The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1918-08-13

Subscription price $500 per year
MEXICO AND NEBRASKA VERSUS
BINGHAM COUNTY
Down in Mexico they have an OK
cart that is pretty good for use LII
getting over the road. Up in western
Nebraska is a place called SCOUTS
Bluff where a man named Scott died
in the early days of fur trading IN
the Rocky mountain country. scott
was one of the traders who came
west in 1923 in the employ OF the
Rocky Mountain Fur company, ana
he got homesick. There was no \.
M. C. A. hut for him to drop into 10
write a letter home and hear a lec-
ture and get a new grip on himself,
so he kept on with his inconsistencies
till he was too sick to eat, and then
he OCT too poor and weak to keep up
with the crowd and finally they went
on and left him, promising to come
back for him the next day. Out OF
sight was out of mind with them,
and Scotty started to crawl back TO
Chyenne country, and actualiy
crawled sixty miles before he died:
His skeleton was found on the tran
at the tot of the bluffs that still bear
his name. His means of travel the
last few days of his life was innnlteiy
worse than the Mexican ox-art, 1or
in addition to all his other hand1caps
there were snakes and insects all
along the way and no food.
Here in Bingham county we nave
100 automobiles for use In travel,
and hundreds TO cars 60 thru to the
Yellowstone park and other places
each month. They travel faster
than Scotty did, but at frequent IN
tervals in the road are bridges and
culyerts that stick out above the
grade of the road, and the cars are
TANNED by the sudden Jump. Some
times the springs break, sometimes
it only bruises the casing so that II
blows out later in the season. ana
it always jams some Of the vital
parts Of the cars, especially the TAR
que arm and the connections ABOUT
the diferential. Respecting these
Jams at intervals while the car
travels about or thru the country
soon makes an old car OF 1t, ana IN
many cases it has to 60 to a garage
and be overhauled at great expense.
The most direct and immediate re-
suits of crossing rough culverts Is
the broken spring and the bruised
casing: the other things show up
later and car owners pay the price
~ renairs. installation and the loss
of time waiting for the car to De
made ready. ...f.a
Investigation at the garages In
Blackfoot leads to the conclusion
that there is an average of about
eleven broken springs week
brought in for renewal, and the md
cations are that bridges and culverts
and rough places that ought to De
graded or bridged are responsible
for about all of the loss. The actual
cost of the springs varies from about
Sc to $40 and there is added to that
from $3.50 to IS or 80 Tor
installation, and the loss OF time Tor
the party or owner while it is oelng
put in. Sometimes tourist party
breaks down and has to be hauled
into town, and then has to wait while
the spring comes by express. A rev
DAYS ago a Blackfoot car was dis
abled by such jolt twenty-elgnt
miles out, and it cost $3.50 to have
it hauled in. The loss Of time and
money from the accident till it was
ready to 60 again on its own power
was about $50, and this did not IN
clude any hotel expense for parties
waiting.
Garage men advise that the direct
cost of breaking the average spring
it about $40. The indirect loss Is
equal to at least another ten, ana
there is no way of knowing how
much it shortens the life of each car
to be humping the bumps of the aver
age line of culverts for day. One
garage man has reached the conclu-
sion that each car has broken
spring about once year, and l1O0
springs at an average loss OF $2O
each makes $4,000. When the people
of the county have spent the $4,000
the bridges and culverts are no pet
ter than before, and they are READY
to lose another $4,000 the next
year. That is enough to keep up
the interest payments on nearly half
a million dollars worth of road
bonds. Half million dollars ex-
pended in and around the culverts
and bridges would put them in such
fine condition that travellers would
scarcely know there were any cul-
verts in the county.
Now that the people have become
accustomed to spending their money
for broken springs and damage bills,
il they we're given chance to vote
for bonds for bodybuilding, they
would be interested enought to think
it over and to consider who they
want for commissioners and road
overseers to disburse the money. II
somebody should suggest the pos
sibility of expanding part Of 1t to
little effect, somebody in the party
might inject the visit remark ANY
body could hardly expend it to less
advantage than we do when we put
it all into car repairs, and leave the
culverts in position to ruin them
again."