The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1920-03-11
THE ROAD BOND ISSUE

on the bond issue question. Much has
been said about the poor condition in
which our macadam roads are at the
present time. In fact, il one were to
believe certain newspapers, the good
roads "catechism" and representatives
of the state highway commits, sion, you
are wallowinG in the mud as soon as
you get onto one of our macadam
roads. We are led to believe, by those
agencies, that the corduroy road of
fifty years ago was far ahead of our
present macadam system and no doubt
tourists who travel those roads are
careful to first pay up their insurance
premiums and provide for their loved
ones and then as a further precaution
Zone can't be too careful in mud, you
see) they stand on the foot feed and
crawl" through the mud" at the rate
of so or 55 miles per hour unless they
are unfortunate enough to meet with
the speed cop and pay the customary
Slabs. OF course you all have seen
the oil trucks, the Cu2ahy meat trucks
and the cheese box trucks, any one of
which when loaded weighs five tons or
more, travel those roads under all
conditions and you may also have no
ticed that when you get on one of
those macadam stretches with a load,
your team coolS off and pulling is far
easier for them. But don't believe
what you see, my friendS-the trucks
are in the mud when on macadam
roads and so are your team and you.
If you doubt this statement Just look
at your good roads catechSm" or if
yours is lost get copy from one of
the children for everybody got one in
the January campaign. And so the
wall goes up-"Lift yourselves out of
the mud" Now, my friends, let's stop
and consider just how we "got into the
mud" Wasn't it by taking the advice
of the state highway commission that
we started building macadam roads,
and wasn't it under the supervision of
the county highway commissioner APP
pointed by the county board and APP
proved by the state highway commits
sion that we continued to build mac
adam roads at an approximate cost of
$4,000 per mile? All this time we have
gone on paying for this road building
ana believing we were building perma-
nent roads and ali at once. Hrst. Can
non & Co. bob up on the scene, and
making nothing of our road building
prescribe a complete and sud
den change from macadam at $4,000
per mile to concrete at $4,000 per
mile. They tell us the concrete will he
everlasting, that it will never wear out.
but what can they guarantee? And
suppose they did guarantee it what
would there be for the tax
payer? | suppose if concrete system
of road building were installed in this
county and it proved failure that ex-
perts in road building would drop in at
session of the county board and tell
them to pave the roads with brick and
lift themselves out of the concrete"
And If such a thing came to pass,
wonder if the county board then would
give haSty unanimous vote in favor
of the change from concrete to brick
or might it be possible that they would
be so cautious as to stop and consider
what the people who would have to
pay the bill might think of the change?
What grand, heroic body of gentle
men they were at the November SEES
sion. Full to the neck with an over
Moving love for their fellow man and
oozing prosperity at every pore-with
other peoples money, paid representa-
tiyes of the peoples interests, did they
represent the people? Put the unan-
vote of the board beside the election
returns of Jan. % and judge for YOUR
self. How could they fail to ooze
when as the witty member
of the board said "proSperity is in the
air" Now to be candid on this mat
ter, prosperity amt in the air. It's hid
den away in the same old place and
can only be gotten for the man by the
same old recipe-hard work and lots
of sweat, If you think it is in the air
ask the city laborer, struggling to
make ends meet on double the salary
he got five years ago and then ask the
farmer who is getting on an average
10 per cent more for his produce than
he got five years ago and is paying out
100 per cent more for what he BUYS
and for his farm help than he did five
years ago. Farmer and city laborer
will tell you that if prosperity is in the
air they can't smell it or sniff up any
twenty dollar bills.
Now, my friends, don't be misled by
this 'pull yourselves out of the mud"
bunk. The macadam roads of this
county are not mud trails" even if u
Madison expert, sizing them up from
the window of Pullman, says they
are, If the macadam road fills the
needs of the average city man and of
the farmers, why change to system
five times as costly and totally useless
for team traffic. The concrete road is
solely an automobile driveway and if
we get any of them that is one of the