The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-01-17
MAGNIFICENT AND LASTING WORK HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
DURING THE PAST YEAR BY THE COMMITTEES
Organization Voted $500 Toward Highway Betement and Movement
Started Raise at Least One Thousand Dollars For the Use
Of Those Having the Work in Charge.

The cause of good roads is to re-
ceive more intelligent attention in
Blue Earth county this year than ever
before. The good roads committee of
the Commercial club has taken the
matter up so successfully with the
county board that that body has
pledged its hearty cooperation, and
will pay half the cost of using the
road drags, under certain conditions.
This and other matters We're reported
upon at the meeting of the club last
night, and the club voted $500 of its
funds for the use of the good roads
committee during the coming year.
move was also started to raise a fund
of $1,000 among the citizens to be
turned over to the good roads commit
tee.
The attendance at last nights meet
ing, as usual, was a disappointment,
for unusual efforts were made to get
out quorum. The last meeting of
the club at which there was quor-
UNI was on Aug. b. At $50 last even
ing only thirteen club members were
on hand, and the meeting was called
to order informally and the reports
of the good roads committees OF the
club and of the Automobile club were
read, for it was in reality a joint
meeting OF the two clubs, and half of
those present on the start were auto
owners.
The reports were as follows:
Report of Committee.
Mankato, Mimi, Jan. IL, 1905
To the Commercial Club, Mankato,
Minn.-Gentemen: Your commit
tee on good roads begs leave to
report for the year 1907 as fol-
lows:
Paid for King road drags
donated to road overseers
For road dragging in Man
Mankato township ...... l0l 20
For road dragging in Lime
township ~ III
For road dragging i'll South
Bend township ........ 1000
Total $24O. 80
During the first of the season
we donated twenty-five King road
] drags for use on the roads near
| Mankato. Finding it difficult to
get the work done at the right
time, we submitted a proposition
to the town boards of Mankato,
Lime and South Bend townships
that if they would contract with
reliable farmers for dragging the
roads after every rain all through
the season, we would pay one-half
the cost. About fifty miles of
roads were kept in good shape I'M
der these contracts.
The season was very bad one
up to about the first of August,
but the roads have been well kept
and the work has attracted wide
spread attention. 1t has been the
universal comment, that we have
never had as good roads in this
vicinity.
When we first began work in
1906 the roads were something
beyond description. That the work
has been of great value to Man
kato is well known. The roads
have not only been kept smooth
and hard, but all of the road tax
has been available for other pur
poses and more grading and drain
ing has been done than ever be-
fore.
Our work has been favorably
mentioned over the state and while
we were the first to adopt the
plan, it has been copied else
where with splendid results. Pho
tographs of our roads before and
after dragging have been copied
and sent out all over the United
States The work has created
such general interest that we be-
lieve it will result in great i'm
provement through the entire
county
Town Boards Commended.
Your committee cannot speak
too highly of the intelligent CO.
operation it has received from
farmers. The town boards of Man
kato, Lime and South Bend town
!. ships are deserving of much credit.
The contract plan has proven so
satisfactory that your committee
felt justified in asking the CO.
operation of the county commits
sioners in carrying out the same
plan in every township in Blue
Earth county.
We appeared before the county
board this week, asking them to
submit a proposition to the entire
county that if the town boards
would contract for the dragging
of main travelled roads all through
the season, the county board
would pay half the cost and we