The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1916-06-15


then you are against me; and that is
the basis upon which the campaign
should be made.
All for Good Roads.
Now with this preliminary, I wish
to call your attention to statement
find in another call for one of these
tax payers meetings. 1t is as follows:
I'VE believe in good roads the same
as every one in Iowa does. We want
the best roads we can afford"
l take it that this statement is an
authoritative one and that we can
agree that every one in Iowa wishes
good roads and appreciates the value
OF them.
Some say that dirt roads are all that
are necessary, but l believe the num-
Der who will urge that our Iowa roads
during the larger portion of the year
are all that are necessary are but
few and the agitation over the road
question is because the fact is gener-
ally recognized that dirt roads in
Iowa are not enough.
Iowa Is away behind other states
in the matter of good roads. Why is
this true? The records in all the
states show that Iowa tax payers pay
more each year in taxes for bridges
and roads than any other state In the
union with two exceptions, and that
twenty-six other states have more
miles of improved roads than Iowa
for a smaller amount of money spent.
Surely there is something wrong.
Surely we have not been getting value
received for our money. Surely this
would indicate that if properly spent
We could have the improved roads on
our present expenditures. Twenty
six other states have them for the
same or less money than we have
been spending.
Minnesota and Missouri on two
sides of us each have three times as
many miles of hard roads as we have,
yet they raise less money each year
Wisconsin has five times as many
miles, Ohio and Indiana each have
ten times as many miles of hard road
as we have and all on less money than
we pay for mud.
There is no one of us who has not
seen many times in Iowa when we
could not visit our neighbors because
Of the bad roads; could not get our
produce to town; could not with any
degree of comfort on occasions attend
church, and have seen buggies, wagons
and automobiles mired in our roads.
Just the other day some men stole an
automobile, got ten miles from town,
mired in the mud and could get no
farther. Upon inquiry of farmer
for team to pull them out, they were
arrested. This is at least one time
when an impossible road served a
good purpose, but it illustrates the
condition into which our roads get at
times because if anybody ever tried
to get through them these men did.
There are but few who will argue that
our roads under our present system
are satisfactory. l would say that
ninety-five percent of the people in
the state of Iowa are demanding bet
ter roads, and, as the tax payers
league urges, want the best roads
they can afford"
Hills Should Be Cut Down.
am going to take it as an accept
ed fact, then, that we want better
roads. This granted, I am sure that
all will agree that one of the things
necessary to give us better roads in
Iowa is the cutting down of many
of our hills. All will agree that a
hill cut down now will still be cut
down thousand years from now and
that money spent for this purpose will
not be wasted. We will agree that the
first thing to do is to cut down these
grades, and if we are going to do it.,
to do it now, if it can be done with
out extra expense, that we may not
for the next several years be climb
ing up one side of these hills and roll
ing down the other side. l believe
all will agree that in many counties
by putting on a proper outfit, letting
a contract of considerable size to a
good Irish contractor, it would cost
the tax payers less money to handle
the dirt on some of our big hills than
by our present piece-meal method
with inferior outfits. 1t is so apparent
that cutting down our grades would
add greatly to our roads that l am
going to accept this as generally
agreed upon as desirable, and make
the cutting down OF our hills the first
plank in our good roads platform.