Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-10-01
Local Comment

3 Local Comment s
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The boosters at Belle PLANE who
promoted a $4,000 creamery for the
good Of the town now have the salts
faction of seeing the building almost
completed. Marshalltown can have one
just as soon as her boosters decide to
so after it, When running 1t will easily
pay out 100000 per annum in cream
checks.
Mr.. Mack has announced that he is
ready with his charts in response to
the councils insistence under resolu-
tons and ordinances introduced by
Herman. The council should meet i'm
mediately to receive them for after SIX
years of neglect to comply with the IN
structions Mack's willingness now TO
obey the ordinances of the city Is an
event to be celebrated. But there is
more need for prompt action. Ihe
question will arise. are the charts COM
plete and sufficient? The Herman or
dinance calls for complete engineer
ing data" This means the informa-
ton necessary to locate exactly every
tap and house service. For years
plumbers have been unable to find city
records from which they could quickly
locate house services and the result has
been that their men were set to dig
ging until they found the pipes, all at
the expense of the property owner.
Only this week drayman in the city
was compelled to pay for a full days
oP vi, hnr g he
eral holes of exploration in order to To-
cate a service which Should have been
located from measurements on file in
Mack's department. The people pay
every day for this neglect to keep the
records of the sewer and water depart
ment as they should be kept and the
time has come to forget good fellow
ship and get down to business.
Years ago very complete plats were
made Of the original sewer and water
mains and they were later revised to
date by William Bremner. It has only
been since Macks adm nistration that
this work clearly demanded by the
ordinances has been neglected. Mack
once lost his job largely because of his
failure to keep these records and when
Councilmen Abbott Mcbride and Web
ster secured his reinstatement it was
on the express understanding that he
would prepare and keep these records
right. Local plumbers are ready to
show that they have turned in their
data and it remains to be seen whether
Mack has recorded the Information.
Then again measurements from the
lot line" have in some cases been
found to be from the inside of the side
walk, In others from the outside of the
walk and in others from the curb line.
1t is Mack's business to establish uni
formity in these records and keep the
data on file for the benefit Of the
public.
Then what is the city council going
to do about $1,000 worth Of sewer pipe
lost stolen or sunk thru the floor
Competent eye witnesses estimate the
pipe that was there at ten car loads
Tony's resolution made 1t Mack's duty
to look after the pipe. The pipe is
now gone. Who is to blame and what
is going to be done about It?
4
Concrete paving is actually being
laid in Marshalltown but it is an
emergency job not up to proper re-
quirements in either price or specifi-
cations and yet will probably prove to
be fair sort of a pavement. In the
first place the base or foundation is
mixed Ia Of cement and sand whereas
the proper mixture is 1895 Of cement,
sand and stone. This gives 1:3 NOR
tar instead of IA which is much
stronger. while by pouring in five parts
of crushed stone q stronger base is
secured at less cost than when all NOR
tar Is used. Again the top is made
only / ~ inches thick where street
ravements should have a two-inch top.
The price of s1.50 per yard after de-
Quoting for the cost of 2x12 oak plank
used for curbs figures about $142 per
yard. On small job of this kind no
complaint need be raised at the price
but it should be noted that Eldora is
laying street paving at $1.36 per yard
with the 1925 base which is LIZ NOR
tar as compared to our IA and with a
two inch top as compared with our Y
inch top. Davenport, too, is paving her
alleys one-half inch thicker than ours
at Slip per yard. These figures should
be kept in mind for next year.
Anent the ever present problem of
gas and electric rates in this city
comes the information from Cedar
Rapids that the gas plant which the
owners said had cost $4,000 to build
and on which a fair profit could not be
earned at 90-cent gas has now been
sold for $1,1OO,o00, with the 80 cent
ordinance still intact and two state
court decisions in it's favor. 1t will al
so be remembered that a certain wit
ness in that case testified that gas
could not be sold in Chicago for 90
cents at a fair profit and yet at So cents
the Chicago company has been paying
seven per cent dividends and the Chi
cago city council has just appropriated
$4,000 with which to investigate the
cost of gas there with view to cutting
the rate. The company here in court
claims that 81 gas will not yield an
adequate return and yet an alleged
purchaser offered to come to 1t In four
years from now in return for Q fran
~1f