Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-09-02
Ex-senator Compliments
Work IoWa1s Have Done
for Good Roads; To Visit
Old Haunts at Agency.
DISTINGUISHED
VISITOR WELCOMED
Des MoinesE EditorSays That
Much Depends on the
Young Men to Keep Iowa
Highways in Condition.

Twenty-Five thousand people will
cross the state Of Iowa In automobiles
en- route to the Panama exposition
on the coast in 1915, and every one of
them will take the best equipped dirt
highway through the state. "Will this
be my River-to-River road or your
Blue Grass road?" asked Hon. Lafe
Young, who is the guest of Ottumwa
friends today. Mr.. Young spoke at
North English last night and Is sched-
uled for an address at Drakeville to-
morrow. He spent this morning with
Ottumwa friends. This afternoon, ac-
companied by M. B. Hutchinson, F. A.
Nimocks and Frank Simmons, he Wis
tied Camp Bishop and then proceeded
to Agency where he will enjoy the
haunts of the town that owned him
as citizen, workman in Zulauf's
woolen mill in 1861. Tonight Mr..
Young will be one of the honored
guests at the Ottumwa Country club.
Enthused on Good Roads.
Former Senator Young, who has
been travelling over the state for some
thing like two months or more, at
tending reunions, .picnics, chautauquas
and all ksiids q summer gatherings,
says that the noticeable thing Is the
Improvement In the Iowa roads. He
thinks that more good road work has
been done in Iowa during the past
year than In any twenty years of the
states history. Commercial clubs,
boards of supervisors, township trus-
tees and other persons have exercised
more intelligence and applied more en-
ergy than ever before, he says and in
no place in the state has better work
been done than on the Blue Grass
road. He stated that a year ago he
drove from Creston to Alton Junction,
distance of fifteen miles, over some
of the hardest hills in Iowa. Last
week he drove over the same fifteen
miles and made the journey In thirty
two minutes in an automobile. The
hills had been cut down, low places
filled up; in other words the road was
new. He says the work that Is now
being done on the Iowa roads, Is
being done right. The bitches and
drains are planned to carry the water
away, not to stop its flow. Formerly
there was little attention given to
bitches. Drains and bitches were
made like reservoirs to hold the
water. Now they are made to carry
the water away. Excellent work, :
said he ":has been done on the Wauban-
sic trail. It is stated that there has
been expended on that road $4,000
between the two rivers. The marking
/, of the Waubansie trail is unusually
good. The guide boards are large and
intelligent and at important crossings
| the marking consists of life-size
portrait Of Wabansie pointing the way
with one hand. When travellers once
see the Waubansie marking they never
forget 1t. Splendid work Is being done
on the Corn Belt highway through the
north tier of townships OF the south,
ern tier of counties.
The road begins at Nebraska City
and strikes the Mississippi at Burling-
ton. Keokuk and Ft. Madison. Some
distance west of the river the road
splits into three parts and reaches
the three Cities named.
Must Keep Working.
The ex-senator said that the new
road law, giving the board Of super.
yisors one mill additional tax and also
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