Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1916-10-17
THE ROAD PROBLEM.


to what you think?
THE ROAD PROBLEM.
w. L. Harding, Republican Candi-
date for Governor: The real road
problem in Iowa is to get from the
farm to the market. 1t is an econ
omic, not social problem. TIE high
way that is good enough for econ
omic purposes is good enough for So
cial purposes.
Advancement in Iowa road build
ing is being retarded by proposals OF
bonded indebtedness and hard sur
faced roads, where these things are
neither needed nor wanted, nor will
be tolerated.
A successful program will be to
reduce the overhead expense; remove
much of the red tape; restore to the
individual who has to pay, the right
to initiate and say how, when and
where, and with what material road
construction shall take place. Then
keep out of debt and pay as we go.
We bond for schoolhouses that out
live the bonds. but let us not put a
20 or 80 year bond on a highway
that can not be guaranteed to last
more than seven years.
We frequently hear it stated that
IS per cent Of the travel is on Is
per cent of the roads. 1t is argued
from that statement that the money
raised from bonds should be used on
Is per cent of the highways for the
purpose of hard surfacing. Those
WIZ set fifth this argument attempt
to satisfy the economic phase by
showing how much greater load can
be hauled on a hard surfaced road
than on an ordinary well constructed
earth road. That is as far as the ad.
vocates of the paved highways &c
with the economic side. They do no,
explain that no matter how much
greater the pulling power may be or
the paved highways, a farmer car
not get to market with any heavier
load than he can pull to the paved
highways, which may be several
miles. So, from the economic stand.
point, dealing with the figures in ag.
gregates or percentages does not
help the individual farmer with his
load, who is off OF the paved road.
Iowa is not ready for the carry
ing out OF the proposals to pave one
or two statewide highways from riv-
er to river, one or two from north tc
south, or the hardsurfacing of a
road east and west and north and
south through every county.
Agitation for the purpose Of put.
ting over such plans was begun foul
years ago. Iowa is not ready tt
"bond the state" or anticipate rev.
enues," which means the same
thing, for such enormous undertak.
ings and expense.
In 1913 when these proposals
were before the Iowa legislature
Successful Farming" Mr.. Mere
dith's publication, said:
Work with and through your
legislators for permanent good
roads. Let us bond the state and Sc.
cure a fund big enough to accomp.
lish something"
How much could be accomplish
ed" toward hard-surfacing the coun-
ty road systems, or constructing a
paved highway north and south and
east and west through every county
on less than s5O,O0O,0OO or $780,
100000 in bonds or anticipated rev.
enues?
Different names are given to diff
ferent propagandas for the purposes
of this campaign, but there is no
what the fight has been
about during the last four years,
when the general assemblies have
been in session, and at the time Mr..
Meredith's paper declared in favor
of bonding the state to secure a
fund big enough to accomplish
We have constantly held up be-
fore us what few other states have
done in the way Of paving or other
wise hard-surfacing highways. Be
fore us are paraded the blessings,
but not the burdens forced upon the
taxpayers. If states situated geo
and geologically as Iowa
is situated find it, profitable to pave
their highways, time will unmis-
record that fact. In many
-.