The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-12-19
COUNTY ROADS.

he one and the productions OF tho
,ther, more rapidly, surely and oheoply
han that Of macadamiaing, or other
character OF improvements upon the
county roads Leading into the city An
extensive systom Of improvements
should be at once inaugurated, Nor
should it be confined TO three or four
important and mainly used roads but
II should extend TO every public road
IN all directions within the county,
The present seasons experience demN
most clearly and conclu'
siycly the tremendous Importance OF
these roads, II matters not if they are
obstructed by the depth Of the mud or
by the volume of water in tho streams,
or other impedments, the result is the
same, Tho farmer remains in ingloN
rious inactivity at home, while the
merchant sits idly in his store
and prays for sunshine AZ
the only relief possible, Now
trustlul reliance upon the Deity is
all right 80 far as it goes, but we must
rely altogether upon our own efforts,
assisted by the county commissioners,
to furnish an adequate remedy for the
distress of which we complain,
We do not assume TO say ho'o the
remedy shall be applied, nor indeed
what it shall be, but we do say, that
neither Dallas city nor county dare
longer ignore the evil of impossible
roads. Our rainy season occurs in vim
ter, lust at the season when our cotton
and other products are to be marketed.
Tho delay accustomed by the impossible
roads clogs and otherwise seriously in
terleres with business, and the county
does not recover from the evil conse-
duences until we have what is termed Il
dry winter. In the case of the city, the
loss is positive and irremediable. Points
which, during good weather, invariably
send their produce to Dallas, send it to
the nearest station and it is whirled
off to distant market where the supN
plies are bought which Dallas ought in
every sense to sell How many bales
Of cotton were lost to her by reason OF
the bad weather of this winter, no one
can tell exactly, but any one can see
that the number is n vast one, and the
influence eXerted by this circumstance
has been injurious to degree almost
beyond belief, Now, then, we appeal
to every intelligent man in the county,
as well as in the commissioners court,
to say if there is any other subject
which takes precedence OF this, either
in the urgency OF the necessity or the
gravity of the interests involved. We
subscribe money and levy tax to build
court houses, gas and water works, rail
roads, and the like, but ignore this, one
Of the most immediate and pressing
wants of the day 1t is high time We
should change front on this subject
and bend every energy to the improves
ment of the highways and passways Of
the comfy, The progress, prosperity and
advancement Of every country is sure
ly marked by the condition and charac
ter of its highways. From the days Of
imperial Rome until the present this
subject has engrossed the attention oil
the wisest rulers of the people in al
lands. The 'reat Napoleon, after con
quering Europe, found nothing of more
Importance to employ the energies o
France with than in the improvement
of her highways, and toNday, among
the proudest monuments to his mem
DRY, are the magnificent roads radia
ting from Paris to every part of hi
once proud empire, SO, too is twill
us We can employ our cnergie
in no nobler enterprise, w,
can spend money at nothing
else which will pay better presen
dividend or which promises more 70
the future. We trust our citizens anC
county and city authorities will look II
the matter in its proper light, and tina
energy and practical application o
the theory will at once take the plac,
of clouly speculation.