Morris tribune., 1920-08-13

you can't ship by truck from Glen
wood. I asked man in Glenwood
who has a two ton truck what he
would want to take sc bushels of
wheat to Minneapolis and he said
$40. 81 =. n
And if you lived ways. from the
paved road, you would have to split
the load and come up to the paving
and then unload and go back for the
rest, and then load up again on the
paving. And if you were shipping
hogs you would have to take up half
the load and put them in pen on
the paving and then go back for the
other half.
can ship my stock on the railroad
for SO cents a hundred and have 1t
insured, but if I ship by truck it is
not insured.
They tell us that after rs per cent
of the Babcock plan is built, then
they can build other roads, but if it
will take 25 years to build the Bah
cock plan, don't wait.
Stevens county has So miles of the
hard surface road, which will cost
$1,855,00O. This same money would
build 265 miles of gravel road at
$1,000 a mile. Instead of having
one hard surface road across the
county east and west and another
hard surface road across the county
northwest and southeast, the county
would have eleven gravel roads
across the county-five one way and
six the other with a mile to spare.
Besides the depreciation of the
hard surface road will be $1,000 a
year. It costs $4,000 a mile to
build and it will last 20 to 80 years
or say 35 years and that is $1,000
a year. Besides it will cost 5000 a
year per mile for upkeep or $4,000
and this added to the $4,000 de-
probation, makes $4,000 which
divided by the 265 miles of gravel
road would give $237 per year for
upkeep of the gravel roads per mile.
Take Itasca county with $50
miles of hard surface costing $780,
600. This amount put on 500 miles
of gravel road would give $7,875 per
mile The upkeep and depreciation
of the hard surface road would be
$4,000, and this gives 1910 a year
for the upkeep Of the gravel road.
Take Mr. McGarry's own county
Of Cass with 1874 miles of hard sur
face, which will cost $5,74O,0OO.
IF al
road at $6,833 per mile, and the de-
probation and upkeep on the hard
surface road of $196,8OO year
! would give 1884 year for the up
keep of the gravel roads per mile.
The trouble with Mr.. McGarry is
that he is in love with the hard sur
! face road and as you know love is
blind, and an old man in love is
I binder than any other.
To illustrate the cost of cement
concrete roads, let us suppose that
the state of Minnesota instead of
| going into Stevens county and build
! ing So miles of concrete roads at a
total cost of $1,855,0OO, that the
state says to Stevens Co.
| Here is $1,855,OOO that you can
do as you like with. We will say
that Stevens county grades and
gravels those So miles at a total cost
of 1871, 900, leaving $1,484,000,
which is put into a bank at 5 per
cent interest. We say that the an
nual cost of maintaining the So
miles of concrete would have been
i $4,000 or 5000 per mile, and that
if the life of concrete road is 80
years and the pavement cost $4,000
per mile, that the annual cost in de-
probation of concrete is $1,000 pei
mile, or total Of 81, 900 plus 5000
or $1,000 per mile each year, with
out counting interest on the invest
ment.
By using $1,000 per mile annually
for maintaining the So miles OF
gravel roads, (Which is much more
than would be necessary, this road
can be kept in fine shape all the time
and at the end of 80 years this gravel
road will lbe in excellent condition
and would have been all the time
while the concrete road will be worn
out, so by building So miles of gravel
road, the county will have at the end
Of 80 years, So miles Of splendid
road and over $6,166,0O0 in the