The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-06-17


given an automobile ride around the
city, to see the parks and street i'm
provements. fire stations, etc, and were
'shown through some of the big indus
tries. including the Quaker oats plant,
the biggest of its kind i'm the world.
Cedar Rapids is putting down great
deal OF tar macadam, using granite
screenings mixed with tar as a sur
facing material. The city put down
some asphalt seven years ago, but this
pavement is going to pieces, showing
decay. There are miles of tar macadam,
ana the MankatO men saw some being
laid. Cedar Rapids has forty miles of
paved streets, and the tar macadam
roads extend out into the country.
Cedar Rapids was the only city where
there was brick pavement equal to
that in Mankato. In the other cities
smaller blocks were used and they are
badly Clipped and make rough street.
The Extensive Park Systems.
The park systems of Des Moines and
cedar Rapids are extensive, and are
being added to. Plans of improvement
ARE adopted and followed ont in many
of the parks, and in others the wild
state is left, At Cedar Rapids some of
the wide streets i'm the outlying dis
trlets have pretty parkings in the
fcenter such as DIR. Andrews recon-
'mended for South Second street These
parkings are about fifteen feet wide
and are filled with grass. flowers. and
shrubs. and looked very pretty They
are surrounded by curling, but have
no walks. In Des Moines the tendency
is toward narrower driveways
As to street lighting, it was found
that in all of the cities the tendency
rs to adopt the cluster system, using
four or five clusters surmonnting col
umns on each side of each block. At
Des Moines the lighting company owns
the columns. This seems e be the
coming way of lighting the streets,
and lights them the most effectively.
I'm all other cities higher salaries
were found to be paid than i'm Man
katO. for the same service.
Fralse For Commission Plan.
In Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and
Sioux Falls the people were delighted
with the working of the commission
plan. and all spoke highly of it. and
would not care to make any change.
At Des MONIES, it was stated that
scarcely day passes but what dele
CATION of city officials or prominent
citizens from some city come to look
into the system. They come from as
tar away as Mississippi and the Caro-
linas. AT Cedar Rapids it was learned
that inquiries as to the plan in use
there have been made from as far as
Honolulu. Everywhere the commission
system of government is being investi-
gated and is stirring the people.
The Mankato men We're shown every
courtesy wherever they went, and an
excellent spirit was shown Still. on
returning, the entire party felt that for
home city and for the beauty of its
streets. this city is ahead of any of
the cities visited. The officials almost
all had automobiles, and Mayor Meyer
declared that we would get one TO
show visitors about.
Trip a Beneficial One
The trip was Il very beneficial one
for the council and city attorney. The
councilmen being new. they learned
many things that will be of great bene.
fit. They secured leaves from the
hooks used in the accounting systems
in all of the cities visited. and went
into the Des Moines system with par
tieula: tnorOnghness. They saw creo-
sOte block, concrete. brick, granite
block. asphalt. tar macadam and sand.
stone block pavements. Each commits
sloner looked into the matters pertain
ing to his own department in particu-
lar, but all gave their attention to the
accounting systems, the street paving
and other public improvements, the
park systems, lighting and water
works systems. etc. The cost of the
trip will be saved to the tax payers.
many times over, and the experience
gained will be of great value in get
ting the commission system started
right in Mankato, which is important.
this being the first city in Minnesota
to adopt the plan. and consequently
bound TO become model for other
cities of this state to pattern their
system after little later
TO ENDORSE COUNTY OPTION