Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1916-07-28

1ur present mud roa 8 and s9eni !.
Tor puti.ng on a pe2..& lent surface
ii tfey lesiIe. All these matters to
be determined by the tax payer liv.
ing iii the district to be served BY
tha road
No Disposition to Force Good Roads.
There is no disposition to force
an improved road upon any commun-
ity that does not desire it. am
perfectly willing the law should be so
framed that it may be necessary to
tell the tax payers just what the road
will cost, just what each mans share
will be and allow only those who will
have to contribute to the cost OF the
road to vote as to whether they will
or will not have 1t.
There is no wish to increase taxes,
but the whole proposition is sugges'
ton that we spend only the money
we are already spend ding on our roads.
spend it to get the greatest value out
Of it and have the roads now rather
than many yeats In the future. In
other words, the proposition Is to
build the roads and use them now and
pay for them piece.meal over period
Of years rather than to build them
piece.meal, and in the meantime not
have the benefit Of the roads.
Can you f,nd u this any suggestion
that the tax Payers OF Iowa should
be burdened WITH debt greater than
the war debt o. Europe? Can you
ind in this any sdkgestion that We
should have . brick paved road
around every forty acres in the state
Of Iowa?
So far as / can see it. it Is applying
to the road problem which is com.
munity problem the same good BUSH
ness practice you apply when you buy
your farm, when you 60 in debt In
any way for improvements that VIII
pay for themselves. such as silos.
draining your farms, etc. 1t is the
application of the same principle that
you follow in building your school
houses.
am sure each Of you will agree
that this is a sane, sensible method
of handling the road problem and on
. basis that will not burden you or
your children with more taxes than
you will pay under our present meth
DDS In fact, personally, l do not be-
lieve that your taxes will be as great,
because you cut out to large extent
repairs and maintenance. In this
connection, the cost Of maintaining
graveled road, to keep it in tirst-class
condition and ~ good if not better
at the end of twenty years as at the
end Of the first year is, figuring liber.
ally, 800 per mile per year. We spent
In Iowa last year on our county road
system, not for permanent work, but
for maintenance and repairs $1,l43,'
$4,000 or an average of $74.00 per
mile, an. what did we get for it? 1t
will cost us little more to maintain
graveled roads than it does to main.
tain our dirt roads and We have 800
day road free from mud instead OF
dragging ourselves through the mud
or STAYING at home because of fmpass.
able roads.
Highway Commission Discussed. +
Now there is one proposition that
has been largely discussed and that
is the Highway Commission. We are
told that the local community should
have control OF the money they spend.
There is no one OBJ ,cting to this and
no one suggesting any other method.
The expenditure of every dollar
should be in the hands Of the people
who pay it but the people should re.
eeive q dollars worth Of roads for
every dollar they pay. While the
statement may not be popular with
some township trustees or road sup
ervisors, county engineers, etc, 1t
must be apparent TO every man IN
this audience that with practically
5000 township trustees in the state,
they cannot all be expert engineers
or expert road builders.
1t must be apparent that with 400
members of the boards of supervis-
ors of the state, they cannot all be
expert in this matter OF road building,
bridge building, etc, and with ninety
nine county engineers selected as
they are many times because they are
good fellows, local boys, etc, they
cannot be the best men in the world
for this work or have the broad e1.
perience that many men have had. l
do not mean to say that competent
men are the exception or that incom-
petent are the rule. But do mean to
say that occasionally We find men fill
ing these positions who are not COM
petent can, for instance, tell you
OF bridges that have been built under
our old system with the tax payers
money where the bridges did not
stand up until they were finished.
can show you photographs of bridges
that stood out in fields clear off the
road. There have things happened in
the conduct Of our bridge building
and road building in Iowa that are
almoSt mast believing