The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-10-18
y. w. Norris, Chairman Of the
Governors Committee,
Talked to Retailers
League.
MORE TAX NOT NEEDED
We Must Learn to Spend Bet
ter. Amount Which is Given,
8 Mr.. Norris Explained
in His Talk.

- Iowa, first in intelligence, first in
per capita wealth and first in auto
mobiles, stan.ls at the bottom of the
list of states which have roads sur
faced and ready for use in wet
weather, D. ". Norris of MARSHALL
town told the Keokuk Retailers
league last night. Mr.. Norris urged
that the roads of the county be re-
built on the game lines that a COM
munity builds e school house. Build
the roads and have the use of them,
and pay on the bonds, rather than
pay out the yearly road tax for tenn
porary improvements and patchings
Of the highways. He said half Of
million dollar bond issue was fic-
ton, Imagination and politics, large
III. He did not think it would be
necessary to increase the taxes either
Tor building roads. The same amount
OF money spent on repairs could be
Ispent to better advantage by pay
Ing the interest on the bonds held
by the bank ,rs.
E~ Mr.. Norris is chairman of the COM
mittee appointed by the governor to
Investigate road conditions in Iowa
and to report its recommendations
for improvement to the coming legis-
1ature. James c. Davis, formerly Of
Keokuk. is member of the commit
tee. Mr.. Norris spoke of the work
of this committee, what it has found,
gave some of his own personal obser-
vations, outlined the remedy for the
lack of good rcads in Iowa, and told
how some Of the boards Of super
yisors are already going ahead with
the work, without waiting for legis-
lative aid.
'eThe state Of Iowa has the best
dirt roads of sny state in the union
the speaker said. only two states
in the union, New York and Cali
fornia, spend more money on roads
than does Iowa. But Iowa stands
at the bottom in the percentage of
roads surfaced and ready for use in
wet weather. The average for all
states of surfaced roads is 11.3 per
cent Iowa has but one percent.
First in intelligence, first in wealth
pre- capita and first in automobiles,
we are forty-fourth out of possible
forty-eight in the percentage of roao $
available during wet weather.
THE question is how to solve this
,trouble. / do not advise anyone to
levy any more taxes. Until we learn
:how to spend taxes to get more re-
iSoieo ~ "Ai NC iittAC ooS W AdASC tAS
.nxes."
H. Autos as lnterurbans.
Mr.. Norris spoke of Keokuk as a
city of promise. of this vicinity as
a growing one through the harness
ing of the electrical energy, and
then he spoke of interurbans, and
the fact that a county road of $50
miles would furnish all the inter
urban this county would need If
this road was built all the rolling
stock necessary would be found
susing it. I'VE are living in gaso-
line age, and I believe the private
gasoline car will do the interurban
business of our generation he said
HE spoke of seeing jitneys in the
least carry interurban business at two
iCaEts per mile.
~ The property and motor vehicle tax
this year will amount to $4,000, but
the bulk Of this will go into culverts.
Mr Norris SAID, because the bridge
money is not sufficient. For sixty
years the people of the country have
tbeen paying bridge tax. and yet they
have only wooden bridges. They
twill pay sixty more years and still
only have wooden bridges at the
lpresent rate, he said. In two other
counties, however. the situation is
different. This is in Cerro Gordo and