The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1881-02-25
Our Public Roads.

Our Public Roads.
One correspondent p well states some palp-
able truths about our roads. We agree with
him tlIit the road law should he go changed as
TO make every wagon and team liable to road
duty; and it seems to US that as wagons ami
teams use the roads more than individuals and, ,
consequently, are more injured by bad >Soads,
their owners are more interested in having good |
roads nni should be willing to assist in keeping |
them in order. We see no justice in compelling |
n man who does not vehicle, horse or
mule, to work the roads or pay c.mmutatioh !
tax for that purpose, while his neighbors. being |
personally exempt from road duty, from what |
| ever causes, but whose teams travel the roads
continually, not required. by law to DO their
share of such necessary public work AS good
roads essential to the comfort and pros
pcrity of the people as good Laws we hope the
matter of changing the road law will be made
n prominent subject for discussion ut the next
election.
AS to the manner Of working the roads, we
Il" not feel that we are capable of giving much
reliable instruction. That must be left to the
| superior skill and knowledge of our Board of
| County Commissioners and the ovcrscers they
!
! the means at their command and we feel conf
dent they will do their duty fully and faith
| fully.
| Eu,, af,cr such n rcmarkaUi1 winter ee we
have had, we think the people in those parts of
| the County where the roads almost i'm
rassablc, should not depend altogether upon
the work required by law but make n common
cause Of it and help the Ovcrsccrs, by all turn
ing out ut some appointed time and mend the
worst parts of the roads, Mt least. We learn
that near Mr.. Mabrys Saw Mil, on the Howell .
Ferry road, wagons compelled to turn into
the field, rs the road is now impassnblc AS
soon ~ plow!ng commences the fcid route will
have to DC abandoned and if something is not
done to the road all passing will be stopped
We are told that there are slabs belonging to
citizens around and sawJust at the mill TO make
the road passaLlc This is only one out Of IA
number Of cases lately brought to our attention
in the County, aud in most cases ii would not
cost n days work each if every one in the neigh
borhood would do his fair share o: the work.
The fact is, everybody grumbes about the
bad roads AMI everybody 'rics to shrk his hon,
est share of duty 10 put them in order. There
where the difficulty lies. Everybody kmowS how
roai ought to be worked and cvcrybo iy takes
precious good to do as little as possible, ex
ccrt to grumblc at what is or is not icnc.
II High Prices of Property and Rents in Now York
r To uS rural citizcns who think that 81 j,OOl
OF $1,000 is high price to pay for house will
c enough ground arounl it for a garden, an or
t chari and a cow pasture, the following prices
{ for houses, with no' foot Of lanl more than
c their walls cover, will appear the very extreme
t Of cXiortion and if we were askcl to pay "S2 ),
Il 600 rent for two small rooms in the rim story
of II budding we would just say couin'
and w"uldn t do tive i rather live out of doors
than pay such cx"rhitant rents. But in the
great city Of New York they not only pay sucl,
prices but ret rich under them. \ SQUARE foot
cay VIII readily cOmmanl more moucy than
loO acres of the best land in Union County,
The following. taken from New York letter
to the N''rs ""d r""ricr, will give our realcrs
t II faint ilca of what it costs to do business in
) the great metropolis
liy consulting The tax registers it has recently
! been found that the Astors own loo houses in
New orE OF an average value uf $40, 900 and
II renting value of Si,UOO Therefore when thc
ASi"rS decide upon increasing their rent Il ten
s per cent II means that more than u thousand OF
% pa
500 apiece more than they did last year or m
aggregate of -, ,l11.O 900 instead of : 600 uoD
which they paid last year. As the Astors have
an income Of several millions beside that com
ing from their real estate and inves. their sur-
plus entirely IN real estate. always buvinr and
: never selling anything. il follows that their list
OF dwelling and houses, business goes on i'm.
creasing 1T the rate of ABOUT one hundred pieces
"i property a year. Dhe builiing in Wall street
was bought last month hv John jacob AStnr for
S'Op,un This year the toclcts Stuyvcsnu,s
ami other large holders of real estate have fol-
lowed the Ast"rs' example and have put up rents
from ten 20 hitccn per ccnium. and in the br ii
. ness part OF the city much more in many IN stan.
/ ccS. MI our newspapers engaged in
finding out why rents. especially downtown
should 80 up so rapidly. II was thought that
the ncighborhoCd of the Stock Exchange ana
the tust0mhuuSe had seen its best days. but
within The last fortnight tenants whc thought so
have been rulcly awakened. \ friend of mine
who nnys $1,000 year for two small rooms on
the hth story Of n building was informed last
week that The rcnt would he $1,000 from IN ,
first If May. the landlord concluding that if
brokers could payS%O 900 for seats in the Stock
Exchange matters must bc doing well in Wall
street. In the ncg borhood of the Produce
and Cotton Exchange il is pretty much the same
story.
For the Times
satisfactorily Explained.
The courteous explanation Of Mr. Wallace