The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-02-05
CAUSE OF GOOD ROADS IS
GIVEN Big BOOST BY the
joint Meeting OF CLUBS

heartily in accord with DR.. Andrews
letter, and while sitting here had de-
cided to call q cpecial meeting OF the
Automobile club for some time next
week to take up this matter as a
special order of business If fifty
owners of automobiles would not put
in $40 each they ought to sell their
machines. If they would put this
sum in for three years, there would
be the best roads around Mankato to
be found anywhere.
Mr.. Palmer reported that some good
work had been done on the Mapleton
road i'll road district No. ), close to
the city. William Wittrock had hauled
III loads, John T. May II loads, Will
liam Schostag 55 loads, Burt Sontag
80 loads, Desire Daypute 40 loads and
George kieffe 81 loads. This was
simply remarkable, and he had never
dreamed that SO much could be ac-
complished These farmers had do
mated their services. and the same thing
was being done by farmers on the
Eagle Lake road and the poor farm
road Mr.. Cummins was a hustler
and had organized bee on the Eagle
Lake road. What is needed is men
like him and NIessrs Whittrock, May
and Thilgen to organize the farmers,
and the business men of Mankato
would help. Ii the work can be kept
up for Il few Years there will be first
class graveled roads past the poor
farm, on the Mapleton road to the
river and on the Eagle Lake road.
Farmeds Do Good Work.
Mr. Wittrock was called upon, and
said that the farmers in his district
had organized and gone to work and
would continue as long as the weather
would allCw. Six or seven OF them
had beer at work for five weeks and
there was to be hauling bee today.
They were satisfied with what assis-
tancc they could get from the city.
Mr.. May was called upon and said
that he had come to say that the
haulers had struck for more work and
less wages. There was bad piece OF
road inside the city limits before
reaching the town line past Highland
park, extending fifty or sixty rods,
and the farmers would like to have
the city fix this so that the farmers
can drive over it, instead of over rough
ground in the morning and mud i'll
the afternoon. They would like to
have work done on this at once, be-
ginning this morning, if possible. Thus
far there had been 5l2 loads of gra
vel hauled at an expense of eleven
cents a load, for dynamite, blasting
powder and hired help for uncovering
at the gravel pit. The roads have be-
come 50 bad to the pit that gravel
lis now being taken from the. river
bed, beginning yesterday. 1t would
take los loads of gravel to fix the
road within the city limits, and he
would be willing to haul this for fifty
cents load 40
Mr. Palmer said that he had taken
| the matter up with Aid. Atchison and
l
thought that the matter would be at
tended to today.
Mr. Cummins said that l56 loads had
been hauled on the roads around Eagle
Lake in three days. Part of this
had been put upon the Mankato- Madi-
| son Lake road, and the rest Oh the
road south from the village. Thirty
five teams had worked the first day
and if the sleighing had kept ul
there would have been ii good showing
by this time, but it is hard to get
! to the gravel pit now. When more
snow falls the work will be resumed
With little help, he thought that a
real nice road could be made to Eagle
Lake. He thought the 500 premium
proposal u good one, but would have
three prizes. In this way lot OF
work could be got done for a little
money. Prizes might be offered fol
hauled this winter.
Same in Country and City.
Mr.. Thilgen said that it was hare
to get farmers to work. On the Eagle
Lake road many have said that the
road is good as far as their farms
and that this is all that they want
and they have refused to help. They
don't like to haul gravel for nothing
on that road.
Mr. May said that at the meeting
of farmers in his district twenty-five
had said shat they were willing tt
haul gravel, and eleven went to worl
the first day, and by the third day thu
number was down to six, and these
six have done the work for five weeks
without recompense. One farmer lat
remarked that sin the old countr,
they didn't do anything for nothin;
for the king, and in this country 1t
was not going to do anything TO
nothing for the president" Those thai
use the roads the most will do nothing
Many men on his road who were no
assisting used the road five times a
much as he did.
President Nyquist said that thi
came back to his idea that take
ought to be levied to pay for TIN
work, and then all would stand thei
share. In the city it was the same