Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-03-12
LookeY-On In Iona

Spirit Lake. March 1.-THE town has
great hope of an electric railway d.
rect to and from Minneapolis. In . re-
cent issue the Beacon said:
"The Electric Short Line railway 10
headed straight for Spirit Lake by the
way OF Jackson. Men are at this time
busy all along the line laying out the
route 1t will no doubt be Of great
interest to the citizens Of Spirit Lake
to know that the road is not merely
paper road but real live railroad
now under process Of construction.
The road as contemplated from Minne-
apolis to Sioux City passing enroute
thru the towns of Glencoe. Winthrop,
Sleepy Eye, Mountain Lake, Jackson.
Spirit Lake and eventually Sioux City.
The foundations for the building of
this road dated back about nine years
when the Luces, the chief promoter of
TINS road and consequently the heav-
lest investor began the enormous task
Of securing terminals in the City Of
Minneapolis. But few realize thu great
value of these terminals and the diff
culties they encountered in securing
them. At the close of a little more
y
of the plans completed. Their termin-
ais consisted of about 157 acres of land
tending from the outskirts to the heart
of the city, distance of three miles
and sixth coming within two blocks
and half of the Radison hotel. many
blocks nearer the center of the city
than any other terminal and immedi-
ately across the street lies the produce
market. one of the largest in the
nortsWest. The city has closed several
of the streets allowing only two grade
crossings in passing to the city limits
The second step in the plans was
the building Of forty miles Of road
without any Indebtedness, this amount
of track to be fully equipped and I'M
der operation before tany bonds were
to be placed on the same. The forty
miles are now about Completed at a
cost of about $1,000,00O. They have
built splendid road bed in every par
ticular using heavy ties with seventy
pound steel; outside the terminal the
bridges are nearly ell of the steel con-
crete variety with the exception of 600
feet tressel, forty miles out from the
city. This road is being built to han
die heavy freight. Their grades at a
maximum do not, at only very few
points, exceed l per cent The road is
being covered with heavy gravel as
fast as steel is laid. The road is being
laid out thru a rich well settled coun-
try and should if properly managed go
on an earning basis from the very
start.
The line is now operating three
trains daily between Winsted and Min
neapolis and spring extension work
will carry the rails in three directions
from Winsted, according to present
plans
Public spirited citizens here and at
Jackson, Mimi, have subscribed sew
eral thousand dollars TO secure this
electric line, and a guarantee is made
that trains will be operated inside Of
thirty six months. When extended
towards Sioux City it will run along
the west side of West Okkoboji Lake,
thus making a direct line from Sioux
City to the lot owners and summer
residents. Ali this has been built on
paper several times This time many
citizens here think it will be "a 60"
="
If the opposition developed in the
legislature. and heard everywhere from
one element of our citizens, to the state
highway commission, and incidentally
to all good roads improvements, should
be traced to one particular source, 1t
will be found that the cost of engineer
ing and surveying Is considered an
outrage and generally has more or less
graft" connected with it. Let the
writer be understood. He does not
make such statement, only he hears
it everywhere. Here's what illustrates
it: One day last spring two livery rigs
drove up to the principal hotei in a
! thriving town in central Iowa. Six or
eight young men got out and went in
to dinner After dinner they sat out
in front Of the hotel. smoking cigarets
and cigars. About L.: 80 the teams drove
up in front and just before 2 o'clock
they got out of town. 1t was county
engineers and his crowd doing county
| work. And business men OF the town
and many more farmers in town that
afternoon had several remarks to make.
They didn't like to have high priced
| livery teams and drivers hauling them
! around. They objected to the county
| paying so cents a meal at the best
hotel. And they kicked very high on
the cigaret smoking. Talked about the
county hiring cigaret smoking dudes to
do county work. One farmer in the
| store told how many hundred dollars
the county had already paid out for
| such damned fool nonsense. Said they
were laying out an almost unused
cross road, as tho 1t was to be used for
| a railroad. Only last week near
Whittemore the writer heard almost a
duplicate of the above remarks. This
| feeling and this kind of talk has found
| representatives in Des Moines this
winter. Strange to relate but little talk
| Of this kind is heard concerning county
drainage work. That seems to the tax
| payers, necessary. But to build good
| roads, well that's different, 1--WE can
| have good roads in Iowa ten months in
a year. without all this engineering
and surveying. What's the use?
The ice harvest has been long one
| in Iowa this winter This week at
| Okoboji they were cutting ice and
| hauling it out by the train load. One
| would think the demand would have
ceased long ago, for the ice harvest
commenced last December and It's now
| the middle Of March. And the present
big deposit of snow up this way on
| this date, IF it goes in a hurry" will
make tremendously high water in all
of our Iowa rivers.
| a/M~7A