Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-07-05
Austin. Tex, .. tn. opat,on Of tn.

Austin, Tex, at the opntion OF tns
holder.
The above bonds are issued by the
Commissioners Court Of ELLIS county,
on behalf Of the various districts, fos
the purpose Of constructing system OF
roads In each district. They are
straight municipal bonds, and the d.
rect obligations Of the dstrdcts. Ihere
is absolutely no special assessment
feature involved, the issues being pay
able by direct tax against all taxable
property real or personal. The bonds
are authorized by the qualified voters
at an election held for that purpose.
Hundreds Of Iowa banks have
bought these bonds because they are as
sound as Iowa school or county bonds.
The idle money Of Iowa farmers, de-
posted in Iowa banks. when invested
in Texas road bonds goes to Texas to
build hard roads for the convenience
and profit of Texas farmers. While
Iowa farmers founder in mud Texas
farmers ride to town on rural pave
ments built with Iowa money.
What is this law that enables Texas
farmers to ride on hard roads built
with Iowa money? Simple enough. In
Texas any fifty land owners by petition
can require a special election to create
a special road district for the purpose
Of building permanent hard roads with
borrowed money. If two-thirds of the
voters in the proposed road district,
,,.S;, tn witty -
farms. favor the building OF these
roads the county board of supervisors
evies a special road tax on the proper
tv within the proposed road district
sufficient to pay interest and to return
the loan in annual installments. The
board then issues county bonds for the
forty years at AZ to 3 per cent accord
ing to the money market. The bonds
are sold all over the United States and
Texas is building hard roads.
"A practical demonstration Of cement
road construction is to be made al
Washington, Iowa, this summer. 1t ls
TO be 1921 feet long. nine feet of ce-
ment roadway, with nine feet Of earth
graded on each side, and will cost So
416. The expense is to be borne by the
city and county"
And there you have the initial ex-
pertinent in Iowa which will eventually
in com bnati ton with the Texas special
rhe rural districts of 5000 land It is
merely a pike as recou,m ended by the
road engineers of the federal govern
ment. To the right Of the center Of
the road lies a pavement nine feet wide
on top and flared out at the bottom on
each side like cement crossing so as
to lift the approaching wheels without
humping. To the left of the center
and alongside the pavement Is a per-
fectly smooth dirt road which receives
all of the traffic in fair weather Such
pavem ents in Iowa built Of concrete at
prevailing prices win cost not to ex-
coed $500 per mile. -
At Denison. Tex, they included a
town Of 20 900 people in a road district
dllu lSSQSd III year Julius. suppose
county seat town like Marshalltewn
should propose a road district for six
miles in each direction, twelve miles
square. to build sixty miles OF rural
pavements with twenty-five year bonds
at Az per cent interest. bonds to be re-
tired in equal annual installnenrs. Sup
pose that 60 per cent Of the cost be
paid by the whole district and 10 per
cent By the land abutting the pave
ments The bond issue would aggre-
gate half a million but the annual cost
sessment to each quarter section farm
abutting paved street from its front
gate to town and mills general road
tax levy upon all property in the dis
trict which would cost all quarter sec
tons approxima tely 1870 per annunn.
City property would thus pay one-t third
Of the total cost Of sixty miles Of paved
streets leading into town. Our present
county bridge funds carry almost a 5
mill levy
Ellis county, Texas, is offering more
bonds than this and is not more than
half as rich in valuation as Marshall
county and two thirds vote was first
! necessary. Pocahontas county. Iowa
has already voted six times as much
for drainage districts on the same plan
Why send the money Of Iowa farmers
to Texas TO build hard roads? Why
not bring Massachusetts money to
Iowa or even Holland money to build
hard roads for our own farmers on
started something