The Mena weekly star., 1921-03-17
b|C CONTRACT LET FOR HIGHWAY WORK
.piug for 3O,OOO or More Yards of .r .rrushed Rock. Will Mean Thousands of Dollars to Home Labor--Other
 Road Matters of Interest.

The commissioners on the Jefferson
 A;obway in Polk county have let a
 ontract to local men for 30,000 or
 oore yards of crushed rock, to be de-
 vered on the big roadway.
 " J. Lauck and A. P. Schott have
 ;oned the contract and given bond
 for fulfllment
 After negotiations covering several
 ,,oeks the commissioners and others # eeking to work out a plan that would
 ot only save the district money, but
 ronld keep thousands of dollars at Il ome thru the employment of labor, s'tbe end seems now accomplished, and
 the saving to taxpayers thru the use z,f Polk county crushed stone in com
 arison to gravel from Sevier county,
 estimated at between $50,00O s, nd s6O,000, great part of which is be saving in freight under the pres
 snt rates, which are so high as to be
 slmost prohibitive in handling road 8naterial.
 Direct Benefit to Farmers.
 Everyone knows that in Polk county
 he one thing that does more to make Farming strenuous and often unpleas-
 ,t is the superabundance of rocks on he land. And, many a good man has
 potten weary of the battle and gone
 fo some country far less desirable otherwise in order to escape the rocks. # And now, The Star is informed, it is the intention of the men contracting r .-L. .,.,,cka1 rfa To kh< I. sNay to pay the farmers and others slong the highway to deliver the soil tncumbering boulders to the right-of- s%ay.
 q When these boulders have been de- zlivered, portable crushers will be used IN crush them to required size, and they will then be spread and rolled 2into the roadway.
 This layer of hard surface is to be AB inches in thickness, after thoro
 compacting, by rolling. Then will torne 31a inches of Sevier county zgravel, making hard surface of 8 sinches in all.
 That Gravel Contract. $ Mir. Hood states that when the lief eommission, makes a statement re- earding the advance payments made to the rock company for gravel, this scomprising the $15,000 which was not alIowed by Judge Finger in recent Excitement. It has a direct bearing on Ethe price of gravel, as contracted by Sthe commissioners, which is 80 cents Fper yard, and the prevailing price at (which the same product is being sold afo all other road districts, which is Esl per yard.
 Mr Hood states that when the Je- sterson Highway contract was being &made the rock company faced the ne- ztessity of heavy investments for a &team shovel and other equipment. At sthe time the retrenchment movement Ehad started and it was almost impos- Bible to borrow money. In this emer- Egency, after several conferences, the Company agreed, if the commissioners would make certain advance payments, Ito sell gravel at 80 cents to the Polk scounty district. The commissioners Figured it meant a flat saving to the .district of near $8,000, and believed Ithey would be ready for gravel, and, would be receiving gravel, long before sall the advance payments asked, $20,- s000 in all, had been made. With this Ebelief, and after securing first class bond to protect the district, they Emade certain advance payments, in Fall s15,000 They yet believe the 8course was good business and will Isave the district money.
 They believe, too, that the purchase Iof the Ford car was good business, and Iis justified on that basis. It was Bought at the regular established .price, this being, with certain needed |euuipment, S609.70. It was used for Twenty months for carrying commis- |sloners, contractors, engineers, assess 6sors and officials of the National Fos- lest on necessary trips. The S6S7.24 'charged as maintenance covered all |gas. oil, tires, repairs. etc, for the .twenty months. and an itemized and sworn statement is on file covering this expense. The ear was finally sold for S275, which was turned back to the district.
 The commissioners believe if the lear had not been bought. but service fears hired instead for the necessary work the cost would have been much |more.
 The Coyle Expense Account. 1t will be remembered that among Ithe items not allowed by Judge Finger, IS an item of $94.46, expenses of Alex |Coyle of Grannis, a commissioner. Mir. Coyle, as soon as notified, sent a |eheck covering the amount.
 But here are some facts covering this item
 Mir. Coyle had, until very recently, believed he was entitled to his ex- pense allowance when on actual work |as commissioner. When, believing this, ne made up his statement, with vouch- Iers, totalling $756.2O. Then he found that the law did not allow any expense account while he was serving Tn his own county. He then filed an amended account for $66174, a diff ference of $94.46.
 Bearing on this, and showing an ele- ment of injustice, is the fact that Mir. Coyle is frequently called to Mena on business for the district. His actual expense on such trip. railroad fare, hotel and meals, is $5.60, while his total pay for the days service is but 50. In other words he has to give a days time and 60 cents each time he is