Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1912-02-13
THE COUNCIL
TRIES TRICK
Discriminates Against Concrete
Pavement-Provisions That
Will Make it Expen-
sive.
IOWA MATERIAL WILL NOT Do.
Base That is Good Enough for Other
Pavements not Good Enough
for Concrete. Il
IOWA MATERIAL WILL NOT DO.

If there Is anybody in Webster
City who is still laboring under tht
delusion that the city council wants
to give the advocates of concrete
paving square deal all that is nee.
essary to dispeu such delusion is
to consult the Notices of Proposed
Resolutions Of Necessity for Con-
structing Pavements''I now being
published. If the council had en-
ployed brick manufactures or the
Barber Asphalt Company to furnish
"a receipt for killing concrete paving
the result would not have been more
satisfying to those interests.
The council proposes to advertise
for bids on four kinds of paving.
The base for the brick paving is to
be four inches thick, and the kind
of material for the aggregate is not
stated. That heretofore used in this
city is crushed rock. The base for
the asphaltic concrete paving is al
SO four inches thick, with no stipu-
lation of the kind of material to be
used as aggregate. The base for
the bituminous concrete paving
shall likewise be four inches thick,
with no designation of the material
for aggregate. The finished job on
these two latter is to be six inches
thick. But when the council arriv-
ed at the point where it was deem
ed advisable to deliver death-blow
to concrete pavement and at the
same time try to make the taxpay-
ers believe they were getting some
consideration, they indulge in one OF
those coups that have made some
bodies famous in their efforts to
make horse chestnut appear as a
chestnut horse. When 1t came to
the point where it was deemed ad-
visable to try to fool the people a
second time it would look as though
the gentlemen who demonstrated
their ability in pulling off the Sc
cret meeting at The Wilson were
again set to work upon the concrete
specifications. A base four inches
thick is enough to hold up two
inches of asphalt or bitulithic wear
ing surface, but when it comes to
holding up concrete it had to be
thicker. Moreover. Boone river grav-
el or Iowa Falls crushed rock will
do for the filler in everything ex-
cept the concrete pavement. 1t will
not do there, because it is too cheap
and it would enable the council tC
secure concrete paving for so much
less than the other kinds that the
people would see the niger in the
woodpile If the bids for concrete
were turned down. In order to ov-
ercome the necessity of turning
down concrete in the face Of such
conditions the council hit upon the
happy idea Of killing concrete more
automatically but just as effective
ly. It provides that the concrete
shall be seven inches thick and thai
the coarse aggregate shall be Of
granite. There Is no granite ir
Iowa, hence this unreasonable stipu
lation. Sioux City is the only towr
in Iowa, SO far as the Freeman-Trib
une knows, that uses granite fol
the coarse aggregate and the con
crete pavement In Sioux City is only
five inches thick.
Boone river gravel is good enough
for the aggregate in the surface fol
street crossings that have withstoot
the hardest kind OF wear in tn,
busiest sections Of the city for man,
years. but when the council wa,
building concrete crossings 1t wa
not looking for ways and means t.
defeat and override the expresse,
wishes Of the people.
Crushed limestone or gravel woul,
be good enough for the aggregat
for four inch base under a tw'
inch wearing surface Of concrete
The wearing surface could be o
granite aggregate and such a pave
ment could be laid at a good prof
to the contractor for $1.25 pc