Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-05
LOCAL COMMENT

The purchase of business blocks this
week by local men for investment II
but an evidence of the faith in the
future of our town which our own
citizens now have in it. Van Law, a
lawyer, buys a building on Main
street which he hopes to salt down Tor
his old age pension. and the McCombs
! boys buy a business block for the Same
purpose. This is better for Marshall
town than to have to send real money
into some outlying state for land.
Cream checks to the extent of $751;
600 paid out to farmers by two cream
cries at Minerva and State Center give
us an idea of what wealth there could
be in monthly circulation about this
county if every village was paying out
! $4,000 per annum for cream. There
are at least fifteen other places in
this county fully as able to support
creamery as either of these two towns
and when they all have their cream
cries going the cream check business
for this county will jump to s1,275,0 600
per annum. That's some cream and
it would also be some coin if 1t were all
in one pile.
The people of Ferguson who stormed
the citadels of prejudice and built their
consolidated school after years Of con-
troverSy and litigation now have the
satisfaction of viewing the good pub
lie works of their victory. A fine
graded school administering to $50
young people this year and to more
each year for many generations to
come is an accomplishment worth all
the fight it took to put it over. The
courageous, progressive citizen is
seldom appreciated at the time Of his
struggle but in later years we always
look back upon what was done with
unbounded respect for those who had
the nerve to pull their communities
out of the run of past custom. 1t is
SO everywhere and it always will be SO
The assessments made for the paw
ing done last summer have been made
under a new statute which permits
property within 900 feet of a street to
be assessed for paving benefits pro-
vided it lies nearer to the street i'm
proved than to any other street The
purpose of the statute was to obtain
relief from the old custom Of assess
ing by the front foot rule which cost
as it cost the owner Of an inside lot.
1t would have seemed more equitable
to have arranged for the general funds
to bear some share OF the excess OF
benefit in paving costs but the city
council which has the assessing to do
did not write the law No set of men
could make an assessment exactly as
another set of men would make il.
hence there is need for a liberal
amount of liberation on the part of
the property owner. If the seeming
inequality in his assessment is no.
large forget it. Do not resort to liti
cation unless the amount at stake is
worth the expense and the effort. At
tend the hearing before the council on
Tuesday and try to have your assess
ment adjusted satisfactorily.
Story and Hardin counties on two
sides of us are buying and condemnins
gravel pits and Hardin county has laid
out three years program to grade
and gravel its entire county road sys-
tenn bonds TO be issued for any cost
in excess of current revenues and t"
be paid from future taxes without in
creasing anybody's tax. The Marshal:
county boord should be buying or
condemning gravel pits wherever there
are any available. Section 2024-i Of
the highway law makes ii the duty
of the board to buy or condemn grave,
pits until no part Of the county is
more than five miles from pit. This
is mandatory upon the board provided
the pits are TO be found and provided
their cost does not exceed the cost
of shipping gravel in from outside the
county.
And when il comes to investing
money for the upbuildng of our city
: We must take off our hats to our loca.
savings and loan association. Hereto
fore hundreds Of thousands OF dollars
! have been sent out of Marshalitown to
seek investment which no longer need
be done for there Is now a place wide
open to all which offers per cen:
upon real estate mortgage security. 1t
/ IS actually attracting outside money
! into our city but its greatest work is in
| keeping money at home which must
! have fair return and which has here
tofore been going into outside land.
oil wells, coffee plantations, western
orchards and mining stock. Six Per
, Cent and Safe" is the slogan that
! should hold our investment surplus al
! home in the future. -.
! Mr.. l.. D. Wick, pressman in the