Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1912-08-15
CRUSHED ROCK PAID, FOR
FROM AUTO TAX SOLVES.
ROAD PROBLEM
F. S. Tishenbanner of Gilmore
City Suggests Plan Where
by State Can Soon Have
Permanent Highways.

Dy STATE Ndn SOOH IldVe
Permanent Highways.
Gilmore City, Ia, Aug. g.
Editor Capital: With all that
mas been written ard the many
splendid articles and sugges.
lions that have been made for
the economical construction of
permanent roads for Iowa, / am
surprised that our law makers
have not taken the hint and
worked out some plan for sys
tematicconstruc!ion of macada.
mized roads along reasonably
intelligent lines.
Under the plan that is il
vogue in nearly all counties in
Iowa, continuous permanent
public roads. cannot and will
not, be built within the next
fifty years. Nearly all moneys
available for road work is being
used in the various forms of
expensive temporary road work
that require perpetual atten.
ton every year; very little OF
this money is used in macada-
MIXING and where any attempt
has been made along this line,
it has been done in a haphaz-
ard, hit.and-miss plan, a little
here and there. This work is
not being done Systematically
with a view of finally making
continuous permanent roads
We will never have permanent
continuous macadamized roads
in Iowa until our legislature
enacts a law authorizing tbs
construction of state roads I'M
der the direction and supervi-
sion of a state road commission.
The automobile tax of Iowa
should be made available for
this purpose and a start be
made on two or three state roads
crossing Iowa east and west as
we'll as north and south and it
will be only a very few years
when practically all parts of
Iowa can be reached via the
state roads.
The automobile owners of
this state have a right to in
sist that the auto tax money be
expended in a way that will
give the greatest good to the
greatest number of people,
chat it be used intelligently,
that this work be done economi-
cally and Systematically with a
view of getting the greatest
amount of good from a given
amount Of money.
STATE SHOULD FURNISH ROCK
If the state of Iowa will fur
nish crushed rock f. o. b., near
est station adjunct to the pro
posed state road, l will positive
ly guarantee that the residents
| Of the locality through which
the proposed state road will
pass, will freely, gladly and
anxiously bind themselves, by
contract or otherwise, to re-
move the crushed rock from
the cars and place same where
ever desired upon the proposed
state road without one cent of
cost to the state; in this way
the residents of the district
through which the state road
would pass, would really bear
one-half of what the road
would cost, from the fact that
the cost OF the material f. o. b,
station, would just about equal
the cost Of labor for removing
the same from cars, hauling
and placing same properly up.
on the proposed road. l know
whereof / speak, as | have had
some very practical experience
along these lines and | have 9
certain, positive and definite
knowledge of how this plan will
work out in fact.
The average price per yard
for crushed rock delivered at
the different stations in Iowa
is $3.50; it requires lao yards
of crushed rock per mile to con.
struct a macadamized road {
feet wide and 8 inches in thick
ness, making a net cost Of
$2,052 per mile for the crushed
rock and freight on same. In
the above estimate have fig.
ured the rate for the average
freight haul to any point in
Iowa; in localities where the
freight rate is not so high, the
road Gan hn hnilt nrnnorfinnato