Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-25
bill and predicts that it will go thu
same old way.
"woRkINc QUIZ ROAD lakes.


past year in road improvement, it is
to be hoped that no serious change will
be made in the present laws. During
the last session of the general assem-
bly, several bills contemplating a re-
turn to the old labor tax method of
working the roads never left the COM
mittee rooms, and the uniform sue
cess of the money tax system during
the past year mas been such that surely
a quietus has been placed on the old
system for all time.
The passage of such bill now would
mean a most discouraging backward
step as it is entirely contrary to the
trend Of the road legislation of the
past four or five years, and would put
a serious stumbling block in the way
of further progress
1t might be argued that the bill now
pending is hedged about with the pro-
| vision that tC be effective in a town
ship a petition of twothrds OF the
voters must first be filed, but 1t would
| be a comparatively easy matter for a
few dissatisfied men to have petit
ton signed by twothirds of the voters
! In township even in the localities
| where splendid work is being done un-
der the present system. This provis-
ion has the semblance but lacks the in
herent strength of a safeguard. The
/ attempt is constantly being made to
interest the highway commission in
! petty neighbDr quarrels apparently
over the road work, but really over
some little personal grievances against
| the road superintendent In these
cases, We're such statute in force,
| q petition would soon be started to go
back TO the old labor tax system. But
| this is only one of the many conditions
| which exist in many townships that
would bring into being such a petit
| tion
There is no call in a state as uniform
as Iowa to have road laws passed for
the whole state that are the outgrowth
OF local conditions in few counties or
townships ard meant to be applicable
only to these. Such laws would soon
result In distressing non-uniformity
OF road building and maintenance with
| in the limits OF each county.
| AS the law now stands four super
intendents can be appointed in each
township. The average road tax avail
able per township is not far from
| $1,000. Divide this amount into four
| parts and each district will have 5000
to expend besides the poll tax In the
| rolling districts of the state, $500 will
| grade one mile of road in fairly good
shape and take care of the small cul-
verts necessary. In the more level dis
| tricts the same amount will grade one
and one half to two miles of road.
These amounts are not given as the
| cost for the mere scratching of the
surface with a road machine, but for
putting up good grades such as have
| been built in the southern part Of Car
! roll county or in Dallas county, and
! these figures are furnished from actual
work done I'm these counties. 1t is not
to be hoped, however, that with four
| superintendents in township each one
will content himself with building one
or two miles of we'll graded roads. but
will attempt to make 1t go further than
| this and thus secure no fairly perman-
| ent Improvement. The road machin-
| cry OF each district is used perhaps
! ten to twenty days during the year
| and the rest Of the time lies idle, not
withstandinis that its value in most
| cases amounts to. more than tho en-
/ tire road tax for any one year This
| condition of affairs Is bad enough ana
so it is hard to understand why any
| one would wish to divide the townships
| into more than four districts. In d.
rect contrast to this policy of division
| is the consolidation OF not only each
township into jone road district, but
practically the whole county into one
road district, as has been done IN Dali
| las county.
At meeting held at Abel on the 10Th
/ inst. the county supervisors and town
ship trustees endorsed and voted to
continue the policy of doing the road
work with regularly organized county
road gangs after six years trial OF this
plan. In 1905 one gang built thirty
miles of road and the results are so
satisfactory that second gang Will be
started this year. This will do away
with most of the township work, as
both the county and township road
funds will be needed to support the
| two gangs.
The 1907 report of the highway COM
A mission says: 1.-The most encouraging
feature OF the work during the past
Iyear has been the entrance of young
meh into the field Of highway improve
ment. This is absolutely the essential
factor, and the more encouragement
and Roadway we can make in this di-
4 rection. thu, sooner We will obtain bet
! ter results generally in the work" We
do not wish to destroy the incentive for
young men to take up the serious study
of road improvement. This is the only
way by which it can be raised to the
4 plane on which it belongs.
.That we are not making any inn
provement under the money tax sys-
/ TEN, as has been inferred or charged
| by some of the opponents of this sys-
TEN is simply not true. We are maxi
ing an Improvement and a marked inn
provement in almost every section Of
the state, but the greatest factor which
lis hindering the development is the
4 personal equation-the personal eqla-
ton Of the old time road builder whose
4 knowledge and methods have come
\ down to him thru long line of pre-
4 decessors, and the personal equation OF
the community that SCOTS at the man
i who attempts to introduce new meth
DDS and new ideas into the road or
i bridge work. When these can be elm
i inated, IL such is possible, a long step
will have been made toward the end
sought"
4 There are certain changes in the
road laws that could probably Ibe
made, but the highway commission has
/. recommended only two of these this
year. 1t has recommended that the
4 4 I,o