The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-05-19


cutters and puts the vegetable mat.
ter in the road center.
The roads should be well rounded
and then the water cannot stay on
its surface. Grading can be done
for twenty-five dollars a mile and
when this is done, the work can be
kept in prime condition by dragging
and this last operation can be per-
formed at the very nominal cost OF
five dollars year. The speaker
felt that good roads would greatly
improve social conditions in the
country and would be an important
factor, in retaining the children on
the farm. He said that the town.
ship school was a coming thing and
that it would be practical when good
stretches of road made such school
easy to reach. A school of this kind
would have many advantages over
the little district school house.
Cash Payment of Taxes.
Mr.. Palmer advocated the cash
payment of road taxes and felt that
when this was done and regular
road contractors were allowed to do
the work, that then the country
would receive the full value OF the
road tax. Business methods of
nearly every character had been i'm
proved but road business was still
conducted under a forty year old
method. When farmers loaf at road
work they are swindling only them
selves.
The speaker deplored the fact
that farmers of this county were
selling out at $40 and $50 per acres.
He felt they were making a mistake
and urged them to place a higher
value on the soil of this district.
He thought that double the above
value would be cl )ser to the right
figure. A man who had recently pur-
chased a large farm near MankatO
for SIS an acre had been suspicious
of the farm because the price was
so low.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Palmer's
remarks he was recalled and upon
request he gave the history of the
movement as it has been worked out
here in this city.
The Land Value.
DR.. j. w. Andrews, who was called
upon for a five minute spell, took
occasion to enlarge on the land
value subject which had been men,
10 oil no q
farmers were making a mistake in
putting such a low value on their
lands. Mr. Andrews related some of
his western land experiences and
then said that Minnesota land was
fully able to compete with the FIR
west On road matters Mr.. Andrews
advocated cash payment of road
tax and wanted the farmers to as
sist in bringing about the passage of
such law.
Ben MacGregOr of MapletOn
thought that the good roads move
ment in his vicinity was slumbering
and that while something had been
doing there two years ago, that in
picture of future condition was dark
and dismal.
V. P. Greiner of Mapleton, who
spoke next, took occasion to praise
the roads in tSerling, saying that
they were superior to those of neigh
boring territory. He could see that
some of that stand still spirit still
existed but things were bound to
move
Money Is the Thing.
"Give us the money to use, in
stead of the old road methods" was
the keynote of William Halls re-
marks. He showed by figures that
the road tax in Sterling, if paid in
cash, was nearly sufficient to main
tain the seventy-six miles of road in
that township. Under the present
system, each man should improve
his own strip of road and not go to
places remote from his farm to work
out the tax.
the county board, was called upon
to express his views, but Mr. Ole
son begged to be excused.
The First Road Drag.
William Mead, the father of the
good roads movement in that part
of the county, told the gathering
how he constructed the first drag
and what the benefits had been. He
knew of nothing superior to the drag
to improve roads. According to his
estimate a one mill tax would drag
all the roads in the township. Under
the present system, the roads failed
to show the amount of money used
on them and Mr. Mead in common
with the other speakers advocated
cash tax.
The Mapleton quartet was again
called upon and they responded with
two selections that were heartily en-
| joyed by the audience and Miss
Harold Heeley rendered piano
selection. Mr.. Ellis, in dismissing
the meeting, called attention to the
| fine piano on the stage, saying,
There are no flies on Sterling, this
piano is the Sterling piano" The
men of this town have had the fore
sight to purchase this instrument,