Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-06-28
Observation-Disclosures
! LOCAL COMMENT

obtaining federal aid in Marshall
county and to work among his neigh
bors for their,vote on jury ~ To au-
thorize our county board to accept
feuerai aid. Automobile owners oil
this county have been paying $4,000
per year for their licenses tor several
years and they have not yet received
any roads that they can use In wet
weather. After this year their licenses
will be boosted to about 100000 per
year for this county and every dollar
of II goes into state aid fund where
IL will stay unless IT comes back TO
federal nd project for the state has
taken all the auto money to match
Uncle Sans money dollar for dollar.
Some people wonaer why an election
Is necessary 10 vote on proposition
TO accept federal and state auto money
for paved roads. The new law au-
thorizes a county board \ to accept
these funds for gravel without a vote
but the government engineers at
Washington have notified the state
highway commission that they will not
approve gravel for main roads In
counties like Marshall so we must pave
or lose our share OF the governments
funds. Opponents OF the law when
it was being enacted forced n clause
into the law stating that "a board OF
supervisors Shall not proceed with
hard surfacing OF roads until such
work shall be authorized by majority
vote OF the electors OF such county"
Thus we must vote authority to pro-
coed with paving in order to obtain
federal money and unless we obtain
federal money our own auto money
VIII be hung up indefinitely.
We must take it or lose 1t IN this
election and II we lose II, Waterloo or
Mason City will see that their coun-
ties get our allotment on top OF their
own for they have voted not only TO
accept their share but they have au-
thorized. bond issues from which TO
match our allotment of federal funds
with their local money as required by
law. .,
Our county board did not deeQ
bond issue necessary at this time be-
cause there will be s1s2.2Sl OF federal
aid aud auto tax money available for
this county by July l. of next year
""'::::sS .s!s much to spend for three
fourths of the cost Of paving s56.ooe
more could be assessed to land with
In a mile and a haff of the roads i'm
proved. giving us about all we could
spend in one contract next year. There
is a bill in congress now proposing TO
appropriate for military and post
roads 425 millions on top OF 275 mil
lions already appropriated which. IL
enacted, will bring in federal aid and
state funds about as fast as we can
spend them in the future. ShoulA we
vote to authorize paving with Uncle
Sans money we would. of course. not
be able TO grab any other countys
share until we had provided an equal
amount of our own funds but that can
be met when the time comes. Of
course since We can't vote on bonds
at this election no increase in tax can
be authorized.
All counties have until July I next
year TO accept their allotted share OF
S7.e44,1 0S of Uncle Sans money allot-
ted to this state. Section 7 OF the law
provides that any county failingto ac-
cept its share by that date snail be
deemed 10 have waived its rights" and
any other county may have what is
waived. As fast as counties do accept
federal funds they are laid an equal
amount of auto money regardless OF
what any one county has paid into that
fund and as the totalauto licenses will
not quite equal the total federal fund
allotted to Iowa those' counties which
come first will be served first and
those counties which waive their rights
to federal funds will be kept waiting
Indefinitely for their share OF the auto
license money as there will not be
enough to go around and ror two years
or more after this year they will not
have dollar to spend even for drag.
girg their primary roads.
Uncle Sans money and an equal
amount Of auto money must he spent
on primary roads. The county road
cash fund derived from 3 mill levy
on all property in the county is set
aside exclusively for county roads out
side Of the primary road system. Pri-
mary roads in Marshall county are the
Lincoln highway east OF Marshalltown,
the road from Marshalltown to State
Center via the South road. the North
Third avenue road>and the South Gen.
ter street road to Laurel and the coun-
| ty line. These roads according to law
shave been selected for Uncle Sans
military and first roads ito receive
Uncle Sans money and must be i'm
| proved first before. other roads can be
taken into the primary road system.
In the meantime the rest of the county
roads will get all Of the county road
cash fund and can be organized by pc
ftition into gravel districts and rs per
lcent of the graveling assessed to the
nearby property.
Will we accept Uncle Sans money
! or will we lose it? Mason City voted
II,44e to III to accept and the rural
precincts ir Cerro Gordo county out
side Of Mason City voted 1874 to 523 to
accept every rural precinct except four
returplng majority for paved roads
with Uncle Sans money. Cerro Gordo
voted yes almost four TO one because
they have mad twelve miles of paved
| 1, IN rifv nud Clear