Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-02-08

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the public square In Bellfantaine. o.. is
today apparently as servlceable as ever
after twenty years OF use. Rock
! macadam roads require more mainten-
ance but II we'll kept the foundation
viii be good when twenty years old.
! Twenty years for bonds 10 run would
be well within the life OF these roads
| Twenty-Five years might be also but
bonds running longer than that wouio
| be in doubt.
state Bonds.
An issue of state bonds IL essential
| to the most rapid progress In perma-
| nent road building because 1t enables
! us to have the roads now while we are
| vet living to use them and 1t distributes
| the cost over the time In which we Will
| be using the Improvement. State bonds
are preferable to county bonds because
/ they will sell at lower rate OF inter-
| est thus reducing the ultimate cost and
because If the state can approach inc
county with an offer to provide all OF
the funds in the way OF loan TO tne
county as well as to pay-one-third OK
the cost the inducement to the county
to act becomes practically irresistible.
The idea of having the state pay TOT
state roads upon the condition that the
counties repay the state Tor thelr
share has been borrowed from the
! Massachusetts law and no state In the
union has made any greater progress
in the construction Of permanent roaus
than has Massachusetts. In that state
f, one-fourth of any money EXPENDED ps
! the state in building permanent roaos
must be returned to the state treasury
with interest at per cent by the couh-
Nv or township in which the road Is
built. 1t is highly important that the
initial cost of $4,000, per mile TOT
permanent roads first be distributed III
| easy annual installments over the per-
loo of time in which the improvements
are to last, secondly that 1t be SUP
divided then into shares FOR the STATE
the county and the property benehteo'
Rut the state can finance the proJect
at the least cost and with the great
est encouragement to the tax payers 10
| assume their respective shares OF tne
cost. Limit the issue OF state pohus
| to $4,000 900, in any one year so as u
| insure conservatism and caution IN
preparing for its tudicious expenditure
Also limit the total issue to such sum
"a can be paid first from the state IN
come as previously provided by law
and by the county tax levies so as 10
keep the obligations we'll within the
| tax payers' ability to pay and this sum
will provide for tilo con:G!et!on OF
| state wide system of roads. BY pro-
yid,ne that all bonds must be retired
in equal annual installments beginning
within twelve months from their Is
size the early issues will mature first
and can be re-issued for more roads as
time goes by.
! Minnesota has recently levied !
! min state tax which may be oonded iof
ten years. New York has recently
authorized by a two to one vote OF us
people n second bond issue Of $5O.000.-
900. on top of a previous issue OF the
same amount. California has author
| lied an issue of $1S.O00.00O. Connecu'
| cut s4,5Oo,o00. Maryland s6,ooo'ooo
4 Massachusetts $2,500,0o0. New jersey
| s3,3OO,OoO and Rhode Island $l,zoO.ooo
Movements are on IN many othe'
states for state aid from bond Issues.
In Germany the single city OF Ham
burg has bonded itself for 4o,oOo'ooo
! for a ship harbor and In England the
city of Manchester alone has bonded
itself for $75.000.OOo, for deep water
! way to the sea. Manchester's per cap
ita debt is $3.50. which would measure
alongside Of $450.000,000. for Iowa.
4 caIowa need not be afraid OF nono
| issue IL the money can be used only &c
1 CAPITALIZE the automobile tax and &c
! advance loans to the counties whose
I people are willing to vote to obligate
themselves to pay back the money. IN
der this plan we avail ourselves OF the
economies Of the states superior credit
| and we hold the expenditure WITHIN tne
approval OF the voters Of each county
who are to pay back the states money
| Pavsmsnts, Maeadam or Gravel.
! The kind OF ROAD to build should
be left to the engineers OF the state
highway commission who approve the
| contracts before state aid Is given
+! They will profit by the experience OF
the world In traffic endurance and VIII
know where road building material
can be secured. The state highway
| commission Of Massachusetts has con
Quoted a series Of tests to learn now
much travel a stone road Will stano
for many Of the finest stone roads In
New England and Europe are BEING
| raycled out by the modern automoDlle
| In Hardin county, Ohio. where there
are no big towns the old stone roaos
| are all being resurfaced at great eA-
pense The state engineers of Michi-
| gan, Wisconsin, Minnesota. ohio, Ne"
| York. Pennsylvania and California
| have all recommended concrete roads
near large cities and on trunk lines
| of travel and the director OF the Z. y
office of public roads has approved the
| concrete road twelve feet wide with
four foot shoulders on each side OF
! stone or gravel for turnOuts. In ONO
and PENNSYLVANIA and even In re :"
places in Illinois country roads have
been paved with brick sometimes only
! nine feet wide and without shoulders
In a twenty year period a paved road
/ at $4,000 per r.!ie with almost no
up-keep will prove cheaper tnan rock
| road at $4,000 under severe traffic
! where resurtacing is frequent at $1,000
I to $500 per mile each time. How
] ever, the most of the mileage IN Iowa
will be Of gravel and macadan, and no
law should attempt to define the kind
Of road except in general terms
such as permanent. stone surfaced
! roads," There are many localities in
/ this state in the vicinity OF stone
quarries or near local gravel pits where
the local material will determine the
! kind OF a road to build. but there will
| eventually be many paved roads for
| the same reason that the paved street
10. l,oo, SonpA 70 ho the only a.