$1.50 PER ANNUM
NEWARK, INDEPENDENCE COUNTY, ARKANSAS, THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1920
VOL. 19 NO. 40
COMMISSIONER MAKES
STATEMENT lONCERNING
>.4
To The Newark Journal.—
I desire to make the following
statement with regard to Road 1m- j
provement District No. 4, and my
connection with the same, in order
that the public may be informed as
to the facts in the case.
To begin with, 1 have always favor
ed the construction of a good road
through the section of country em
braced in this district, as a means of
helping to open up and develop a vast
area of very fertile country. Good;
roads are one of the most essential
iactors in the progress, development,
and prosperity of a country, and 1
have always seen great possibilities
for the future of that particular sec
tion of our county traversed by this
proposed highway; a road that is in
my opinion one of the most import
ant that has been projected in our
county.
The following are some of my
reasons for laying particular stress
upon the value and importance of this
road: The construction of the State
Highway from Mammoth Spring to
Batesville, the contract for which h :
already been let, and the building of
the proposed highway from Bates
ville to Newark, will mean a great
deal to our county and will add much
to the material progress and advance
ment of a large section of the state
north and west of us. But we need
an outlet, or a connecting link, from
this highway to the main line of the
great North Arkansas Highway, lead
ing from Hot Springs to Little Rock
and north to the Missouri line.
The construction of the road from
Newark to Paroquet Bluff, as pro
posed under the law creating Road |
Improvement District No. 4, and its.
extension to Newport, will afford out
people, and not only our own people
but also those of the upper counties
an all-the-year-round road connecting
with the main line of the North Ark
ansas Highway at Newport. And
with the building of the proposed
highway from Newport to Brinkley,
we will then have a direct connecting
line of road with the famous Bank
head Highway into Memphis. I say
this road as proposed in Disrtiet 4
will be an all-the-year-round road be
cause of the fact that the route se
lected is practically above overflow.
Beginning at the corporation line of
Newark and following the railroad to
Paroquet, the road then turns south
about one-half mile, running thence
eastward along a high ridge'to Black
river. The route from the railroad
to Paroquet Bluff is not a new one,
but is one that was selected by the
early settlers of this country more
than 75 years ago, when they estab
lished the old Batesville and Memphis
r ad before the war. The route was
chosen, no doubt, because of the fact
that it sicorded passage practically
ad the year without molestation from
high waters from the White and
Black rivers.
As to the Jackson end of the road
has never been any doubt about
'.hat end of the road being built. The
wpnrt Chamber of Commerce, the
County Judge, and many prominent
business men of Newport, have given
ample assurance that the Jackson
county end of the road will be built.
When the movement was launched
n Newark to build the Cord road
and the Paroquet road, a meeting of
the citizen was called. The meet
ing was attended by a goodly number
of the representative citizens of the
community and wras presided over by
J.B.Ketchcm who was mayor of New
ark at that time. After a general
discussion of road matters, it was the
unanimous decision of the citizens
present that two roads should be
built one to Cord and one to Paro
quet Bluff. The route for both roads
was thoroughly discussed, and resuit
1 ii the selections as embodied in
law cheating the two districts
V.ian . came to the selection of
i nnnissioners for the roads, this mat
. also was discussed, and W. W
. : lies: , D. C. Selvidge and myself
• elected commissioners for Pare
qui t Distict No. 4, while G. M. Fields,
P. S. Fortune and W. J. Herrington
were elected commissioners for Cord
District No. 3
Pursuant to a motion duly made
and adopted by the meeting, the
chairman appointed T. H. Bearing and
myself as a committee to go to Little
Pock and have a bill framed and se
em its passage by the legislature
.voting the two districts, the legis
lature being in session at that time.
Upon our arrival in Little Rock, the
Don’t trust to luck. Luck is untrustworthy.
Systematic, scientific striving for any
goal is far more likely to bring you suc
cess than any mere faith in your success.
Just as changing a single letter changes “Luck” to
“Lack,” so will the reverses of a single day change
plenty to want. But you can insure yourself against
this by building yojr success on the habit of saving.
Save arid Win
I?e well dressed. Make friends. Increase your in
fluence in your community. Enjoy the respect of
all your associates.
These things do not come to those who trust to
luck for them. Systematic saving v ill win them for
you. Systematic saving
will accumulate for you
a small fortune that can
safely and readily be
expanded to a large one.
Decide on a regular de
posit and start deposit
ing NOW.
OOOOQQGO
TKECEtVING TELIE
The First National Bank
NEWARK, ARKANSAS A
C. M. Edwards, President, W. W. Jernigam Cashier
G. M. Fields, Vice Pres. T. M. Harrelson, Asst.Cfihier
RUTLEDGE-McDONIEL
I
Odell Rutledge and Miss Maude Mc
Doniel, two of this section of the
county's most prominent young peo
ple were united in marriage on last
Saturday afternoon, at the home oi
Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Mayhan. The
ceremo'ny was said by Squire J. H.
Fetzer.
After the ceremony the bride and
groom, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs.
Mayhan, journeyed to the home of
the bride’s mother, near Sulphur Rock
where a sumptuous wedding supper
was served, and on Sunday, dinner
for friends and relatives of the newly
weds was served at the home of the
groom’s parents.
The bride is one of the Sulphur
Rock neighborhood’s most .estimable
young ladies, and is a daughter of
the late Rev. .J. H. McDoniel. The
groom is a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. W.
Rutledge who reside north of town
and is a successful young farmer.
The Journal joins the many friends
of this excellent young coupel in
wishing them a full measure of hap
piness and prosperity in their wedded
life.
—,--— .. ...
LITTLE LOIS GENE MAGNESS
Lois Gene Magness, the four
months old daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
E. G. Magness, died at their home j
last Sunday after a brief illness of
pneumonia.
Thus over a happy home the shad-!
ovv of a little grave has fallen; and i
it is wonderful how long a shadow a
little grave can cast. This beautiful
baby life was so precious and . >
fraught with blessings for her par
ents that she seemed a flower of
Paradise permitted to bloom for a
brief season by their side, then re
called by the angels, . leaving- the
home dark and lonely.
Sometimes these precious litre
flowers droop and die, hut their deli
cate little face inspires us to hope j
and perfumes our lives with thoughts;
of purity.
The sunshine of love could not
warm her to life nor the affection of
parenthood beguile her from drooping.
Her breath went out like the sweetly
fragrant flower of the woodland, and j
in her stead was left only a holy ami!
beautiful memory—a memory that)
will last as long as parental existence.;
The funeral was held at the resi- j
deuce Monday afternoon, Rev. E. W.;
Nelson conducting the services, and;
i1 ' little body was tenderly laid to
rest in Blue Springs cem terv.
first thing we did was to consult the
State Highway Department. We
were given certain definite informa
tion as to what would be necessary to
do, if we desired to secure state an
federal aid. One point made clear
to us by the State Highway Depart
ment was that a road district and .
drainage district could not be com
bined, and that under the federal law
providing state and federal aid, we
must confine ourselves strictly to
road construction and could not form
a combination road and drainage dis
trict—that road districts and drain
age districts were two separate and
distinct enterprises and could not be
combined under the head of a road
district. We accordingly had a bhi
framed conforming to the instruc
tions of the State Highway Depar:
ment, as we thought it desirable to
secure as much state and federal aid j
as possible.
1 would like to state just here that
the law creating our two districts and
the law creating the Clark County
Highway District are identical copies
and that there are now 90 miles of
road actually under construction in
Clark county under the provisions of
this law.
After the passage of the law cre
ating our districts and its approval
by Governor Brough, the commission
ers met at Batesville and organized
by electing myself as Chairman and
W. W. Magness secretary. We em
ployed S. M. Casey as attorney and
John T. Tharp as clerk of the board.;
The commissioners endeavored at all!
times and in all matters, to proceed!
carefully and cautiusly as possible,
endeavoring to keep well within the I
i aw.
After consulting with other engi
r.c-eis, the commissioners made a con
tract with Dickinson & Watkins. In
company with Mr. Dickinson of the
above firm, Mr. Magness and myself
went over the route of the proposed
' o ;. Information^was given by Mr.
Magness as to the currents of water
and the general lay of the land with
in the district. Mr. Dickinson stated
that it would be the pail of wisdom
to tak„- care of the water with lateral
ditches, and advised against attempt
ing to dig a canal large enough to
carry the water the entire length of
the road. All the commissioners
agreed with this view of the engineer.
In fact, all actions of tire board of
commissioners were unanimous until
it came to the matter of making ap
plication for state and federal aid.
At about this stage of the proceed
ings, some opposition developed
among certain parties in Newark who
thought they saw an opportunity to
have the road district drain their land
at the expense of the taxpayers.
When the resolution asking for
State and federal aid came before the
board of commissioners for adoption,
Mr. Magness refsued to vote for ic.
The general law governing these mac
ters provides that the resolution ask
ing for state and federal aid must be
adopted by the unanimous vote of the
board of commissioners. On the basic
of apportionments made for other
roads in Independence ccunty, this dis
trict would have received about $10,
000, which it was deprived of by the
‘.ion of one of the commissioners. [
It is estimated by the engineers |
chat it will cost $15,000 more to build
this road and dig a canal of sufficient j
size to carry the water the entire
length cf the road, than it will cost j
to build the road and take care of j
.he water with lateral ditches follow-j
ing the natural flow of the water, j
Personally, I had no choice as to how j
the water was to be taken care of,pro- j
vided it could be done at no addition- !
al expense to the district. But 1 do j
object to taking the road from under
the Supervision of the State High- j
way Department, thereby causing the .
district to lost $10,000 state and fed- ;
cial aid that we are entitled to, and j
the placing of an additional burden of j
$15,000 on the district in order to j
drain the land of a few individuals at;
the expense of the district. I do not
think it right to tax land lying along
Data creek, and land lying along
White river, to build a road, and then
divert the- money to drain land that i;
already embraced in a drainage dis
trict. Let the drainage district take
care of its own problems, and not at
tempt to shift its burdens upon the
road district.
But that is exactly what the >p .
ponents of the present law arc at-1
tempting to do. Their plan is to
start the road at the intersection of
Main and Front streets in the town
cf Newark, in order to divert the
water from the town branch into the
road and force the road district to
take care of this water, as well as
drain -ill the lands adjacent to the
road from Newark to Paroquet, where
they would end the road. To do this
will cost $15,000 extra, and under
their plan to remove the district from
the supervision of the State Highway
Department, the district will lose $10,
000 state and federal aid. This
means that it will cost $25,000 more j
to build the road under their plan I
h n it will cost to build it under th<
lav/ as it now stands. Are the tax
payers of the district willing to pay:
this difference, merely in order to af
ford free drainage for a few ra n
who ought to be willing to drain their ;
own land ?
If the present law is permitted t
stand, all the preliminary v. . rk 1
done—and has been well done. If the
law is changed, the engineers sunny,
and all other preliminary work will
necessarily have to be done over,.
which will entail quite an additional'
unnecessary expense on the district.
The assessments were made on the
basis cf the 1917 assessment—which
is very low—so low in fact that tiv
rate had to be made high in otv. r
to raise sufficient funds to build the
road and dig no canal. If the 1 w 3
changed to conform to the wishes o:
those who are most directly interest
ed in its repeal, can they build a road
and dig a drainage canal without
alsing the rate?
Water cannot be diverted from -
natural course by road districts, as
this comes under the head of drain
age districts. So in order to be able
to combine the two, the opponents cf
the present law want to take the
matter entirely out of the hands of
the Statu Highway Department and
place it in the hands of the county
court, where they probably think they
can come nearer manipulating it to J'
suit themselve than if it were* under
the supervision of the State Highway
Department.
Jn making assessments, the present
commissioners have taken due consul- j
oration of the claim:; of other districts j
entering Newark, and have levied on-1
!y a pro rata assessme ;i‘ on property •
lying in overlapping districts. This j
in.; been done in order to avoid mak-;
anyone.
There can be no logical reason fori
changing the present law except to j
benefit a few individuals personally,
if the people or - >„• di tri<*t want the
road built on i . •• and most
economical plan, it would be wc>! for
seme of the citizens of the district to;
circulate a remonstrance against
changing the law, and have the same i
presented io the legislature when the
special Session convenes on January
2G.
C. P VAUGHAN, Sr. I
Chairman of Board, of Commissioners i
of Road Improvement Dist. No. 1
BIG BOTTOM FENCING
DISTRICT ELECTION
The land owner- of Big Bottom:
i'cncir: • IF ti 1«, hold their regular
election at the Mayor'* office in New- j
vli. January 3, \. IQ, tor the purpose}
•>f •: ItrlitTin re Commissioners to j
. orvc the real .wo year. . Will Wal
diip, E, D. House and E. H. William
son were put in noihination and elect
ed
The Commissioners were instructed j
to condemn all pasture fences not ■
having at least four barbed ’wires i
. round such pasture and Good and
i ubstantial posts ever sixteen feet, I
where cattle and horses are pastured.:
Where hogs and other small animals
pastured, the fence must bo as the:
State law provider. If pastures are;
wires around same, the stock marshal,
is authorized to take up and impound :
stock found therein as loose stock, j
as the Big Bottom Fence District j
fcaws provide. The Commies; mu t\3
were further instructed to maintain \
the fence only where it is not,enemn-:|
' ereck by pasture and field fences.
W. J.* WALDRIP,
E. H. WILLIAMSON,
E. I). HOUSE.
Commissioners.!
-o
Dr. R. L. Turley, dentist, recently
oi Ban Terre, Mo., has located in
Newark for the practice of his pvo
fession. He has offices in the Ma
sonic building.
WHISNANT POULTRY
WINS MANY PRIZES
• X WINS FRIZES AND
. uLS GOOD POULTRY AT
FANCY PRICES
nt of the Paroquet
!, v, ho operates the most
■ !-. ultry farm in North Ark
iransacting business in
nt ; s helping to put this
. on U." map in a manner
more than passing men
. i Journal is glad to note
, if did success. x
: thwest Arkansas Poultry
. y held at Magnolia Mr.
:i ' c.st and second prizes
Leghorns. In competition
■ • Leghorns from seven dif
\s, Mr. Whisnant’s chickens
v. following prizes :
ai : second old pen; first cock
nd ben; champion cocker
, t ■ entire Mediterranean class.
i, :.ni, the above prizes
. '. v> . jin won honors as to egg
lijtcio. . Thirteen of his hens aver
aged six eggs per day.
Mr. Win- .nt is one of the most
poultry breeders in the
, •. s friends will be glad to
;■ of I; winnings. While at Mag
■ : c i l fifteen chickens to Prof,
.'a p idcnt of the third state
a;.' ricultural school, for $150.
Sin s c ming home Mr. Whisnant
an o dcr from the Third
s ict A ricultural School for 25
White Leghorn pullets at one hundred
!!a: a: i an order for 1,000 baby
chicks a.1' future delivery at $200.
Hi 'arm of Mr Whisnant is one of
r t a .‘active in this section of
> . l.i yar s are always cov
!■'. d with the White Leghorn chick
of which he owns hundreds. A
trip : farm is most interesting.
BIRTHDAY DINNER
' . and Mrs. J. F. Morgan enter
\ at dinner last Sunday in honor
. Mot gun’s C7th birthday anni
vr The occasion was a most
. \;i one and was thoroughly en
joyed by all present.
:it were Judge and Mrs.
t. . V: old, Mr. and Mrs. Marion
a, dr. and Mrs.W. A. Bright
■ i V.. ii. Tomlinson, Mrs. Dove
. .i l and Mrs. Mary Eller.
r
We have Stacks ci : Vetty Rugs that we
would like to slhov yc . 1 an let you have
a good Tapestry Brussels Rug 9x12 ft for
only ?<: 2,ivOr i small 27x54 in Arcmin
ister tug, hi lev of h ereiit patterns and
colors, £ ;• f 3.50. Come in and let us show
you just ,vhat you are looking for in the
way of rugs and furniture.
I
“The Best For (he Honey”
Batesville, Arkansas