Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1915-04-16
ZOO At CET.T0CEThER Dinner
MORE THAN 100 FARMERS WERE
PRESENT-SEVER GOOD
SPEECHES

A very successful get-together din
ner was given at the Odd Fellows hall
Tuesday afternoon to the officers OF
the towns, farmers clubs and cream
cry associations Of the county by the
local Commercial club. More than
two hundred men attended the dinner,
of which number more than one half
were farmers and the remainder local
business men.
The dinner, which was served by To-
cal ladies who are raising funds tor a
woman 8 building at the fair grounds,
was excellent. Bastien's four-piece
orchestra rendered several selections
during the dinner which were greatly
appreciated by all. Cigars were dis
triputeu to all the men after the din
ner was over and the program OF
speeches followed.
mercial club, presided over the meet
ing. He extended the thanks Of the
club to the ladies' for the excellent
dinner and to the business men who
made it possible and then extended a
hearty welcome to the guests of the
club.
J. J. Doerschuk, agricultural instruc-
tor at the Royalton high school, was
the first speaker on the proeram. He
spoke on the organization and purpose
of farmers clubs. He stated that
about Is farmers clubs have been Or
ganized in Morrison county up to date
and that they have brought about
some good results already. They have
raised the standard Of the communi-
ties in which they were organized and
have attracted settlers. Thus far the
results in this county have been most
ly in the improvement OF social con
ditions and stock improvement. MIR.
Doerschuk urged more cooperation be-
tween the county fair society and the
farmers. Farmers club exhibits should
be arranged for at the fairs, thus at
tracing more farmers. More farmers
should also be on the fair board, he
said. 9
Geo. Kiewel of this city gave an in
teresting talk on "Good Roads, He
said that good roads are first in
health, wealth and prosperity to a
community. From the health stand
point he pointed out that children, in
going to school, must use the roads,
upon their condition depends largely
the health Of the children. Also the
farmer or business man who must use
the roads great deal feels much bet
ter if the roads over which he travels
are in good condition. From the
wealth standpoint good roads mean
better prices for land and from the
prosperity standpoint good roads re-
suit in better marketing facilities;
etc.
Mr.. Kiewel gave some figures to
show the road mileage in this county:
There are 100 miles of state roads
laid out, 1000 miles of county roads
laid out and $50 miles Of improved
roads in the county. Seventy per cent
Of the roads in the county are travel
ed and thus the tax levies for their
maintenance must be of considerable
size. In 1914 the town levied $40,012,
the county levied $4,000 and the state
aid for roads and bridges was $4,000,
making grand total Of over $4,000
spent on roads and bridges last year.
The reason so small a showing has
been made in the improvement Of The
roads is that a large portion Of the
money was spent on bridges. Of, $751;
900 spent by the county last year 70
per cent was for bridges: Also many
roads serving but few people were
built in order to give settlers access
to the main Travelled roads. For 1915
the levies have been raised several
thousand dollars. The speaker urged
more uniform expenditure of road
money throughout the county. The
levies in the towns range from 2 mills
to 10 mills, he said. Scand:a Valley
last year had the lowest levy, two
mills, and Lakin had the highest, 10
mills. This year Scandia Valley mas
raised the levy to four mills. The per
capita road tax in the county is now
about 25 cents. Mr.. Kiewel said 1t
should be raised to $1.O0
In closing Mr.. Kiewel spoke on the
resurfacing Of sandy roads. He sug-
gester putting on a thin layer Of clay
over the sand, then discing it, adding
second coat and rediscing. Then
roll the road down and after rain
use road drag On it and the result
would be a first class road. By build
ing the road in this manner chuck
holes would be avoided and material
saved, he said. He called the atten-
tion Of the farmers to the prizes which
will be offered by the local business
men for the best dragged roads this
fall. The first prize will be purse
Of $50 in gold for the best one-half
mile OF dragged road leading to the
city, within a radius of seven miles,
the second a prize of $25, the third a
prize Of $25 for the best one-half mile
Of dragged road on any rural route
leading from the city and fourth a
prize Of SIS for the second best half
mile of dragged road on a rural route.
He advised the farmers to get busy
and try for these prizes.
W. H. Gustafson, agricultural in
structor in the local high school, spoke
on The Soil Of Morrison County,
Although Mr.. Gustafson has been in