Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-08-03
UNCLE fALSJAFF
finds Mares NEST
Tries to Make Mountain Out Of a
Mole Hill.-What Rest Room
Costs Ellsworth.

"Uncle Falstaff'' of the Ellsworth
News last week ran short of actua
news and had-as newspaper mel
do once in a while-to fall back up
on his imagination. The ordinar.
reader will take his article upol
graft in Hamilton county as i
should be-facetiously. But for tn
possible worrying individual wh'
might be taking the thing seriously
a real statement of facts might b.
worth while. The News attempts
to convey to the mind the supposi
tion that while taxpayers of the
county contribute to the upkeep o1
the Webster City rest room to the
tune of $40 per month, the rest room
is nevertheless not on wheels, but
stationary right here in Webster
City, and presents so alluring set
of furnishings that residents OF
country and small towns are con-
strained to come to this city to shop
and incidentally to swell the ex-
chequer Of it's merchants.
First. Hamilton county is only
one of many counties of the state
which either entirely supports from
one room to suite of three rooms
Nor the benefit of the travelling pub
Ic. Counties support entirely the
1tst rooms at Adel, Abba, Center
VILE, Charlton, Greenfield, Marshall
town, Winterset and Newton, while
county supervisors vouchsafe at least
half the support of the rest rooms in
lndialola and Mt. Ayr. Several of
these rest rooms were begun on a
small scale in the court houses, and
salaries of matrons paid by the board
of supervisors, but proved OF so much
-enefit to the county at large that
more rooms have been added, as in
the case of the suite Of fine rest
rooms maintained at Marshalltown
by the county board of supervisors.
Second. A register is kept in the
Webster City rest room, in which all
visitors are requested to write their
names and places of residence. Some
fail to comply with the request, but
a majority of those resting between
trains at this room do write their
names and place of abode.
Third. During the past six
months, 60 women and children have
registered, giving their place of res
idence as Ellsworth. At conser-
vative estimate, 120 women and
children from Ellsworth will at the
end of twelve months have been
made very comfortable in the Web
ster City rest room, as all who have
visited it will attest. Listen to
simple sum in arithmetic: Hamilton
county contributes as a county just
$40 per month, or S240 per year for
the support of the room. There are
10000 people living in Hamilton
county A liberal estimate of the
population of Ellsworth is 500 per-
sons or one fortieth of the county
population, hence Ellsworth will pay
of this $240, one fortieth of the sum,
or Sc. If then, 12O persons from
Ellsworth are entertained in one
year at the Webster City rest room
for Sc, how much will it cost to en-
tertain 1 person? Answer, five
cents.
Also, if 500 persons pay Sc for the
cost of entertaining 120 persons for
one year, how much will each one
of the citizens of Ellsworth pay?
Why, dear Uncle Falstaff, they will
pay just one and one-fifth cents
apiece for the rocking chairs, couch
es, light, heat, water, towels and
use of the rooms in general.
Come over some day, Uncle, and
the Freeman-Tribune will be glad to
advance you the one and one-fifth
cents, if that is what is troubling
you.
The cost of maintaining the room
is between $40 and s45 per month
and the city supplies water and elec-
trio light free. The people of Web
ster City pay all of this not paid by
the county and they pay their pro-
portion of the $40 which the county
pays.
Sells Bank Street Residence.
/ N Garth Saturday sold his Rank