The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1918-09-27

the war. People are coming to rea-
lie that the. winning of the war de-
ponds upon transportation and that
| transportation by rail as we'll as
transportation by every other kind
of vehicle or transport will cut a
vital figure in the war work at the
front. While wages are SO high it is
a poor time to build roads, but on the
other hand 1t is a poor time to pay
high wages for hauling crops to mar
ket and being able to haul only half
a load at time. People have come
to realize that SO long as more time
is expended in hauling crops to mar
ket than there is expended in road
work it is wrong to defer the road
work because Of high wages.
Saving expenses on road building
and on repairing roads adds to the
expense Of hauling crops SO the high
wages Is expended in one way or the
other and there is a growing convic-
ton that expanding the money for
road work and keeping roads in good
condition should be done during the
i period of the war as well as in days
of peace. Every man who takes
three days to haul as much as he
could haul in two days with good
roads loses outright the price of a
days work with their teams. It is
just as bad for thousand farmers
to lose one-third of their time haul
ing crops to market as 1t would be to
have One-third as many teams work
on the road all the time
when it is done on the plan pro-
posed by the petitions there will not
be waste of work, but it will be
done to good advantage and will be
saving the waste of hauling every
day for generation to come. The
work proposed by the petitions is for
both roads and bridges. The Porter
vile bridge has been unsafe for a
long time and is only single-track
bridge. One set of petitions to be
presented to the commissioners will
ask them to erect a bridge across
Snake river at or near the Porter
vile bridge, which will be adequate
for travel for present and future and
one that will be safe to cross at all
times. In case the commissioners
erect new bridge at that. point it
is quite probable the old bridge will
be taken down and erected at the
Ferry Butte, opposite Rich and Pin
gree. as there is considerable need
for bridge there and the old bridge
can be moved and erected at very
little expense to the county as it is
probable that all the labor will be
donated by the people interested in
that locality.
The larger set of petitions asks
the commissioners to construct hard
surface roads of some kind from
North Main street, Blackfoot to the
Porterville bridge; from South
Broadway, Blackfoot to the Black
foot river and from the city limits
west of Blackfoot for a distance of
one mile westward on the Riverside
road; also stretch from the center
of Shelley one mile north and one
mile south and from the center of
the city of Aberdeen extending in two
directions for distance of one mile
and the bad roads to, be treated to, be
determined by the people of those
localities.
Secretary F. N. Parkinson of the
Civic league has sent out call to re-
turn all petitions to him just as soon
as the signers have been obtained
and when these petitions are assem-
bled County Clerk f. M. Fisher will
announce the time for the commits
sioners to meet and consider the Pc
titions and to consider what ever
may be offered by the people in the
mass meeting.
Thomas Bond Offers Suggestion
A valuable suggestion has been
offered by T. G. Bond that may be
considered and acted upon in the
work of road transactions. Mr.. Bond
suggests that while we have already
raised one million dollars for lib
erty bonds and expect to raise one
million more if necessary the county
might issue bonds for what ever sum
will be needed to do the road work |
decided within the next year or so
and sell the bonds for cash, then in
vest the money in liberty bonds for.
the county and use those bonds to |
pay off the contractors and laborers |
who are doing the road work. 1t has |
been found that most of the firms |
manufacturing or dealing in. road |
machinery and road materials Of |
every kind made arrangements to |
receive liberty bonds In exchange for |
1t is also we'll known |
that great number of people who
have little or no money for buyinp |