The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-06-24
Highway Bureau Shows Up
Good Record
PUTS PEP" INTO WORK
Development Program Means
Expenditure of TWenty-Six
Million Dollars
FIRST THIRTY DAY SHOWING
UNDER 'BABCoCk PLAN.

Three million dollars year main
tenance force organized. More than
l 900 patrolmen and twenty Ave ieets
of trucks and tractors on the job on
trunk routes.
Three million dollar of early state
improvements ordered. Contracts let
for $200,000.000 of new construction
and others to be awarded in the near
future.
Four million FIVE hundred thousand
dollars OF state county projects ap-
proved Trunk highway improve
ments with county bond funds launch
ed under state REIN bursement guar
anty p
Local road authorities relieved OF
expensive burden OF trunk highway
improvements and repairs, helped with
program OF $2l 100000 betterments on
lateral or feeder roads.
Minnesota's highway development
program, to pull the state out OF the
Inuu and into the front OF good roads
ranks, is rapidly passing from the plan
to the actual performance stage, &C
cording to official figures given out
this week by the state highway de-
pal tment.
Road funds from all sources and for
all purposes in Minnesota this year
will aggregate $26,333, 900, as an
nounced, and will include $13.85O,OO0
OF automobile tax revenue, federal aid
and county bond funds for use on
trunk highways, and $12,500,000 OF
local tax funds and state aid for i'm
provements and repairs on laterals or
feeder roads. County bond funds us
ed, more money will be available In
future years for feeder than for trunk
roads, it was explained.
Charles Nj. Babcock, state highway
commissioner, with John H. Mullen.
assistant commissioner and CHIEF
highway engineer, and other staff
county road authorities, is working to
spread benefits as rapidly as possible.
The highway program for this season
is we'll under way, official figures show
although less than sixty days have
passed since the legislature of 1921
put Good Roads Amendment No. l
into effect, releasing funds and grant
ing necessary authority. Preliminary
work was done quickly, however, and
big developments are shown during
the last thirty days.
A list of new construction projects
on which nearly 100000 of state
and county funds Is to be spent and
which are located in nearly fifty wide
ly scattered sections Of the state was
recently given out by o. l.. Kipp and
]. T. Ellison, chief engineers on con-
struction and bridges, respectively.
About $3,500,000 Of these are already
under contracts, the department an
nounced, and a call for bids will be
made soon on the remaining and other
projects.
w. F.. Rosenwald, chief maintenance
engineer, and his assistant, Engineer
M. J. Hoffman, announced that 1908
patrolmen, one for each five to eight
mile section of trunk highway, are
now at work keeping the roads
smooth, also that fleets made up of
more than forty tractors and 100
trucks are giving the patrolmen spec
ial help when necessary to put their
sections in good shape for mainten-
ance. Names of patrolmen on roads
hereabouts are to be given out soon.
Road authorities In the counties are
giving full CO operation, Commission
er Babcock said, and to date condi-
lions point to a successful year in
spite of the unavoidable late start.
Speed-Breaking Bumps Proposed.
Speed maniacs are not only the
target for criticism in newspapers,
from public spirited citizens and even
road patrolmen who fear for their
lives, but make a serious problem for
the highway department, Commits
sioner BabCock said recently:
I'VE are building and maintaining
good smooth highways, but We cannot
police them, too, under the law" the
commissioner added. That is prim-
arily a matter for the sheriffs of the
h
ways are involved. But we will be
glad to cooperate as far as possible
to insure public safety in this as well
as other directions"
Counties which are employing sher
iff's deputies for road policing on mo-
torcycles find the plan more than
self sustaining. fines exceeding the
expense, 1t was reported.
Speed breaking bumps, described as
bumps that will be hardly felt at a
25- mile pace but will almost throw
occupants from cars driven faster
than 40 miles an hour, were suggested
but Commissioner Babcock said he
was not ready to subscribe to the idea.
Farmers Roads Come First.
The fact that the >Babcock plan is
primarily to provide a good road to
every Minnesota farm gate and not
merely automobile boulevards is be-
ing emphasized by the present com
paign for good federal aid legislation.
That it makes available approximate
ly 100000 a year for the less ex-
pensive though larger system of feed
er roads than for the heavy traffic
trunk routes has been pointed out by
state highway officials in the move
ment in which farmers and other or
CARNATIONS joined later.
Farmers" roads get first consider
alton under the Minnesota highway
plan. This primarily an agricultural
state and farmers roads must have
that place. Anything that will hinder
the farmers of the state has no part
in the program" said the commits
sioner. ~
The same policy will apply under
the intent of the new law regulating
the use of cleats and Jugs on wheels
on Minnesota highways, Commission
er Babcock, said, to allay the fears
of threshermen. Mud hooks are bar
red as rule he explained, but the
use of Jugs will be permitted when
necessary.
Neither the highway department
nor the farmers want roads careless
ly torn up and damaged, and we count
on the threshermen using good judg-
ment to avoid it." he said.
Minneapolis Flour.
Minneapolis. June 22.-Flour unchanged