The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-01-10
EDITOR SUGGESTS
CONTINUED from page one)

talnoQ tnru the sale OF DOnQS 10 make
public improvements. This enables
everybody to keep employed and to
have an income and that prevents
the hard times and the panics. 1t
also involves the payment Of large
sums of money in interest. These
are very small consideration COM
pared with what is actually lost dur
ing hard. times when many people
are out of employment or when there
is panic. During panic the wealth
accumulated thru years of work
crumbles and disappears in day,
and this Is an actual loss. Many
people regard 1t only as an exchange
of possession; some people losing
while others gain, but this is not true.
Wealthy people and the well-to-do
people lose most in panic, but the
poor suffer most. They have not
much to lose, but they lose that
quickly and that leaves them worse
of than the wealthy folks who have
lost many times that much and still
have enough left to provide for their
actual needs.
Which Course Shall We Take?
Bingham county stands on the
threshold of an era of hard times and
stagnation, or an era of great ma
terial prosperity according to how it
handles its financial and business at
fairs.
United Effort for Results
Two propositions are before the
public now for road construction and
l wish to state them both. One pro-
poses that the county shall float
bonds to obtain quarter of a mil
lion dollars to be used in building
hard surfaced roads about eight
miles in extent at the approaches of
some towns and villages and at GER
tain sandy stretches in the roads. The
kind of material proposed for this
construction has been mentioned in
the petitions as concrete, and by that
is meant one of several kinds of hard
road not made purely of rock. am
in favor of adopting that plan but
do not approve of it so thoroly
as some of the men who have been
pushing the proposition. / approve
of it partly because 1T is their best
judgment and partly because l am
sure 1t would be vastly better than
the way we have been doing, tho pos
sibly not the very best thing we
could do for the money. l do not ex-
pect we can all agree on what is best
to do, and If we make some COM
promises with the other fellows and
If each man is willing to help to do
| Uhot tho nthnr rlo %hn
he has some doubts himself, we shall
'get the roads. If we hold bond
election to decide upon this question,
shall vote for it because I believe
in it. yet when the decision is made
as to what particular kind of ma
terial Is to be used in constluctic
II certain kinds are adopted I might
believe in it more thoroly than If
certain other kinds were adopted.
The matter of selecting the kind of
materials and construction to he used
Is matter for the engineers and
road experts to determine, after con-
sidering the kind of material avail
able and the distance each must he
transported. That, however, Is not
the first question to be considered.
The first thing to be decided is
whether we want the roads and are
willing to bond the county to get
them.
" A Repetition Of Suggestions
What we have spoken of in the
foregoing paragraphs is for immedi-
ate construction to be commenced in
1919 and pushed to completion this
year or next. What I wish to speak
Of as the second proposition Is one
involving greater expenditure and
covering a longer period of time. I
have already published considerable
matter about it, but 1t was during the
busy season when the farmers did
not have much spare time to devote
to- reading. shall repeat consider
able that has been published before
for the reason stated.
Great Accomplishments Possible
propose that we shall construct
hard roads on the main thorofares
Of the county by the use Of what
shall call Goshen gravel, spread on
the roads to depth of six, eight or
ten inches. This of course contem-
plates the proper grading of roads
before the gravel is applied and put
ting all bridges and culverts on the
proper grade SO the road bed will be
level and the crossing of bridges and
culverts shall be on such easy grades
that 1t will not interrupt travel. My
plan contemplates the construction Of
several hundred miles Of this kind
Of road within a very few years. It
contemplates vast expenditure Of
money, machinery and other means
Of handling the gravel in the most
modern and most inexpensive way
that is known to road construction.
Kind Of Gravel Being Considered
When we speak of gravel to be
used for road building many people
Immediately think of the wash gravel
found on our river beds, but this
should be put out of mind. con-
slider the wash gravel not only worth
less for road construction, but a |
positive damage when placed in the |
road and would not use any Of 1t |
either in its natural form or after |
being crushed in rock crushing ma