The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1913-11-21
DOYLE REPLIES
TO his CRITICS

Continued from first page.)
those who took interest enough in
it at the time TO discuss il, that
it would be necessary to raise about
100000 by direct tax in order
to have enough money with what
could be raised by bonding to carry
on the work. This is the reason that
there was no bond issued redeemable
in 1913. The engineers estimate on
the job was $S,3OO.OO and if pro-
perly handled, it could have been
done for this amount.
| Il am at a loss to know why so
many taxpayers have, as Mr.. Bodine
states, such feeling against con-
crete pavement. This question was
before the Village Board and the
Board of Trade for year before it
was put to a vote of the people.
Every detail was carefully worked
out and every known kind of pave
ment was thoroughly Investigated
before deciding on concrete. The
cost of brick, asphalt or cresote
block was double what it was posi-
BILE to raise by bonding this village,
and the opinion of those who investi-
gated the relative merits of the diff
ferent kinds of paving material was
that concrete, when properly laid
was as good, if not better, than any
of the others. True, as some people
say, you will see some poor con-
crete pavement, but for every block
Of defective concrete pavement we
found, we found a mile of the other
kinds This is all in the construc-
ton and the engineering Of a job.
The pavement proposed for Vienna
street was identical in construc-
ton TO that which the Wayne County
Commissioners are using on their
highways. The Wayne County roads,
as you all know, have attained a
reputation known all over the world
as the best and most durable roads
that have been built in modern
times. The cost OF maintaining these
roads have been less than $1,000 per
mile. Not only is Wayne County
using concrete for paving, but other
cities and towns are putting in block
after block Of it. Even the great
Lincoln Highway, road leading
Sc n hn nf
concrete. The evidence in our town
Of the lasting qualities Of concrete
ought to be sufficient TO convince
anyone. We have over thirty con-
crete crosswalks in Clio, some of
them have been in for eight or nine
years and they have stood far more
strain than a pavement would have
to stand. Have they given out? The
board had all the information that
was possible to get on this subject,
including our own taxpayers who
thought enough Of it at the time to
discuss it. before deciding on con-
crete, which decision had to be made
before il could be put 10 vote of
the people. Ii was not their inten-
ton to force anything undesirable
onto the taxpayers. The Board of
Trade held "a public meeting at
which this question was discussed
at length, but were those people who
have SO much to say there? No.
Those who oppose a project Of any
kind do not care to enlighten them
selves on the subject for fear Of being
converted.
I'm another issue Of this paper will
appear a discussion Of this subject
in detail which ! hope every tax
payer in Clio will read impartially
and you will see why the village
adopted concrete last spring. 1t
would seem that if a pavement is
good enough for other places TO
spend millions in its construction,
the village of Clio would not be
running many chances in the outlay
of few thousand.
81 am very thankful to the Editor
of the Messenger that he has opened
the columns of his paper for a dis
cussion of this subject and ] hope
much good will come from 1t. Every
citizen among us ought to be a
booster for the best and most enter
pricing village Of the state, and IL
we will put our SHOULDER to the
wheel and push up hill we will have
a town that we ran all an ri,-af with