Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1913-02-11
Value OF FARMERS
ORGANIZATIONS
Will Result in Many Things Of I'm
portance to all Interests
in the Country.

starting movement to interest ou
: people in farmers oranges ant
!, clubs. The clipping I inclose give:
, an idea of the grange in action
working for reform.
When six local or subordinate
oranges have been formed they are
organized into a county or district
grange. This new grange is called
La Pomona Grange. The Pomona
| grange co-ordinates the work of the
local oranges and makes possible
united effort of the farmers Of the
county. Nothing could do more for
the good roads movement than the
formation of these farmers organ
iZations. If we had farmers clubs
in this county, the question of build
ing new house at the county farm
would be discussed Systematically
and voted upon intelligently. The
Pleasant View grange having start
ed the movement which has resulted
in the building of the new shipping
point, Stonega, is now discussing
the project of school consolidation
and the building of modern
school at that point
Men of all other callings have
found it necessary to organize in or
der to accomplish best results. Let
the farmers learn by these examples.
We are not organizing to injure 9TH
ers, but to benefit ourselves and ul-
timately for the benefit of the pub
lie in general. Let us organize, that
we may be effective in forwarding
all good movements. H. L. Doty.
Following is the clipping which
Mr.. Doty refers to:
f. J. Tishenbanner of Gilmore
City, who arrived in Des Moines this
morning, bitterly condemned the
plans of the so-called ''big interests
to defeat the will of the people in
the fight for good roads,
Il spoke at a meeting of seven
oranges in Scott county last night
said Mr.. Tishenbanner, ''and the
farmers of Scott county were en-
thusiastic in the extreme over the
plan for permanent highways out
lined by the Iowa Good Roads asso-
citation. They adopted unanimous
ly every resolution that the good
roads association passed, and in ad-
dition adopted resolution recon-
mending that the present legislature
pass and provide legislation that
will unquestionably enable the peo-
pie of any county to vote on the
question of issuing bonds for perma-
nent roads.
Some of these county supervisors
are fighting the good roads move
ment, because the plan will take the
control of the automobile tax out of
their hands. They have come to re-
gard the money thus collected as
their personal property, I guess, and
forget that the money belongs to the
people, and should be spent for their
benefit. The bridge companies and
county supervisors friendly to them
have beaten US several times, but If
they try to defeat the will of the
farmers again, something is due to
happen"
Lobbyists for the bridge interests
have begun to arrive in Des Moines
to fight any effort on the part of the
legislature to eliminate the county
board system, now in general prac-
tice in Iowa, and put the supervision
of highway improvements in the
hands Of a state highway commits
sion.
The man in charge of the cam
paign for the bridge interests arriv-
ed in the city last night, and is
quartered at the Slavery hotel. I'm
mediately after arriving in Des
Moines this man, who is said to be
a representative of an Omaha bridge
company, put in number of long
distance telephone calls over the
state.
That the calls were to supervisors
friendly to the bridge interests, is
the belief of the good roads boost
ers, the basis for this being the dis
covery of a well defined movement
on the part of certain county board
members to defeat the good roads
program. 1t is understood that
board members will be brought to-
Des Noines to lobby against the
good roads movement. while ostensi-
bly, being here as spectators.