Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-02-24

securing more road dragging, ten time
u over, than has ever been done before
Another law which was passed
known as the automobile law. exempt
automobiles from all other forms o
taxation. and they now pay direct t.
the secretary of state, and secure
license for each year, and this tax 7!
pro rated to the civil townships of thu
state and is placed on the main trav
eled roads to be designated by the
I county supervisors.
| The good roads people of our state
fought for a county engineer law anc
while this was defeated. a law was
| passed giving boards Of supervisors
authority to employ competent per.
son to oversee in a general way, the
work of the various townships of the
county. However, he has no real auth
! GRITTY and the law as it stands, will be
OF very slight service.
Blazing tho Trail.
THE improvements during the COM
| ing season will be much greater than
during the year 1911, as there was but
| little time left after the road was es-
tablished last year for permanent i'm
provementS to be undertaken. After
the line Of road had been established
last summer, the committees of the
various counties were asked to mark
the road by painting every other tele-
phone pole along the road. and paint
Ing three consecutive poles from each
turn in the road where other roads
lead off, and every pole where the
road passes through town or city, o.
where the traveller might be confused
The mark Is described as follows:
THE top Of the band to be approx
imately SIX feet from the ground and
to be two feet deep as follows-a band
of white twenty four inches wide,
with six inch dark blue band in CEN
ter Perhaps 1t would be better de-
scribed as q nine inch band of white on
each side Of q six inch band Of blue.
This mark was completed by the
various committees, and at present the
Blue Grass road is marked from river
to river with the exception of about
ten miles of road. We have now on
hand 400 metal signs which will be
sent out before March l, and put in
place. Next to the dragging. we consid-
er the proper marking Of the road the
most important feature.
For every real good road booster
we had along the Blue Grass road two
years ago when the road was first or
ganized. we now have at least fifty, and
in our state, 1t is no longer a sign Of
eak-mindedness to be known as 4
Good Road Crank
Over $4,000 Expended in Roads.
1T is conservatively estimated that
on the various river-tO river and cross
state roads, organized in Iowa during
the past two years. which number
about thirty with total mileage Of
been donated by the men along these
lines. and expended in grading, drain
ing and dragging and placing perman-
ent concrete bridges and culverts dur
ing the season of 1911.
mo incentive to the building and
Of improved roads is SO
effective as an actual specimen Of good
and which Is SO located as to afford a
direct comparison with the unimprov-
ed and incorrectly maintained high
ways. The moral effect of these exper-
mental stretches of improved roads
such as river DRIVER roads of Iowa
will be Of great value in arousing and
directing public sentiment along the
right lines, and causing the various
localities to emulate the methods and
the outlay represented bv these exper-
mental stretches of road. H.
ITO illustrate the wonderful bene-
fits which are to She derived from such
AGITATION. 1 wish to give you a few
facts which have been secured by the
agricultural department, expert engin-
GERS. various highway commissions
and from other reliable sources.
THE trend of population from coun-
try to city is most apparent in those
sections Of country which are isolated
by reason Of bad roads.
IAN example illustrating this point
has been cited by the United States
office Of public roads, in which it is set
forth that in twenty-five counties
showing an increase in population,
from 1890 to 1900, averaging 10000 to |
the county, forty per cent of the roads |
were improved and maintained in first |
class condition; while in twenty five
loss in population in the same period |
Of 5000 to the county. only little over
one per cent of the roads were ade-
quatelv improved. -..
Bad roads have tendency to over
populate the cities and leave the land |
without sufficient help, thus the scar
city of labor and the high cost Of haul
ing over bad roads are probably as
much responsible as any other cause /
FOR the high cost Of living.
Other Nations Encourage Good Roads.
1.-THE national governments of all
The pricipal nations of the world ex-
,ept the United States actively aid and
the building and mainten-
1Ilce OIL puDlC rOaQS. france mas the
most superb system of roads in the
world, completed at a total cost of
'612,775.O 900. The effect of these roads
Upon the material prosperity of the !:
french people, is indicated in the fol- !;
owing extract from report by Fran 4
lis B. Loomis, commercial agent at ST.
1tienne, France, dated April %, 1891:
1.-The road system Of France has
'een Of far greater value t. the coun-
ry as a means of raising the value Of
ands and of putting the small peasant
in easy communication
With their markets, than have the rail-
ways. 1t is the opinion. of the well-in-