The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1919-01-02
Twenty Live-Wire Boosters Braved
Storm to Start Agitation For
Better Roads For Seward
County.

evidenced Tuesday evening When
twenty men met at the Griffith g.
Baughman real estate office to talk
roads.
President Magruder of the Liberal
Chamber of Commerce presided and
told of the meeting at Tucumcari,
where the machinery was put into OPP
Grafton for securing the Funston-Fort
Bliss National Highway. He told of
the plans for securing Government
aid for the building of the road, also
the information he gained from rep
resentatives of other counties along
the line as to their road building pro-
gram for 1919.
According to MIR. Magruder, Texas
county, Oklahoma, has very extern
sive plan to put into operation, which
will result in a road across the county
paralleling the Rock Island. 1t is
part of the plan to hard surface a
portion of the road at least.
Meade county is also building
roads, and has mapped road across
the county from north to south, which
will be finished during the year.
With the counties on either side of
us engaging actively in road building
Seward county will have to go the
limit to keep up, for it would never
do to have gap that would cause ad-
verse comment.
Mr.. II. M. Noel, county engineer OF
Cloud county, Kansas, is in Liberal
visiting at the home of his wife's par
ents, Mr.. and Mrs. L. A. Etzold, and
was present at the meeting. Upon
request Mr.. Noel made talk.
He started his remarks with the
statement that Cloud county was get
ting the good roads fever, at the pres
ent time petitions calling for sixteen
miles of hard roads are being either
circulated or ready for action.
He then explained the different
types of roads, their advantages and
defects, and dwelt at considerable
length upon the different makes of
road building machinery. Mr.. Noel
is a man who has an extensive knowl-
edge of his business and had facts and
experiences for the road boosters that
were of much value.
The road north of town came in fol-
a big share of the discussion. This
road has cost the county huge sum
of money in the past and promises to
cost a great deal more in the future
yet it has never been a good road
There is just one solution to the
problem of this road and that is to
hard surface it and have it done with.
1t is one of the most difficult
stretches we have to contend with
and it seemed to be the general opin-
ion that an effort should be made to
build permanent road there.
]. G. Trindle, county engineer of
Seward county, was present, and took
part in the discussion. Mr.. Trindle
raised a good point when he asked
whether it was the intention to let the
farmers start the hard road building
or wheher the city expected to get
busy and do some paving. Everyone
who expressed themselves were of the
opinion that paving could not go over
another year, and from the discussion
which followed we gather that the
paving program will include the en-
tire length of Kansas Avenue and Sec
ond Street, with several additional
blocks on other streets.
]. N. Maxwell of the Craig Lumber
Company was another engineer pres
I ent who was able to give helpful in
formation.
Mr.. Noel gave some interesting
facts as to probable cost of the diff
ferent types of roads and the methods
of financing them. He recommended
a road with cement base, as cushion
of sand on which brick is laid in as
phaltum This is a very expensive
road, but is absolutely permanent
Asked as to what type of road he
would recommend for this section
taking into consideration the financial
condition of the country, possible
growth and sparse settlement, Mr.
Noel said that he would advise the
Outbound macadam road. While it is
not as good a road as the brick and
asphaltum road he says that it will
last for many years and should the
time come when it would not be
adequate it would form foundation
for the brick and asphaltum finish
and would not be wasted.
He gave as an estimate of a con-
crete road a cost of from ten to
twelve thousand dollars per mile, and
quoted figures on paving the seven
miles of road north of town. A good
concrete road he said would cost in
the neighborhood of $4,000 per mile
or $14O,000. Of this the government
pays Is per cent or approximately
$4,000. The remaining 85 per cent
is divided as follows: County gen.
eral, SO per cent; benefit district, 25
per cent, and the township 25 per
cent. Twenty-year five per cent bonds
are issued, deducting the share of the
county. The payment the first year,
including interest, would amount to
$4,000, and the last $3.50. Mr.. Noel
estimates that with valuation of $40
per acre, and benefit district three
miles wide, the average taxation for
the 20-year period would be one and
twenty-one one-hundredths mills for
the benefit district. The levy in prop
erty outside of the benefit district in
Liberal township would average .88