The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-06-03
CITIZENS INTEND TO
SECURE GOOD ROADS
Ramsey County Association to
Be Launched at Big Meet
ing Next Thursday.

The Ramsey County Good Roads as.
| ISOLATION will be formally launched
at meeting to he held at the Chamber
of Commerce In the Endicott building
next Thursday afternoon, when promi
nent citizens and business men from
all walks of life and representing every
civic body in the~city, viii merge them
selves into an association, the object of
which will be good and permanent.
roads for Ramsey county.
The movement for the organization
of this association has been on foot
for some time, and now, that a suffi-
cient number of persons have inter-
ested themselves in the project the
association will be formed and the
| work OF securing better roads will be
| commenced at once. If the primary
objects of the contemplated associa-
ton are carried out every main road
in Ramsey county will be built Of ma
cadam and every feeder" will be of
| gravel
The promoters of the good roads
plan have interested the Commercial
club, the Chamber of Commerce, the
! board of county commissioners and
many of the prominent business men
| of the city, and the personnel of the
| organization is expected to be such
| that it will WELD an influence sufficient
to secure the expenditure of the coun-
| ty road money by the county commits
sioners along lines recommended by
the association.
Viii Hold Meeting Thursday.
A number of persons interested in
| the movement met a day or two ago
| and arranged for a public meeting
4 to be held at the Chamber of Commerce
| next Thursday. Among those who at
| tended this meeting were Gustav
| Scholle, l.. p. Ordway, III. H. Fuller,
Luther Gushing, Frederick Nussbaum-
| er, John b. Irvine, Henry A. Board
| man, Henry G. Haas, John w. Taylor,
Robert Seng, w. w. Price. d. F.
/ BeardSley, l.. l.. May, Harry O'NeiH,
| and number of others.
The objects and possibilities of the
/ proposed association were enthusiast
| fcally discussed by these, who have.
/ hopes of gaining great deal through
| the efforts of the new association. 1t
was decided that the membership of
/ the organization should be absolutely
/ without cost, and the membership will
be open to every person interested
! in permanent good roads for Ramsey
| county.
/
bers of the board Of county commits
sioners have beer consulted and that
/ their promise to cooperate with the
! association has been obtained The
/ plan, it is stated, is to reduce the
! cost of repairs to county roads to
| about one-fifth of what they have been
| for several years, and in this manner.
create fund to be used in the con-
/ struction of macadam and gravel
| roads, which, once built, will not re-
I quire any great amount of repairs.
This plan will rob the country mem
! bers Of the county board Of an OPP
| portunity to expend thousands of dol
| lars of the county's money each year
| in temporary road repairs, and it is
expected that the new system will be
| opposed by them, but the city MEM
| bers have agreed to stand by the as
! ISOLATION, and since the city mem
/ bers have a majority on the board,
the new association is assured an OPP
/ portunity to carry out it's plans.
| Invitations for the meeting to be held
| Thursday have been extended to the
| Retail dealers, the Chamber of Com
merce, and all others who are inter-
| ested in the good roads movement are
invited to be present
Present Condition of Roads.
The necessity Of such an association
as is contemplated is pointed out by
the promoters in the fact that during
/ the past ten YEARS more than $780,
OO0 have been expended on the roads
| in Ramsey county, and with the excep-
| ton Of about three miles of macadam
| road, the highways are no better to-
| day than they were ten years ago In
| support of the plan for permanent
| roads the promoters point to the
n1acadam road a mile and quarter in
| length on Rice street, beginning at the
| city limits, and a stretch of a mile and
| thfee-fourths on the White Bear and
| Bald Eagle road, which have been built
! several years, but have never required
any repairing.
/ The cost of constructing Inacadan
| roads is from $4,000 to $4,000 per mile,
| and that of gravel roads something
| more than $1,000 per mile, but it is ar
| gued that the roads, once built, are
| inexpensive and are the best roads;
! that can be had. Under the present
| system 1t is shown that between $685.
| 900 and $4,000 is being expended every
| year, being used in such a manner that
the money is almost entirely wasted.
| An investigation of the records on
| file at the county auditors office shows
| that the sum of $259,578.76 has been
| expended since 1892, and not including
| the present year. The appropriations
for the different years, since 1892, are
| as follows: 1893, $20,93254: 1894. 500
| 430.17; 1895, $40, 405.42; 1896, S25. 979. 06:
j 1897, $16,096.88; 1898, $13,241.O3; 1899.
| $21, 100.25; 1900, $33,56S.44; 1901, $29.z
| 962.47; 1902, $33,117.80; 1908, $24744. 10.
In Hennepin county permanent roads
| have been under construction for sew
| eral years, and the plan is said to have
met with the success and approval of
| all who have followed it. George w.
Cooley, who has been interested in
good roads for some time and who is
| considered an authority on the matter.
| will be present at the meeting next
Thursday and will tell Of the manner
| In which Hennepin county secured
macadam roads.
STATUS OF STATE FAIR