Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-01-10
HARDIN COUNTY FARMERS VOTE
70 GRAVEL ENTIRE COUNTY
ROAD SYSTEM.
URGE COUNTY BOARD
TO BOND ROAD REVENUES,
Convention Of Farmers Decides to
SSsh Hard Surfaced Construction to
compietion and to Bond Any Over,
draft in Road Funds-Want Legisa-
ture to Permit Bonding For Roads.
Special TO Times Republican.


Eldora, jan 10.-The board OF super
visors will go ahead with the graveling
of the entire county road system in
Hardin county and complete the work
in from three to five years regardless
or the amount of funds on hand. II Il
deficit occurs, a 5 is expected, warrants
will be issued temporarily and as soon
as these warrants amount to any con-
siderable sum they will be refunded by
issuing bonds running not longer than
twenty years and payable in regular
annual installments as fast as tax
moneys are available.
That was the gist of the recon-
mendations Of a convention of nearly
zoo farmers who assembled in the
court house Saturday to consider the
subject Travel on Gravel in 1915"
was their slogan. D. w. Norris Of
Marshalltown and chairman of Cover
nor Clarke's better roads commission.
was the principal speaker. He eX-
planned that his commission hoped to
induce the next legislature to provide
for bonding road and bridge revenues
in townships as well as in counties or
the people so the taxpayers would
know what they were to get for their
money before the bonds were issued.
bat he said it would be four years at
least, before any roads could be built
under new law and that the only
way county board could proceed now
was to build, overdraw, create a debt
and bond it afterward
Want Township Bonds Too.
Township trustees reported in the
morning session as to their plans for
road work and it appeared that town.
ship moneys were needed mostly for
repairs with enough TO put only a mile
or two OF road to permanent grade
hence the convention resolved in ia
ship revenues to be bonded for roads.
viii Gravel County Roads.
Hardin county's main road or county
road system comprises ia miles, of
which about twenty-fou miles have
been put to permanent grade. 1t will
cost approximately $4,000 per mile to
gravel its roads and $1,000 per mile on
an average to put them to grade. The
whole job will cost approximately
s450.0oO according to the county engi-
at the start about $4,000 per annum
from. the county road taxes and motor
vehicle revenues. Property subject to
taxation in Hardin county has in
creased during the past twenty years
at the rate Of 8 per cent per annum
that present fixed road levies will
raise that much more money every
year without increasing the rate of
taxation. Auto licenses have been in
creasing at the rate of 40 per cent per
annum and will keep on increasing I'M
lii they are about three times what
they are now. 1t is estimated that j.
may require as much as five years t
finish the job in which event nearly
half the cost will be obtained from cur
rent revenues and the other half can
be spread OUT over future years by
means Of bonds. After the work is
donest1e hills that are cut to grade will
stay cut forever and the gravel sur
face will require from $4,000 to s25.-
900 per annum for maintenance. The
bonds when sold should sell in a Az
per cent market which means that the