The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-01-17

most important step forward yet tax
en-. The commissioners thought that
plan the best brought to their atten-
! ton, and acted promptly. He thought
that probably almost all of the town
ships would act, and it was desirable
also that the plan be put into effect
on the two main roads in Nicollet
county leading from the city, the one
to New Ulm and the other to Oshawa,
but the Commercial club must do it,
for no help can be expected from
the Nicollet county commissioners.
There is also proposition to gravel
the Eagle Lake road that the club
should take up. The county board
has designated this as a state road,
and has appropriated $500 toward
crawling it, and the state has given
$3.50, provided more is raised. The
township has given $780, the farmers
have raised the equivalent of 800 and
expect to make it 500, and the Eagle
Lake business men have raised $50,
but this is contingent upon the Com
mercial club appropriating 500. This
makes $500 besides the Commercial
clubs share, and that means that
eventually the road can be graveled
all the way to Eagle Lake There
is no gravel on the road and all has
to be hauled from the river bottom
in Mankato. The farmers and Eagle
Lake men want to know at once what
the club will do so as to begin to
haul the gravel at once.
A lot of good road work can be done
| if the committee has little money.
The roads to Lakes Madison and
Washington should be put in shape,
and this would greatly increase the
travel and would mean money to
Mankato if more people from abroad
were thus induced to visit the lakes in
summer, for they would run back and
forth to the city. The road up the
Belgrade hill is dangerous and a per-
petual bar to traffic with this city.
The committee is working on this
matter, and survey has been made
and the matter has almost reached
the point of letting the contract. A
good road to the state park at Min
neopa is needed. 1t is now a wretch
ed road. A survey has been made and
the township of South Bend is ready
to put money into the matter as soon
as we are ready to help. There should
be local pride enough to make this a
fine road, the park being located so
near the city and more of benefit
to Mankato than to the rest of the
state.
| Under the contract plan, the club
is relieved of paying one-half of the
cost of dragging the main roads. Mr..
Palmer believed that the club had
scarcely taken up a more important
work than the improvement of the
roads The farmers are interested and
will help if the city keeps up its in
terest, otherwise the farmers will also
lose interest and the roads will lapse
back to where they were. The work
done around here has been copied and
talked about all over the United
| States, and the cuts of the roads
before and after improvement printed.
Waseca county is going to take the
matter up.
Quorum Finally Appears.
A quorum now being present, Vice
President John Nyquist called the
meeting to order and asked different
members to express their views on
the question.
w. d. Willard moved that the club
express its appreciation of the work
done by the committee last year, and
particularly its browning work of get
ting the county commissioners to take
the action that they did. If there
are not funds in the clubs treasury
to undertake the work on the Eagle
Lake road they should be raised out
side. The motion was carried.
County Treasurer Hart suggested
that it was important to try to keep
in touch with the townships and see
that they adopt the plan proposed by
the county board, as they were apt
to pass it by at the town meetings
unless it was called to their atten-
tion by the club. The Eagle Lake
proposition was a desirable one.
Secretary Spencer said that the club
was not flourishing financially but had
enough money to pay it's bills and
have 5000 to $500 left at the end
of the year, March q, if all pay up.
He moved that the club set aside
800 toward the crawling the Eagle
Lake road This was carried.
Praises the Committees Work.
G. E. Wise said that he had taken
trips with Mr.. Palmer, and knew the
work of the committee. In the past
there had been no worse road on the
average than the Eagle Lake road,
but last year some parts of it were
better than some of the city streets.
CCOutinued on Page Three.1