The Mankato free press., 1911-09-08
her home.

her home.
from Tuesdays Daily
Mrs. Wilbur Murden and daughter
returned home Sunday from a four
weeks visit with Mrs. Murden's par
ents. who reside near Alexandria
MINI.
Otto Neitge has purchased tour
ing car. He and his family left in
the new car, Sunday for Minneapolis
where they will spend few days
at the fair.
Christ Hostal, wife and child of
Nevada, Iowa, are guests at the home
of N. r. Lund for a few days.
j. b. Nielsen and family are at the
state fair.
st. Paul, September l, 1911
George M. Palmer, Esq, Mankato
Minn., My Dear Mr.. Palmer:
have just read with great interest
the published account of your talk
on good roads at the Red Jacket
bridge celebration the other day
Permit me to express to you my ap.
probation of what you said and the
courageous manner in which you
said it. You are on the right track
and will succeed if you keep at
it and live long enough. Your plain
statement that it was up to the
farmers was especially good. Our
country people are poverbially slow
to move. They are like the tradi-
tional man from Missouri, they
must be shown. The old proverb
that the most sensitive nerve in the
human anatomy is the one leading
to the pocket is especially true of
the farmers. You must show them
that thing will pay, and then show
before they will follow you and
take hold. When you show them
what the cost will be and that the
investment of that cost will pay.
as yOn are doing, they will move
and take hold in time.
You say that the initial cost of
good roads is from $500 TO 5000
per mile. Let us say that it is
$500 per mile in Blue Earth county
on the average. Il such roads were
to be constructed along each sec
ton line in township of the or
dinary size it would mean " miles
of road. Ii is safe to say that the
necessary mileage at present is not
over half that figure. That gives
Us thirty six miles. Thirty six
miles of road at $500 per mile will
cost $4,000. Let US say $4,000.
There are 23,O4O acres in the or
binary township. The cost of the
thirty-six miles, therefore, would
be an average of 81 cents per acre;
$13920 for each quarter section;
5000 per eighty acres, and $34.SO
per forty acres. Is there farmer
anywhere that will stand up in a
meeting and deny that thirty-siX
miles of such road in his township
will not add 81 cents per acre to the
value of his land, or that an eX-
penditure of that sum would not pay
him? If there is one such to be
found, he would be curiosity
worthy of being placed on exhibit
ton. ! would like to see.
The value of 23,O4O acres in the
ordinary township at $50 per acre
is $1,152,00O. Add to it for person
al property $34S,000, which is but
$2,4GO for each owner of a quarter
section, and certainly under the
true mark, and you have taxa
Bile valuation in the township OF
81 100000 The tax of debt on this
valuation to raise the $4,000 would
be but one and one third per cent.
Suppose a township were to de-
eide to build such roads and raise
the money by bonds running twenty
years. To create a sinking fund to
repay it, and to pay the interest
would require $500 per year to be
raised by taxation. 1t would amount
to tax of one and tWo-tenths
mills on a dollar of such taxable
valuation, or at the average rate
of about eight cents per acre II
levied on and alone. There. is
money enough in the average town
ship of Southern Minnesota to take
the bonds at four per cent. rms
would afford a safe investment ana
save the interest to the people OF
the township. AS you well say, it
is up to the farmers. Will they do
it?
| was a pioneer myself; born
one. / sympathize with the senti-
ment of reverence for the pioneer
and pioneer times; but there may
be such a thing as pioneer sentl-
ment gone to seed Let us Vener-
ate the pioneers and their heroic
times and work; but at the same
time let us understand and see
clearly that Southern Minnesota and
Blue Earth county have long since
ceased to be a pioneer country. You
that the great apostle
that when he was child that he
thought as child and he
spake as child, but when
he became man he put away
childish things and thought and
talked and acted as man. we
have ceased to be pioneers. we