Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1913-03-11
California Road Construction
Points PatbaOQy Of Profit IN
Dallas Present Pacing Plans
G HaJer investigates Methods and Cost Of Country Paving
in Southern STATE and Would Apply Ideas
to Use Of City.

EUlbOT OuSSENeTs I1eT6 Is Qu6S~
tion / wish some smart man would
answer for me: If a lot Of Califor-
MIA farmers, under the direction Of
competent overseer, can take gravel
and cement and lay il on SAND
foundation in such a way as to make
a beautiful county road that will last
for twenty-five years, why cannot the
property owners Of Dallas build al
similar road on ROCK foundation
foot thick Why should the tax
payers be compelled to pay fancy
profit to. anybody, when they could
take small portion Of that same
profit, buy a mixing with it,
and put down their own concrete on
foundation already constructed
and accurately surveyed? Why not
do the work at first cost and win the
lasting gratitude Of the people who
pay the bills, instead Of awarding the
work to some rich outside corporation,
sending thousands Of good Dallas
dollars away from home, and running
the risk Of getting stung in the bar
gain?
Fine Concrete Highways.
These questions have long been in
my mind, but they were called up
afresh today when / rode 100 miles
from Stockton to Fresno and saw
an almost continuous concrete high
way across the country that is made
up in most places, as many Of your
readers well know, almost entirely Of
sand. / saw at least a dozen outfits
at work building more Of these beau
tiful highways, and all each outfit
had was few carloads of gravel, a
supply of cement in bags, small CON
erete-mixing machine, and road
roller. Not an expensive outfit, truly,
and yet / could wish Dallas no bet
ter fortune than a few miles of such
beautiful roads as these California
folks have built, and are building. II
The cost Of these concrete roads
% the county is $4,000 a mile. AS
he road is 16 feet wide, the cost per II
'quare yard is 63 cents. This cost
Includes all surveying, grading, etc, /
md the gravel is delivered from q
sreat distance by rail. /
What these California people are /
loing what the more progressive a
tiles of Washington are beginning '
0 do-0ur own town of Dallas can Il
o. / do not think any of us are {
eady to admit that these good neigh f
ors are smarter than we are, and a
he thing for us to do is to benefit S
y their experience. 0
Investigate Thoroughly. fp
wish that our city council, while
hey are in an investigating mood, II
'ould investigate these questions
sriously. | wish that the property =
wners of Dallas, also, would inves-
gate them. 1t is matter worthy q
{ the most thorough consideration. :
1t is to be expected that those
hose only interest. in Dallas is in
ow much dirty profit they can make,
i'll oppose the method, and misrep-
ssent its cost and its practicabiIity,
nd do all in their power to discour- cC
ye it-but that is only one reason s.
by we should investigate it the "
ore thoroughly. What is likely to W
'ove our meat is more likely to prove b
eir poison. If they tell us the ma fu
linery is costly, we can answer $50 SO
e some kinds Of patented pave DC
ent. " If they tell us we cannot 81
Iild our own roads, we can tell them af
3 ought to know as much as a Cali tn
rnia farmer. O.
The fact is, the price Of the ma M
inery is not excessive. The little en-
such as are used pl
re in California cannot, in the very in
ture Of things, cost more than a IN
" hundred dollars. And Dallas ha
ready owns a road-roller and one tis
the best rock quarries in the Unit III
States. Don't forget to tell them fu
out that, boys. Don't forget to Sc
] them about that rock quarry and lal
at steam roller-and that 12-inch th
rk foundation m,
J. c. HAYTER. SCI
peno. Cal March 4 1912 -