The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-06-21

could about road building out west.
and then come home and build the
roads any way they thought best,
and We agreed to go about our work
and not try to change them. We
said that If they did not spend more
than $4,000 travelling and studying
We would. not kick. They spent less
than weeks time and, we believe,
only about $55 for gas and hotel
expenses. Then they came home and
went to work. They spent the rest
of that $4,000 for machinery, and
increased the purchases to $50, 900
and we have the machinery yet.
They built good many grades a
foot higher than we thought they
ought to, and made the borrow pits
two feet deeper than we wanted
them, but we don't know how to
build roads, and we kept our prom
Use not to kick nor NEEDLE. Now
that the money is about all spent and
we have more roads graded than we
in our fondest hopes had pictured:
now that some Questions have been
raised about the final division of
few thousand dollars left over, that
we never expected to have after get
ting so much grading done, it seems
small to be pickering over the d.
vision. Some men were opposed to
buying SO much machinery, but If
it were put up for sale now and |
closed out for half or two-thirds of |
what it cost us, we venture the guess |
that they would kick on selling it.
The unkind thing about it is that |
so many men speak of this machin-
cry as so much junk or as so much
broken down machinery, which is
lot only not true but does not ap-
oroach the truth.
What City Council Learned
Bingham county might learn
from the experience of
he town of Blackfoot some years
go. Blackfoot kept going along
improving its streets on some such
Ian as was advocated for the coun-
ry roads during the bond campaign
conforming to the lay of the land
yhere the grades and drains were
0 be put in. Sidewalks were laid,
nd it was done on that plan. The
urveyor or somebody else would
I'M his eye over the landscape and s
ay, We'll, l guess the top of this (
eg will be about right for the sur
ice of the sidewalk. Bunld it up {
here and slope it down that way
alf an inch to the rod to the next
rect corner .
Grade All Mixed Up t
Finally they got ready to lay a ;
Wer system and to connect all the l.
altered sidewalks, and nothing
ould fit. The drains they had +
ade in these various sections would
n the water one way in one block
I'd the other way On some other side
the block. The payements could is
made jump up or jog sidewise at tt
ints where they did not match, NJ
t the drain bitches were not so OF
xible, and the sewer lines had to d,
run on an even grade. After fc
eat deal of worrying over how to al
rect the inequalities and blunders W
at had been made they decided to nj
Irt in and make them all conform ke
uniform system and make such he
'rections and do such rebuilding tv
might be necessary to secure uni, to
nifty. ar
The men in charge of the road
lstruction said it was best to start to
mt in at the beginning and have fo
uniform grade and a system that r.
uld not need to be changed or if.
ne over at some later date when ~,
Ter construction work was in ri,
,gress. ~
Old Grades Dangerous tn
the high grades, it is su
imsd that they are far less dan lie
Gus than the old rounded grades OH
II