Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-07-18

, LOCAL COMMENT

With Ida Grove raising $4,000 for a
municipal bathing pool and thousands
of people docking 10 the municipal
batHfng beach on the Des Moines river
at Ottumwa there is a suggestion for
Marshalltown. Recently five young
men drove from Colo to this city to
take Il swim in the Iowa river and one
vas drowned 1t is evidence that there
il. damand for Il bathing beach at Mar
shalltown. If il cost US $4,000 it would
be worth the price. We need water
resort here. We have no lake but we
DO have plenty of water. We can make
an artificial lake large enough for bath
ing and pleasure boating IL we would
ernployS>a competent engineer to locate
the site. design the construction and
compute the cost The city. the street
railway company and the boosters back
of the Maishalltown Club could share
in the expense. Grinnell invested 500
600 OF public subscription money in an
artificial lake and that much or more
near Marshalltown with the river from
would give US all we want. Water re-
sorts at Mason City and Waterloo are
among the bigges, things near those
towns.
Complaint has been made at the
newspaper office that our city water
If often muddy or roilly. in fact too
much so for drinking. The reason is
that the wells have been sunken seven
feet deeper and hence water is now
drawn from lower strata OF
gravel. We are getting an abundance o.
water but We also are getting more
vegetable matter from the new gravel
ana until this lower strata of gravel
is washed out clean Of all humus we
are bound to have water more or less
muddy The mains are TO be flushed
next week and oftener than before 10
clean them OF sediment. Small filters
would serve useful purpose for the
supply.
Fir. Chief KirhS's idea to have the
f-enen flush two blocks OF pavement
at about a m some morning as an
experiment In cleaning paving is worth
irving It will flush the mains for US
but flushing street paving is nothing
new Il has been done in many cities
ami il will clean a street all right but
IL will also wash out the sand between
the brick In fact il will wash out the
brick also unless very carefully done.
Il the city is prepared to refill the
brick with asphalt as soon as the sand
filler is gone cleaning by flushing IS
perfectly practicable. AT least the idea
of getting the fremen out AZ a. m.
Will try out street flushing without the
expense OF buying fiusher.
MI Hovey's idea of having bound
airy line for the parking of cars would
help to line up the cars even II il would
not iook very p.e.t.. Il suggests an
other plan on South Center street
which world save money. The brick
blocks cost nearly B per square yard
on First avenue while the city could
employ a concrete crew and lay con-
crete paving GoHu the center Of the
I.ex street at half the price. This
would outline the parking place and the
brick block paving could serve FOR traf
&c. Grinnell paved around its pub
lie square with concrete at the hitch
racks and laid the center OF the street
with high priced bitulettuc at $a.13 per
yard and the high priced paving is
beginning TO Near before the concrete
shows abrasion.
Grinnell's city engineer this year has
contributed d suggestion in paving
that is well worth noticing. He has
specified combination curbs and gut
ters Of concrete three feet wide instead
OF two feet as we lay them in Mar
shanto@n. He then specifies pavement
twenty four feet from curb to curb in
stead Of thirty feet, which narrows the
width in the center 10 an eighteen feet
track to be pared with high priced ma
te-ial In this way people can have
bitulithuc. brick block or asphalt with
out so great total expense. Streets TWEEN
ty-four feet vide in residential sec
tions in Newton, Usage and Des Moines
are success.
A street car official ,he other day
made the statement that more auto
mobiles are owned and operated in
and around Marshalltown in proper
ton to the population than in any 9TH