Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-04-01

LOCAL COMMENT

The commercial club at La Sale. H.,
wants TO know how Marshalltown mer-
chants attract trade from such a wide
territory. La Sale INGREDIENTS are
curious 20 discover the secret of our
long reach, The explanation can be
! found in the newspaper situation. La
: Sales best newspaper has much less
! than half the circulation offered by
, the Times-Republican and La Sale is
. city nearly as large as Marshalltown.
! To get trade from a distance there
, must be a medium of publicity for the
goods that are to be sold. Marshall
town merchants have a medium with
long reach while La Sale merchants
ara confined TO a newspaper which is
not read very far outside of its own
county. The Times-Republican Is al
most as generally read in twelve coun-
ties as il is in its own county. In at
least five counties it is practically the
only daily newspaper generally circu-
lated.
1t is procla lined to be the Waterloo
way to do things and not stand around
Guarreling about details. AT a meeting
of over 800 men who filled a big arm
ory Monday, half of whom were far
mers il was proposed to grade and
gravel the entire county road SYSTEM
of Black Hawk county in Ave years
on the bond plan and when the no
votes were called not a man in all the
crowd lifted his voice in opposition. II
was the same at Mason City a few
weeks ago. The estimates for Black
Hawk are that as much as $4,000 per
mile can be expended for grading,
draining and graveling and yet pay
each series of bonds in its twelfth year.
1t is planned by the boosters of the
town to raise a big bonus to be added
to the county's money and pave several
miles in the immediate vicinity of the
city where traffic wiu be too severe
for gravel construction. In a very
short time now lands along the hard
roads in Cerro Gordo and Black Hawk
counties will he selling at higher prices
than lands in Marshall county aItho
their natural fertility is not so good.
The season has, arrived fors dragging
the roads and our city streets are being
put in order. The city, however, should
start it's drags. this year on the mailA
roads leading into town instead OF
leaving them until the, last. Today
many of our inside streets with light
traffic are in fine condition while that
part of the Lincoln Highway west
just inside the city limits is almost
impossible. The main roads which
carry the heaviest traffic should be
attended to first.
The board of supervisors is adver-
Using for, bids on $4,000 worth of per-
manent bridge work. There are
$4,000 worth Of bridges needed which
are not included in the first list People
in the county who are demanding
bridges had better examine the list to
ascertain whether their bridge has
been omitted. The wise and sound
financial policy would be to replace
every old bridge with masonry as fast
as it wears out and let future bridge
taxes be applied upon the cost as a
bridge which is to last 100 years ought
to be charged partly to the taxpayers
of the future who are to use it.
The purchase of gravel pits
wherever available is not only re-
quired by law but it would be a wise
form OF preparedness EThe time will
soon come when our main roads must
be surfaced. To have the gravel
located and in the county's possession
will enable road engineers to esti-
mate with absolute accuracy the cost
Of graveling roads In the vicinity Of
the material: Story county, next door
west of US, now has fifty miles of
graveled roads while we have none.
Hardin next door north, plans to gravel
all of it's county roads in three years
while we have none either done. :. o.
planned. We viii soon be in a mud
hole all. Of our. own while everybody
/ else will be driving around US and
will "guy" US as theysgo by.
| 80. -. r. F*9srasE5
X There is no good reason why west
summit street should not be paved this
isummer. The property owners want it
and the street railway was promised
that the work would be done when the
company paved its right OF way. The
same can be said of the three paving
districts unanimously recommended by
the Marshalltown Clubs COMMITTEES
but omitted by the city council
Mason City will build twenty miles Of
street paving this summer, why should
we stop at TOUR or nye! sioux city
paved two streets last year under the
paving district law and this year has
ordered three more with almost no
opposition. If Marshalltown would
| live up to its opportunities we must
do things here in larger way.
The five banks Of this city show an
increase Of $s47,000 in deposits since
last November The total now is
s5.341,419 and the question Is as to
| what are we going to do with all that
money. 1t must not lie idle and un-
less it Is put to work In Marshalltow
! 1t will go into far western lands.
Every man who can invest money
proftah'y III MaTshaiitown property
should make known his designs upon
the available funds of our local banks.
We need a six story block on some
prominent Main street corner. We
can use more new houses There ought
TO De a Few new enterprises started
that would employ man. We have the
loanable funds on hand and every en-
tcpuragenents should be gfvsn TO those
! who viii use those fandS 1t home.