Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-03-05


bonds on $4Oo, 100000 would amour
4 Ito only $1S,OOO0.OO, while the annua
amount paid out for repairs varies
|of course, in every county but they
reach from s2O,0OO.0O to $40,000.00 s
year
Another objection urged is thai
| these bonds have got to be paid wheI
| they mature. This is not necessary
These bonds are sold to bond deal
ers who sell them to parties who
have money to loan and expect to
| live on the interest of their money
They greatly prefer to have their in,
Investment certain and running for a
! long time at less interest than it can
| be loaned for on short time, because
! thav do not have to take their mon
| ey after short time and then put
it cut agaili--eVen at larger rate
OF interest, and often some time
eiapses before they can make the
loan. Therefore, they prefer securi-
tiles running a long time at a small
er rate OF interest than they might
set If they should loan it out them
selves at a higher rate. When the
bonds mature, the bond holders are
senerally the last to ask for their
ray. They prefer that they run
longer ana in fact municipalities who
issue such bonds are compelled to
provide for calling them in in order
to pay them and usually do SO by
providing a tax sufficient to call in
say ten per cent. a year. But sup
pose these bonds should all be called
for when matured The tax payers
would not be disturbed, if they paid
them all at once. The value OF
property is advancing every year on
an average OF three per cent. so that
in twenty years the value of their
property has advanced sixty per cent.
and this value has not been earned by
the owners. 1t is simply an increase
caused by the settling of country
and improving it, among them get
ting good roads, and person would
hot be burdened, if all were paid.
Further. permanent roads enable a
person to haul heavier loads to mar
ket than they could on dirt roads.
Three tons can be hauled as easily |
on permane emit roads as ton and a
half on dirt roads. / saw a man in
western Michigan, living on a ma
road, digging potatoes. |
called and talked with him. He said
he had fourteen acres OF potatoes
which, as they were turning out,
would yield $500 bushels. lie said
he could haul four loads day to
market, at. 100 bushels to a load,
while on dirt roads he could haul but
80 bushels to a load. He could thus
laul.( his entire crop to market in
seven days, while on a dirt, road it
would take fourteen days. Calling
lis time and that of his team but So
/ day he would thus save $21 on
hat potato crop alone, less the
mount of his share of the tax on
he bonds issued for building the
Dad, which was $3.50 a year. Thus
lie saved $40 a year on this one crop ]
lone. This saving would amount
o nearly $4OO in 20 years. the length /
t the bould issue. {
Some say that the payment of these I
onds might fall upon heirs OF es- (
ates. If so, no wrong can be done.
lost of the present owners. started t
ut in the world with little, and by {
ard work, economy and good judg- /
lent have amassed what to- them is {
sufficient fortune to carry them t
through life and when they die these |
ortunes will go to heirs who have q
ever earned any OF that inheritance. Y
hey ought not to complain if they t
ad to pay their share Of the bonds.
Easy comes, easy goes" Many viii {
OF ue their inheritance with much
and so far as they are con-
erned no hardship can be worked to
lem. {
Now, it seems to me that what we c
ant is to have our legislature pass Y
law authorizing counties to issue t
onds to an amount sufficient to !,
lake good roads in the counties and
lso to provide how those roads shall
. built In Michigan, whose laws p
If coed road making l think, meet q
lr condition better than that Of any ;
her state, the law provides that :"
le road bed Chat is the Travelled a
ortion) shall be twenty feet wide le
etween bitches and the bitches suf- d
Client to carry off all of the Water-
le road bed to be rounded up and
e ascending grade not to exceed six p
n cent,lm, and when made OF ma fl
dam shall be nine feet wide and VI
K inches deep: when of crushed !
one the same width and seven %