Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-11-30

pUt y 1Or In e6F
1915 Of the Code Of Tennessee.
To go before the grand jury, at each
tsrm of the court in their rerectivs
counties, and make statement under
oath, of the condition CT the public
roads in their respective counties. Fol-
failure to make such appointment ans
statement to the grand jury, they shall
be fined at the discretion OF the court
To prosecute before some justice OF
the pea }, any overseer who refuses or
fails to perform the duties required oi
them by this act, Or who refuses 10
obey the orders of said commission.
| ere.
The commissioner should be 8 man
Of experience, who knows how to
build durable roads and so to Instruct
his overseers. He SHOULD be q man
with the same sorG of personal
pride in having good roads as
such enterprislng men as the Hon.
! Perez Dickinson has in farming.
| Among other duties the commissioners
must personally supervise and instruct
the overseer what to do and how to
have it done. One bad place in the
roads properly repaired will last for
years, but repaired superfciously, as is
| generally the case, it does not usually
last the season out. The commission
er's bondsmen are made responsible
that he does his duty in compelling
others to do theirs. The commission
er is the general in command and is
held responsible. It is true axiom
THAT whatever is everybody's busi-
ness ia nobody's business
| whoever Is summoned to work and
neglects to do 80, shall pay the sum of
81 per day in money, and shall not be
allowed to make it up in labor there's
after. This will result advantageously
to the counties as money can be made
more serviceable in hiring labor at the
right time.
The privilege of paying the ST. per
day instead Of working ia very great
to the farmer, who may be, when sum.
moned to work in the midst of his
harvesting or other equally important
labor, for good roads must have timely
attention.
That it shall be the duty OF
the county court to work
the county convict3 on all first
class or trunk roads, p rovided there is
enoug b of such hands to justify COM
mencing at the county seat and work
ing out, but the said county court
shall not work such convict labor on
any one road more than six months at
any one time, until the other first
class roads in their turn shall receive
their proportion of such labor, the inn
pOrtance OF said first-class roads to the
said county, being taken into consider
alton by the said county court. The
said labor so ordered shall be under the
| general supervision of the commits
sioner.
1.-THE law making it penitentiary
offense for any sum over ten dollars
was amended, and thirty inserted, the
various counties would have more
than double the number to work on
the roads than they now have. This
amendment may not be feasabIe, but
it ought to 10 looked into by our legis-
lators. The bill also provides: "That
all able.bodied male inhabitants, be-
tween the ages of eighteen and forty
five years, having resided in the dis
trict one month, shall be subject to
work on the public roads, but not to
exceed four days in one year.n
Now this provision protects the la
boring classes from being summoned
for more than four days out of the
year. As:the law now stands they can
be made to work any mum.
Der of days. To improve our
roads we must have more work
more money, more system and an in
telligent head to supervise and push
the work. 1t is unjust for the poor
classes to have all the labor and the
property owners nearly all the profit,
OF course all alike are interested and
should have laudable pride in their
citizenship to cheerfully do their part
Good roads are demanded in the inter.
est of retrenchment and reform. The
great objection to the bill was the tax
on real estate and that opposition
seemed to me to be very selfish and
pennywise.
A tax of ten cents on the one hun.
dred dollars for farmer who owns 0
farm worth $1,000, say thirty miles
from Knoxville, would only be the
paltry sum of $5. 1t is safe to say
that the breakage of one two-horse
wagon and the extra wear and teal
would amount to twice that sum. The
extra expense in hauling his products
over bad roads, in time, injury tc
horses, expense of feeding, eating, etc,
and nearly double the number of trip:
necessitated, would be more than tn,
amount of his real estate tax twenty
times. Good roads increases the values
ofreal estate, opens up the hidden treas.
ures in our mountains. The farmers
profits are small and are unnecessarily
fritted away in the expense incurred liz
getting their products to markets. The
Legislator who champions bill and
effects its passage thereby laying the
foundation for such grand resulte, will
be entitled to great praise. Governor
Hawkins will no doubt do all he can
to assist in the passage of such bill
for he must realize, after traversing
our mountain country in his late cam
vsss, that the apathy and inaction of
our people is standing in the wav of
| the realization of the bountiful gifts
that Divine Providence has placed
| within our grasp.--
Thousands from abroad have visited
Tennessee who find our china q
adapted to their wants-who find our
people hospitable and inviting and who
de3ire to purchase lands and settle
among US. One trip into the country
through the mud discouragC and dis
gusts them, and they pack up and
leave our state for other localitie 1.
where they can follow agricultural
pursuits with some degree of comfort
and profit.
There Is no sense or justice in ex-
pecting that the poorest of our land.
who outnumber by far all others.
will give their labor cheers
fully for others benefit. We all have
a duty in this matter ID perform, and
let every man do all he can to help