Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-07
Committees Reply.
To the People Of Marshalltown:

To the People Of Marshalltown:
The committee appointed by the Re-
tail Merchants Association has ex-
pected that no effort could be made for
the welfare Of our city without some
opposition being met. We take it as a
matter of encouragement that such OPP
tposition should come from the motives
which are known to have inspired Mr..
Pierce instead of from some unselfish
interest in the public welfare.
First. The committee has realized
that per cent tax will yield nearly
$4,000 as aid for an interurban road to
Melbourne and street car line to Riv-
erside park. The line to the park will
never pay the builder even operating
expenses until it becomes part OF
an interurban to Grundy Center, which
we know Mr.. Browne hopes to make
it in time. 1t will cost $4,000, leaving
100000 Of the tax aid to be used in
building to Melbourne The line to
Melbourne will cost $2S9,000 and ac-
cording to the terms of the tax aid
contract must be built and in operation
before the tax goes to Mr.. Browne.
When the road is built and in oper-
alton, the man whose property is worth
$4,000 and valued at $1,000, will have
to pay on one-fourth the valuation a
tax Of $3.50 in 1908 and $3.50 in 1909.
Second. If the committee thought
that the line to Melbourne would be
all that would be built the effort would
hardly be worth while. In eastern states
tax aids have been voted to short lines
at the beginning, and others have fol-
lowed without help. Why not here?
No promise is made by Mr.. Browne
other than the one line to Melbourne
and to the park, tbs true, but we know
that he is now in correspondence with
Waterloo people regarding an extern
sion to Grundy Center and to Water
loo, and that he has already discussed
seriously with interurban builders
west of us the project of line thru
State Center to Nevada and Ames. The
committee has believed that this COM
with Mr.. Brown On the future.
Third. The extension of the present
franchise Of the local plant has been re-
quested by Mr.. Brown in order to sat-
isfy the people who will take his
bonds and give him the hundreds Of
thousands of dollars which he must
have in order to build even what he
has promised to build The present
Jones & Hovey company is entrenched
here for eleven years more and will
promise nothing. Mr. Browne con-
sents to 6 per cent net reduction OF
light rates for the first five years. af-
ter which he will take his chances on
what future city councils will do. but
even in this he has no guarantee
against greater reductions for we can't
bind a city council nor can
this council bind the next one
Mr.. Browne is bound, how
ever hy written contract which will be
made contingency in his franchise
extension, to build a street car line to |
the fair grounds and a loop on West |
Boone street. We know that Mr..
Browne had the local plant inspected
oy the greatest electrical expert in the
United States, a Mr.. Evans whose re-
port is always accepted in the largest |
circles in the east and Mr.
Evans has stipulated that Mr.. Browne
must agree to expend $780, 900 immedi-
ately in repairing and charging the |
light and gas plant, extending and en-
arging gas mains, ETC., and knowing |