Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-19
LOCAL COMMENT

|
Two new ward schools will b,
needed within very few years and the
! high school will have outgrown it,
present building. That Is the situation
! which confronts the school board and
. they have decided to acquire the
! grounds at once so get that much OF
the expense out Of the way before the
| buildings are needed. The Times Re-
publican gave warning Of this at the
, time the John Childs school was
| erected and this newspaper urged at
! that time that the ward school be butt
! on a new site, leaving the high school
; grounds free for high school buildings
This ward school may be convertible,
in fact will have to be, but it is not
what would have been designed for
f., high school purposes.
Mason City recently became excited
at its growth and voted $3.50, 900 in
bonds for magnificent ana new high
school but some Of its citizens recog-
nized the extravaganza and enjoined.
Marshalltown is laboring under the
same necessities for larger clothes to
fit it's growing family, but our board is
going about It in a more conservative
way. The Rogers school can. be re-
modelled at much less expense than 1t
can be replaced. New ward schools
will serve our population better than
one enrmous central plant. We need,
however. more grounds at all Of the
schools and better equipment In the
old buildings. We ought to have all OF
the block surrounding the high school.
Grinnell College has acquired from do
nations grounds a quarter of g. miie
wide and half a mile long for a school
population no larger than our high
school will be three years hence. Lets
keep up with our growth, in population.
but We need not become extravagant
to the extent Of any quarter of mil
lion dollar bond issue as the voters
did in Mason City.
The killing of man at the Center
street crossing, white due primarily to
carelessness on the part Of the men
who attempted to rush across in spite
Of the gateman's warning, emphasizes
the fact that that crossing is always
a very dangerous one. Generally
freight cars and freight trains are
standing SO close to the street, in fact
out into the street, so that 1t is i'm
possible to see an approaching train
beyond them. Center street should
have had the viaduct and the G. & N.
w. railway should have moved it's
freight station west as did the M. q
st. l.. Washington street could have
been opened from Center to Third ave-
nue. for use by the coal teams in get
ting up town and every body living
southwest southeast or south could
have been served by viaduct on Gem
ter street. AS soon as we begin to
appreciate the benefit OF a viaduct on
Third avenue we should start a move-
ment for one on Center Street. It re-
quires approximately ten years time
to obtain viaduct so we should start
early ~ ,.. Z /
Z. n .s44 - - "a sa.y =. q, ass
According ts thea dtots from &the
state house Marshal1sSSOun docs not
owe a dollar and can show nearly
half million in public property or
community assets. Besides that tho
property Of its citizens subject to tax
alton is valued by the assessors at
$46,000,0O0 and is worth nearly twice
as much. Just across the state line in
Illinois counties with as much wealth
as that do not hesitate to borrow &
million or two for, iIlMestment in hard
roads to be paid out OF the tax moneys
which We are content to sink in the
mud.