, ordinarily, good macadam
costs about one-half as much as as
phalt or brick. Asked about the pos
sibility of laying asphalt or brick on the
foundation of an old macadam pavement
he stated that it was often done. The
surface of the old pavement has to be
Clipped off about two or three inches
for asphalt, and about five to six inches
for brick. AS the work of chipping off
the old macadam evenly is very slow, it
is more expensive to prepare an old
foundation for brick than it is for as
phalt He said that the limestone around
Mankato served very well for founda-
ton for macadam, but was entirely too
soft for the surface. One of the chief
faults in macadam lies in the fact that
municipalities are always careless about
making repairs. The repairs should be
made in the same manner that the
original macadam is laid, but they never
are. Taking the original cost of macad-
am, and adding to that the cost of its
maintenance in good condition, Mr.. Car
penter claimed that in eight years ma
cadam street would cost more than a
brick or asphalt street. Mr.. Hall dis
puted Mr.. Carpenters statement as to
the durability of asphalt, and was referr-
ed to- Summit avenue in st. Paul, which
was asphalted seventeen years ago, and
is in first class condition now. Asked
as to what he knew of tar macadam, Mr.
Carpenter stated that it cost from $3.50
to 1925 per yard, was still in the expert
mental stage, and did not give satisfac
ton. Mr.. Hall again advocated the use
of Mankato stone He said in substance
that macadam was good enough for him,
and if posterity wanted asphalt, they
could pay for it.
Front an Expensive Street.
Daniel Coughlan made the claim that
Front street is the most expensive street
we ever had, and that first class pave
ment laid there in the first place would
have been saving investment. He
called attention to the many cities where
macadam is being replaced by brick and
asphalt r. d. Hubbard seconded Mr..
Carpenters statements as to the amount
of asphalt laid in other cities and its
advantages over macadam. He express
ed himself as thoroughly in favor of as
phalt.
H. L. Schmitt thought that the tax
payers ought not to be burdened with
heavy special assessments, until new
charter placed them in position to bear
the load more easily. His idea was that
Second street needed curb and gutter,
to give it drainage, worse than it needed
paving.
c. N. Andrews thought that the city
ought not to temporize. The durable
pavement would prove the cheapest in
the long run. He admitted that he was
not in the district affected by the pro-
posed improvements, but he was OPP
posed to any outlay of money for i'm
provements that would be temporary.
Resumed Regular Business.
The regular order of business was then