Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-23
GOOD ROADS OBJECT LESSON
Bad Roads Prevent Many People from
Attending Good Roads Convention.
HOW TO IMPROVE THEM DEMONSTRATED
ID. ward King, the Split Log Road
Drag, one of Principal Speakers,
hut Evidently Fails 60
Make Impression.

The heavy rain Of Monday night is held
accountable for the slim attendance at the
good roads meeting yesterday at Lake
Manawa. The meeting was advertised to
commence at 1890 o'clock in the morning
but there being so few present at that hour
II was decided to postpone proceedings until
o'clock in the afternoon. ., ...,.
Chairman Brandes of the county board
Of supervisors, who was TO have presided,
failed to reach the city until late in the
afternoon and Colonel w. F. Baker tho
promoter of the meeting. presided in his
stead. The program as advertised was car
ried out, even to the demonstration OF
road-maklng, a portion Of the road lead
ing to the lake resort being gone over with
the county grader drawn by ten horses and
heavy roller. This was at the conclusion
of the program in the Casino
Mayor Macrae in his characteristic man.
ner delivered an address of welcome, dur
ing which he stated that while he had been
born and raised in Council Bluffs, he was
sorry TO say he knew nothing about good
roads, but could tell his audience consid-
cradle about bad roads.
Thomas H. Mcdonald secretary Of the
Iowa Good Roads association and member
Of the faculty of the State college at Ames,
told of what is being done for good roads
in this state The subject, he said, was
being brought prominently before the peo-
pie by the press, through farmers insti-
tutes and meetings. and this year the ques-
tion had been given prominence ~ the
chautauquas.e He told of the inter- the
railroads were taking in the matt and
how they were sending out special trains
with d. Ward King OF Maitland, Mo-. the
apostle OF the road drag" to spread the
W.a1 81. 4.
Donald is also a member of the state high
way commission and he told of what that
body was doing for the betterment of tho
roads,
The principal address of the afternoon
was by D. Ward King. the advocate Of the
split log road drag. ION ninety-nine out OF
every 100 miles of highway in Iowa I could
do anything with the split log road drag
and pillow that you can do with a four
horse grader" was one of Mr.. Kings state
ments He said that the roads in Iowa
had enough money expended on them and
that they were worked enough, but that
the trouble was that they did not get
enough care. With a small model of the
road drag Mr.. King, in a very intelligent
manner, explained its working. Mr.. King
also advocated macadam for heavily y-trav-
eled highways and said that every up-to.
date city or town ought TO have at least
four macadamized thoroughfares leading
out from Il.
In concluding his address Mr.. King asked
the audience, How many of you on going
home are going to make split log road
drRg?' He asked for a show of right
hands and two went up, one Of which be-
longed TO Former Mayor NJ. F. Rohrer,
who occupied a seat on the platform. The
result was evidently considerably dlsap-
pointing to the speaker. ~
A short address on GOOD Roads from a
Laymans Standpoint" brought the pro-
gram to close.