The Idaho Republican., 1916-12-22
LEAGUE TAKES GOOD
ROADS MATTER IN HAND
Movement for Road improvements
Gains Strength; Farmers Taking
Strong Interest.

| AO AOOt1u6 Va ~ DihGsAoAA NOuhSJ
business men and farmers held
Thursday evening last week arrived
more at the hard facts of good road
building than any previous one. Mr..
Salzman and Mr.. Brim, two good
roads promoters, talked Of the ad-
vantages of we'll made roadways and
showed lantern slide pictures OF
sample highways in various parts of
the country. Louis Felt was the
principal speaker on the practical
questions of highway improvements
in Bingham county.
Hamilton Wripht, as chairman for
the evening, first introduced r. w.
Adair, who had been appointed a
committee of one to secure letters
from road builders in other parts of
the state. Mr.. Adair read two let
ters from men connected with road
work in the Burley district, giving
the cost of construction, and other
details He also outlined briefly the
procedure of bond elections for road
building. He showed that thru leg
islation passed in 1911 in this state
the county commissioners may pro-
pose the bond election, rather than
having to wait for communities to
OF ganize and request them to call
it. They may also lay a special tax
upon land adjoining the new roads.
Only male voters decide such a bond
election.
Charles E. Harris proposed that
tsomething be done to get more road
Improvement funds out Of automobile
taxes, and said that the revenue from
car owners alone would keep up the
interest on road bonds.
Mr.. Brim, from Pocatello, who has
had a good deal of experience boost
ing for good roads, urged the league
to get up a letter to the legislature
asking for good roads appropriations
sufficient to secure government aid
on the new plan whereby the govern
ment puts up dollar for dollar with
the states. themselves for roads. A
committee was afterwards appointed
to take care of this matter.
Louis Felt, of Rose, who has been
road overseer and has himself put
in experimental roads, told of his
actual experiences. He said for one
thing the gravel found in Bingham
county is too pebbly for road making,
that it will work up thru a thick
layer of clay and keep the road from
getting smooth with usage. He ad-
vocated the use of crushed rock.
Experiment With Mile
81 think the best thing to do
said Mr.. Felt, would be to make an
example out of the road just north
of Blackfoot going to Porterville. 1t
certainly needs fixing, and 1t carries
as heavy a traffic is any road in
the county. The time Is not ripe
vet for a bond election. The farmers
favor it, I believe, but they need
time to consider it, and so the best
way is to give them an actual ex-
ample. Of course, almost all OF the
farmers are getting cars, now, Il
don't know how they pay for them)
but they're getting them just the
same, and that makes them want
good roads.
Good Culverts
Mr.. Felt urged the Importance OF
uniform, we'll laid culverts across the
roads, and canal bridges. These, he
said are now made in all sorts of
ways, some stick up foot or so and
others are down the same distance,
making it bad for passing vehicles
and even dangerous. He strongly
favored putting in the best, steel or
concrete, and if they cost the same,
c ncrete should have the preference.
Never Touched Them
Mr.. Felt distinguished himself by
the apt way in which he answered a
flock of questions that were flung at
him from his audience, who were all
interested. Some one said the roads
around Moreland were all right.
eyes," said Mr.. Felt, they're fine
where you haven't touched them"
It was moved by severa. members as
the meeting broke up that Mr.. Felt
be placed on the speaking list for
every meeting.
Chairman Wright named N. F..
Parkinson as committeeman to
choose two associates and attend to
drawing up resolutions for the legis-
lature and to make suggestions about
calling bond election for better
roads.
Earnest Pearson was unanimously
chosen leader Of the next banquet
meeting.