The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1873-09-12
better than a days work on the road. Good
| roads o,bo,,,, A. :. - - - -

roads enhance the value Of our FARMS
Mr.. Spieldenner said he travelled the roads
a good DEAL and he found many that looked
ike hog path. He observed, too, that as a
rule, the larger mans farm the smaller his
roads. Where the land is dry and nice, tie
roads are wide, and where it is poor, low and
wet. the rOads-are scarcely 20 feet wide, in
Guiding the fences. As to bridges, he said
there is only one good one in Sandusky coun-
ty, and that is on the Greensburg road. They
are bid down so low that no man can afford
to build them as they should be- We should
have bridges that are bridges, and not accept
them unless they are properly built.
MI Tucker said it was true that many far
mers are too stingy to give land enough for
decent road ; and to him it looked ridiculous.
Whenever he passed uoighborhood where
the fences are in the road, he Judged that the
persons living there are too despicably little
to live IN county where there are good roads.
Dr. Ferguson said our road laws are as old
as the State constitution, and We have grown
out of all proportion In regard to them. Our
question to-day embraces the law in regard to
roads as vel a the necessities of the present
times. The law IL not what it should be.
though 1t has answered q good purpose in
times past, and We have bean working out our
taxes by it ever since the first settlement Of
this country. It is TOO lax, and men will not
live Up to it, The most easy, careless men are
generally selected for supervisors. If one
fourth OF the time and money spent in Ball
vile township ID working on the roads were
| judieiously laid out, the roads would be bstter
than they now a-s. He favored radical
change in our road law, and hoped our mem
Der OF the Constitutional Convention would
see that sueh change is made. Taxes should
be levied for road Purposes, and the poll tax
IN money The poll tax for each man between
q and 40 is S3, but as it is usually worked
out it is not worth half that much. Many
wont do half days work, and some won't
work at all. Down in Mr.. fuckers nsighbor-
hood they work better, perhaps, than in any
other part of the county, and yet some of
theirroads have been neglected most shame
fully. Roads that have been travelled for
years and years are scarcely passable in the
spring. When law is so universally
neglected it is almost impossible to enforce il
anywhere. When the law was first made the
people were poor and did not like to pay out
money, but now we are able to do better. In
regard to the making of roads, draining is
very important. The old idea that road
must be scraped up high above the surround
ing country, so that no water can stand on it,
is fast passing away. If the land is well
underdrained it is not necessary to pike it at
all. The road bed might be raised foot and
covered with surface soil, but no water must
be allowed to stand i'll bitches alongside of if.
Then stone the road, finishing it as you go,
even if you cannot complete more than three
OF four rods year.
Mr.. Tucker said DR.. Ferguson carried tie
idea that no supervisor can get the proper
amount of work done on the road. Ii that is
the case, no supervisor should accept the Office
and take the oath. The chief trouble lies with
the supervisor. He should be man of ener-
gy public spirit and strict integrity. He him
self found but little difficulty in getting work
well done. He had 600 loads of stone put On
his roads this year, aad LILO loads last year.
lie made the number and size of the loads a
criterion for the pay, and attended to each
personally. One man hauled four small
loads, and was obliged to haul four small
ones more, before he got his pay for four
loads. man should be required to do full
service, and a supervisor should always be
fully satisfied before giving receipts. If men
win not work nor pay, let them be lined. The
present law is a good one; let it be carried
out.
Mr.. Clark said that in his neighborhood
they had no trouble to get men to do good
days work on the road. They usually
worked harder on the road than they did at
home, on the farm. He did not see how su-
pervisors could clear their oath, when they let
the people triAe away their time on the road
Mr.. Lewis said he had been supervisor three
or four times, and had trie9 to do his duty.
One year some of his nearest neighbour came
on the road late, and then wished to quit at
six o'clock and have credit for days work.
He positively refused until they made up lost
time, but he was not elected supervisor next
year. [Laughter.l
DIR. Ferguson said perhaps Tucker would not
be elected next year.
Mr.. Lewis suggested that we appoint a COM
mittee of three to present petition to Mr..
Van Valkenburg for a radical change in the
road law so that we may be able to get work
done on the road which shall be fair equiva-
lent for,the money allowed; poll tax being paid
in money.
Mr.. Tucker said the money should be ap-
piled in the district where it was paid, and
that can be done under the present law. That
the man who begrudges two days work on the
road for the government that protects him in
his rights is not fit TO live in this free country
but these very men that try TO get rid Of work
ing on the road, are generally the frat to
blame the protection Of the law.
Mr.. Lewis said he did not propose to abolish
the poll tax but to have it paid in money
which should be spent for work done by the
job to the best advantage.
DR.. Ferguson said there was no use iu
abusing persons who do not work on the road.
There are three or four in his district who re-
fuse to work and he can not enforce the col
lection of their poll tax; but if treated kindly
the will oftan come out and do a fair davis
work. We must rely for road work upon
those who pay taxes. Ii is better and cheaper
to have taxes assessed for road purposes, and
the money iudieiouslY applied under comp e.
tent Supervisors, than to let every man work
after the old way. Most men work twice as
hard On their farms as they 40 on the road.
All the road work now done in Sandusky
county can be- done for half the none that is
allowed for it.
Mr.. Tucker said he was surprised to hear
two Ballville supervisors complain that they
can not get men to work on the road, even by
law. He said he had no such trouble He
got good work done, and was able to collect
by law from any who refused to work. No
property is exempt in the collection of poll
tax. Ii a man lays down his coat it can be
taken for taxes. If he is n single man, you
can take any Of his personal property.
Mr.. McMillen said the present law is better
than the men who work under it. The chief
trouble is to get good supervisors, and the
same trouble viii meet us IN selecting a com
missioner or a supervisor on larger scale, and
there will then be more chance for corruption.
These road commissioners will not be interes-
ted in all the roads as much rs farmers are
and many back roads will be neglected. They
will not handle our money any more wisely
than we could ourselves, and they will drink
beer and wear plug hats at our expense as
sure as the world. While we have the cudgel
in our own hands lets keep it. Laughter)
The club then took vote on the question
OF abolishing the present labor system and
adopting the cash system DR.. Ferguson and
Mr.. Lewis voted in the affirmative and nearly
all the rest in the negative.
DIR. Ferguson asked which the club thought
the most profitable, grain raising or stock
raising, if a man has to hire all his labor
Mr.. Tucker said it depended entirely upon
the location and the kind of land, and Of these
n man lnnst indqa for himself