Arizona republican., 1909-04-08
BONUS WILL BE
 QUICKLY RAISED MORE ABOUT THE BRIDGE MASS
 MEETING. Hundreds of Taxpayers Sign the Peti- ton Asking for Center Street
 Bridge.

The committee in charge nf the rais- ing of the bonus for the construction of the Center street bridge received a remarkable response to their appeal yesterday In many instances the land owners agreed to give more towards the bridge than they had been asked for. Land owners of the south side were unanimous in their approval of the action of the Bartlett Heard com pany. as announced at the mass meet ing Tuesday. and have thus far been liberal in their contributions to the fund.
 The petition to the board of super viso-s asking for the construction of the bridge at Center street and call ing for an election to place the matter bfeore the taxpayers. was signed yes terday in a few minutes by over l50 property owners. There was a very friendly feeling shown toward the prop osition, many farmers who live east of the city and who. it was thought. would naturally favor the Tempe site, came in and signed the petition.
 In yesterdays account of the mass meeting held at the board of trade for the discussion of the bridge question the stress of other news prevented the publication of some of the more in teresting features of the meeting. For this reason extracts from some of the speeches made at the meeting are given today.
 After Messrs. Mayberry and Smith had explained the bridge plans and answered questions concerning them, Brady O'Neill took the floor.
 and made some very pertinent and telling remarks, some of which were almost epigrammatic.
 In his most forensic and forceful manner. MT O'Neill cried: Any man who kicks against this bridge Is a mossback and should be driven from the community" And again: You cant call yourself an up-to-date Amer ican citizen and sit like a bump on a log and not begin bridge building"
 ''I know men in this valley" said Mir. O'Neill. who say, We don't need any bridges We have been here forty years. and got along without them very well,' They are the same men who said that they did not want a dam. and that they would not mort gage their land to the United States government to help build one and pay for it. They are the men who kick against anything that looks like prog ress and should be driven out of the community.
 Let us show that we are capable of building one good bridge. or two bridges. Let's get busy. If one of the propositions is ready, let us put it through to the finish Do things. And if you make a mistake. God and the people will forgive you"
 George Purdy Bullard said: I'm get ting to the time of life when a few gray hairs are beginning to percolate through my scalp. and since this bridge question has come up. more of them have appeared. I am heartily in favor of a bridge across the river and shall do all in my power to aid in the undertaking"
 Chaplain Scott. of Scottsdale. created considerable amusement by his re- marks Tt has cost me more money, said the chaplain, in wading across that river, and in buying new clothes after l have been dumped into it than I shall ever pay in the additional taxes that will be levied to build a bridge. If the city of Phoenix is ever to get out of the country village class. it will be by the developing of the surround ing country. and that will come through better communications obtained by building bridges and gridironing the country with interurban trolley lines. Though live in that part of the coun- try which would naturally benefit more by a bridge at Tempe, I am in favor of this bridge at the foot of Center street"
 Dr. Geissinger. whom the chairman designated as a Tive wire" said he was in favor of two bridges, and only wished he were a large land owner so that he could pay taxes on both.
 Roy Goodrich pointed out that with an assessed valuation of $l6,OOO,OOO m the county. the man who pays taxes on slO.0OO worth of property will pay one sixteenth the cost of the bridge or about s32. in two years time. Il am in favor of two bridges as soon as we can get them. but we do not want to go too fast. Let us build one first and the other will follow soon," said MT Goodrich.
 Judge Ainsworth spoke of the ad- vertising feature of the bridge. "Peo- ple come here to see the great ROose- welt dam by the hundreds he said, and they will come here to look at the longest concrete bridge in the world Ten years ago concrete struc- lures were comparatively unknown, and they are still a novelty. Let us show the people of this country that this little town of Phoenix can do things t,frr s-caIa