Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-08-25
GREATER
SALEM
CLUB
Has Secured a New
Secretary Pro
Temp
Undertaking to Promote an
Extensive Movement
of Broken Rock
Roads

Hon. ]. G. Graham, secretary of the
Greater Salem Commercial Club. left
today for months vacation in the
East, visiting the cities of Chicago
and New York, and incidentally call.
Ing on the immigration headquarters
in the interest of the club and this
part of the state.
Mr.. Graham has secured the ser.
vices of B. Frank Meredith as sec.
retary pro temp. during his absence,
and the clubs headquarters will be at
Mr Meredith's Office until Graham S
return.
The Correspondence Committee.
Work on this line, as outlined by
Tom Richardson and the State Deyel.
opment League, will be pushed in Mr..
Granam's absence. Daily meetings of
the executive committee are to be
held, and the formation of the com.
mittee rapidly extended. The folder
recently issued by the club will be
used extensively, and Mr. Graham's
efforts was embodied in a four.page.
illustrated write-up of Marion county
and Salem in the August issue of the
Northwest Empire, 100000 copies of
which were issued. A special fund
Will be raised for this work of direct
correspondence.
Pushing Rock Roads.
The officers of the Commercial
Club are pushing a broken rock road
movement that Will 1t is hoped, even.
tuate in the construction of these su.
perior roadways on a large scale. The
committee, headed by Engineer H. B.
Thielsen, who visited the granite
quarry OF the Santiam, were favorably
impressed with that material, and Mr..
Thielsen does not hesitate to say that
he Will recommend the use of the
granite with other material for roads
and streets. The president of the club
is In correspondence with the freight
departments of the Southern Pacific
and the Corvallis & Eastern, and is
promised a joint rate at an early day
that will lay lown the crushed granite
in any city or at any siding in Marion
Inn nnnnffaa, ut NJ.
inal rate. Then if the local district
road tax will be expended In grading
up and draining the roads, and the
county can buy the broken metal, and
the farmers can haul It out, thus unit
ing the interests and public spirit of
the locality, the resources of the rail.
road, and the backing OF the county
municipality making it light for all.
A Great Advertisement.
Broken rock roads are no longer an
experiment The people are getting
to know their merits There is no ex.
cuse for spending money on inferior
material when broken granite or trap
rock can be obtained. A railway com.
pany would not buy and lay down soft
iron rails nowadays, when steel rails
are obtainable. Granite Is the best
road material known, 1t Is believed Il
can be crushed and laid down at sid.
ings and for streets of cities so cneap-
ly that no other surface material will
be in demand. OF course, this de.
pends some on the rates made by the
railroads. A nominal rate that would
result in the largest possible use OF
granite for roadways would be in the
interest OF these corporations Fig
ures will be in the possession of the
Greater Salem Commercial club that
will settle the matter In the minds OF
the people forever There will be no
greater advertisement for Salem, and
this whole valley than to have II pub
licly decided that granite roads were
10 be constructed ON a larger scale
and that the larger powers OF the
community had agreed on such a poll
cy. and had deliberately decided TO
carry IL into effect
You Can't Afford