Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-10-17
These Figures Are For Mr.. Rails

L neSe T7gufeS n
Editor Times Republican.
/ AS you gave quite q lengthy reply to
my article on the road question. l
| would like to have the chance to say
another word on the great question of
t road improvements. In the first
/ place / want to say that I am not a
! kicker" against road improvements
when they are for the best interests Of
i The community and right here allow
ne to give q word Of praise to the
county supervisors who have been
| Tor the last few years putting In good
substantial concrete bridges over 80
many OF the streams Of the county. /
| think ii Is money we'll spent, and as
they cover them over with good
supply Of Iowa dirt do not see why
they will not last for a century or
even longer Another good thing u the
grading Of the roads for drainage
While the center Of the road In some
places Is left in bad shape and could be
improved by disking. narrowing and
rolling the road on each side Is In falrly
good shape, so we will not complain.
| You say in your answer the only un-
fair thing l said was in regard to your
j theories Of graveled roads or roads
With paved centers. ! was more fair
than YOU gave me credit for. I did
not think you had looked into the
! actual conditions Of things. where they
have been tried out or else you get
| a different report from what do.
You said in a former article that all
the country roads could be paved like
the proposed Lincoln highway. If we
| could issue longtime bonds. without IN
crea sing the present road levy. Grant
| ing that. but provision would have to
he made by taxation to pay the inter-
| est on the bonds and the payment OF
1.-THE bonds as they became due. YOU
certainly did not stop to figure the cost
mr. Won never would have mace the
statement.
You claim the paved roads near
Detroit cost $4,000 per mile to puma.
(, The roads here would cost more put
take it at your own estimate, *lo'ooo
ner mile. There are in this county
150 miles Of so called county roaos'
which would cost to pave $l,5oo.ooo. In
order to sell the bonds they Woulo nave
TO draw per cent interest ana II they
were to be paid in twenty yearly ~
sta!lments, as think your theory pro,
posed, the interest the hrst year "ooio
be 100000, the bonds 10 De leueeme
mat year would be $4,000, total
aroount TO he paid the first year $780,
900. $4,000 the second ana 50 on
down for twenty years.
The Register and Leader. OF Oct. Z.
has the following to say Of Supervisor
Charles w. Keller, of Polk county:
",1r. Keller said he made trip over
the system of concrete roads OUTSIDE
of Detroit iii Wayne county. and touno
some nice roads and some poor ones.
Iwayne county Is said to have the pest
system of roads in the country. l
cav some of their roads that had oeen
bui,t less than two years ago. whlcn
,vare in almost as bad condition as our
,nuch talked OF Fort Des Moines ROAD
in Polk county as it was worn 1ul Oh
holes which In some places were Amos.
clear through the pavement pase anu
ALL" said Mr.. Keller.
Thanking you in advance fore print
ing NV lengthy article will close
j. L. RAILS,
Liscomb, Iowa, Oct. IA. 1913.
The Resi- Cost.
IThe Times Republican pegs Oh MT
Rails and every other reader never TO
think that this newspaper advocates a
,nh,ic reform without first going To
the bottom Of things. The Times Re-
publican is published by men VINO are
in the habit of figuring things out pc
fore they start and there is on file IN
this office today data and Information
; as to the exact kind of road constrnc-
ton. cost, specifications, laws and farm
, ers experience with improved rnaos
I'm almost every state in this union
Correspondence is kept up constantly
with state engineers and the ROAD
bulletins of states and OF the federal
government kept on file. This news
paper does not go of half cooked on
!, these things.
; Mr.. Rails misunderstood what was
. said in the T.-R. for he quotes from
. . an article about the Lincoln Highway
40 per cent Of the cost Of which is TO De
paid by outside capital and half OF the
remainder was proposed to be assessed
to lands especially benefited. WHAT
this newspaper has said repeatedly Is
that every mile of the county road
system could be be paved where needed
and graveled on the remainder without
increasing the present legal tax levy
| IL twenty year bonds and special dis
trict paving taxes were used. II the
principal ON county bonds Is paid on