The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-06-24

| thcu. 1uey VIII not DE content Will
working out few dollars tax each
year, but they will cooperate with
their neighbors, and donate work and
secure help from others and keep at it
, until the road is put into first class
shape. A couple of years ago on one
| road some farmers worked from thirty
to sixty days practically, without any
pay whatever in hauling gravel Today
/ that road for seven miles out is in as
good shape as anybody need to ask for
/ One more winter will see the whole Job
of crawling completed and then if
they will use good sense in making
the necessary repairs each year (which
will be very smalD they win have a
strictly first class road all the time
ut matters not how much it may
rain, they will have first class road
that can be used any day, and they
can haul any load over it that their
wagons will stand up under Does it
pay? l believe they have received $500
i'll value for every dollar spent on
! those roads in the increased value of
their farms alone, saying nothing of the
ease and comfort of doing business and
travelling roads with their families.
81 sincerely hope that all of you
men present today, if not already an
enthusiastic on the matter of good
roads will wake up to the importance
OF the movement and will do all in
your power to advance the cause. I
sincerely hope that we shall sac every
main travelled road in this vicinity
put into splendid shape and kept SO /
sincerely hope if any of the pathmaster
are present today are not alive to
the Importance of their position they
will either wake up or resign and
let other people fill their places, who
can do things. l hope you men of
town boards will take a deep personal
interest in the kind of work that your
road overseers do, that if they are not
doing what they ought to do that
you will 60 after them with a sharp
stick and compel them to do it.
/ hope that the honorable board of
county commissioners will do every
thing in their power to forward the
movement. | believe they will
II think we are to be congratulated
i'll Blue Earth county in having
board of county commissioners who are
thoroughly awake to the Importance of
good roads. They are handicapped now
for want of means, but this | believe
can and will be remedied, in a short
time. [ believe the county commits
siOners should put on the highest levy
possible for good roads and that all of
us will be more than glad to pay our
taxes and get the benefits of it in
improved roads.
II hope that the crude system under
which we are now working will soon
be done away with and L hope it will
be possible to see good roads work be-
ing done on large scale. saw
picture day or two since of an outfit
would like to see working on Blue
Earth county roads 1t was train
of eight wagons carrying three yards of
gravel or crushed rock to the wagon,
being pulled by traction engine, and
hauling it eight miles for good roads
work. When the time comes that
our town boards or our county com
missiOners can let stretch of five or
ten miles of grading and graveling to
single contractor, SO that he can
afford to provide an outfit for doing the
work rapidly and economically, then we
may hope to see good roads work go
on on a large scale. AS long as we
are compelled to be content with
half mile or a mile of graveling done
each winter by donation and taxes,
just so long we shall be progressing
slowly to say the least.
Encouraged BY Progress Made
1--WE are progressing, and l want to
see all of this kind of work done that
it is possible to do; even if we have
to continue these crude methods, |
hope that we may increase our facili
ties and all live to enjoy and use for
profit and pleasure the good roads that
we certainly may have all about us if
we put forth proper effort and make
the best of the opportunities that we
have. There is no country under the
sun that is better than ours | never
returned from trip but that I think
Minnesota, Blue Earth county and
Manka'to are better than anything /
have seen.
"One of the things that we need
sorely. in which we are much behind
many localities is this one paramount
object-GOOD ROADS. If every man
present will become an enthusiast and
talk and push good roads to the ut
most of his ability and endeavOr to
wake up those who are so far behind
the times that they have not realized
the necessity of good roads, the cause
will GO forward by leaps and bounds.
1t can be done.
'The situation reminds me of the
old Scotch preacher, who went into his
pulpit one Sunday morning and electri-
fed his audience ~ giving the fol-
lowing three heads of his sermon:
First, the world is wrong side up
Second: 1T must be turned right
side up
Third: we are the b'ys to do it,"
1--WE are the boys to get good roads
in this vicinity. Will every man of
you today do his utmost in this di-
rection? The Mankato Commercial and
Automobile clubs will do their utmost
to help and o-operate. We haven't
much money, but the Auto club spends
almost all it can raise on good coun-
try roads. If we had the money we
would be glad to spend thousands of
dollars yearly on good roads. About
all we can do is to chip in here and
there occasionally to help out. All we
can hope to get out of it is little
pleasure and a little saving on tires It
does not mean the large saving to us,
that it does to you, and we have no
farms to increase in value largely as
you have, but We are glad to do all
that we can. We are anxious as
auto drivers and as business men inter-
ested in the development of the country