The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-01-01
HRockwAYs PREDIcAMENT.


down in that far away southeast cor
ner of this state, was two years ago
chairman of the house committee In
the Iowa legislature which enacted
the present county road law. Brock
way created county road system OF
$1,000 miles OF main Travelled roads IN
this state. He put an engineer On
the job In each of ninety-nine coun'
ties with five district engineers to
supervise them and state engineer
and highway commission over them
all It was a great law. 1t raised
money for county roads, set men to
work grading down Iowa's hills and
so standardized bridge plants that. the
cubic yard unit cost of concrete in
bridges has been reduced from SIS to
So. The road work being done now
is being done to definite plan with
blue prints on file in the engineers
Office but Brockway learned this week
that his new law has failed to build
a road that can be depended upon,
says the Marshalltown Times-Republi-
can.
Brockway is married and has a
baby The baby's grandpa Is COM
mandant at the soldiers home in Mar
shalltown so, of course. Brockway
must needs drive up from southeast
arn Iowa to bring mamma and the
kid home after the holidays. The
roads were fine Saturday and he came
through in six hours, but on Sunday
I,;, L., oI cof In Prnck-
way was wild with apprehension. He
wanted to telephone to Des MONIES
for an inside weather report from the
weather man himself and then again
he wanted to start right out Sunday
noon in an effort to beat the storm
home. Broekway bossed the job of
making a road law for Iowa two years
ago but he has not yet seen road
that can be used after thirty minutes
of moisture-not in Iowa.
Now, If Brockway had lived In In
diana for instance he could have
driven his car right through the rain
over 26.S00 miles of hard surfaced
roads, gravel. macadam. brick or con-
crete pavements. Indiana with go
DeECeHt Vi LIE lodU lhiiCdSS "hASh
Iowa has offers nearly twice the en-
tire county road system of Iowa I'M
proved for every day travel and In
diana spends less money per annum
upon her roads than does Iowa. Her
counties issue their bonds for long
time roads just as we issue bonds for
court houses. so
IT, T. IN, 80
he could have driven home in the rain
over brick and concrete paved reads
or we'll graveled roads at best for
Ohio has 24,400 miles OF them, much
more than our entire county road sys
tenn and Ohio spends less per annum
upon her roads than Iowa does, but
in Ohio her counties issue bonds for
hard-surfaced roads
HAD he moved to California as so
many of Iowas prosperous farmers
90 he could have driven home, rain
or shine, over S,7SS miles OF hard
surfaced roads and California spends
less per annum upon her roads than
does Iowa, but California as a state
and her counties both issue bonds for
good roads.
Brockway ought to be in the dairy
business among the stump lands of
( Wisconsin for there they spend only
about half as much money per annum
upon their roads as Iowa farmers
spend upon theirs, but in Wisconsin
Brockway coulG' have had II, 500 miles
Of improved hard surfaced roads be-
I
bonds have enabled permanent hard
surfaced roads to be built.
/ But Brockway prefers to stay in
! Iowa where a farmer can get rich
I faster than he can in any other place
I on earth. He will ship his car and
! his family home by rail or take a
chance on killing them all in the
ditch beside a slippery clay grade and
never realize that he is paying a road
j tax UNNECESSARILY greater than the
one the assessor marks up on him. II
I Brcckway's committee had permitted
Iowa to issue bonds for roads as every
other state in The union now does e..
cept Iowa and two others. Iowa could
| have some roads like other folks have
and taxes would not have been in
I creased either Iowa has the third
f, largest mileage of roads among al
the states but stands 9th in the
! amount Of roads improved Ten state
which spend less money each per an
mum than Iowa spends upon her read.
averaee four times as much roads IN
proved.
! Brockway may be rich in land bu
wien it comes to living he is literally
stuck in the mud In Justice tn Brock