The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-31

,,ats in Iowa will have the best
a,nditions during the fall months
Ioau ,,.ar that have ever existed in the
th's Nv the end OF the season. there
-ssa, Z, e not less than $14,OOO,OOO spent
svui -, - construction and maintenance
- !, Dads and bridges. Inc expendl-
y " u. Of this huge sum cannot fail to
vi rh wonderful improvement on the
yiSa highways.
Ea VNo state in the union has been so
.ach praised or SO much damned for
~ roads. The fact of the matter is
r. iowa has the best dirt roads and
~. ~ hest cared for dirt roads Of any
s,be states. The soil, great for corn
"a easily tilable, is also easily shaped
10 ven graded. well crowned and
ssrfoctly smooth roads on which it is
a.liglt to drive an automobile. The
..~v quality which makes the Iowa
se,ia 40 amenable for road purposes.
20 tends to their quick destruction.
m. Mss tourist bowling along, delighted
IN the smooth easy going, Is caught
!. summer raistorm. Inside of ten
= sfteen minutes. he is skidding and
siding all over the road in danger
-. fashion. In half an hour, his con-
Sus ID beyond the chain stage. He
!. lucky il he makes a town and es-
mos being tied up at some farm
honse If the rain stops in an hour
I. % and the sun shines and a breeze
s,.rts up. he may be on his way in,
srrwhere from an hour or two to a
s.if day. II the rain continues for a
ssv hours, he may be tied UP any
there from q day TO two weeks. OF
course he dainns the roads, and while
fled up in some farm house or small
town hotel, writes the automobile jour-
mails and the newspapers that Iowa g
roads are the worst ever. But few
hours after he gets started on his
vay again with the sun shining, the
rad drays busy, he sweeps along
.eain over the smoothest, easiest rid
,rr roads in the world. He loses his
rrouch, forgets his troubles. He
saves his hand to the road dragger
IA ends his journey across Iowa. by
rvaaring that the most delightful
roads for touring Of any state in the
union.
Good and Bad Roads.
Meanwhile. both of these extreme
views of Iowa roads are absolutely
the When they are good. they are
ne most delightful on earth. When
hey are bad, they are the most i'm
mssable on earth. Some years they
IRE good most OF the time; other years
Aey are bad most of the time as fol-
instance in 1915. and the spring OF
1916, But to give them their dues
Iowa roads are usually good, for the
simple reason that Iowa roads are
b mostly good.
Iowa is making fair start in, bad
weather roads as well. There is the
Dubpue-D yersville post road on the
Rawkeyc highway across Dubuque
county, twenty-five miles of the hes
type Of gravel road construction
There are experimental stretches O
the same type Of construction in Cal
ioun Webster. Polk. Greene, Dickin
non and other counties. Buena Vista
Clay, Tama, Hardin, Marshall ant
Cerro Gordo counties are all engaged
o. projects for getting their entire
county road systems to permanent
grade where there will be no more
tearing up and rebuilding. Several o
these counties have also determine,
to cover the entire county mileag'
With surfacing of gravel; differen
types of construction being in view
from merely dumping gravel to pacl
With gravel to the trenched and pack
Cd type of surface.
To Oil the Roads.
There are probably twenty points IL
the state where considerable stretche.
OF county road will be oiled as an ex
pertinent. The Cedar-Fremont road il
Aahaska county, which wc< oiled las
season, has given many road enthus
lasts, confidence in oil as a road main
tenance feature and a dust and mut
preventative. Polk county is oiling
Blk mile stretch of slag-cinder roat
on the Des Moines-Ankeny road, on
Of the important north and soutl
cross state roads.
On strictly county road work las
year, Iowa spent a total of s3,40o,0OC
Nearly million and quarter, wen
INTO permanent grading and an equa