The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-08-24
THE ROAD LAW-No. 2.
THE COMMISSIONERS " 4 BTTTN'
OFF MORE THAN THEY
CAN CID W."
REAN's STATION. Tenn, Aug. 10.

BEAMS STATION, Tenn, Aug. 10.
To the Editor of The Morristown Gazette:
As you was kind enough to print my
first letter on the Road law, make bold
to address you second. The right of
the people to scrutinize and criticize
the official acts of their public servants
I believe is conceded by all. While l
claim this right, l would not be under
stood as using it in the spirit of carp
ing or in any way personal, but with
the hope that the public interests may
be subserved and money ard labor saw
ed to the taxpayers. 1 have beard it
hintcd, by some who are in favor of the
law, that there is an unders landing
with the Hobstructionists" of the coun-
ty cOur~ and county commissioners
that the commissioners are to lay off the
work in such magnitude that the labor
assigned and the tax assessed will not
complete it. l do not entertain this
Option for a moment. / happen 10
know the commissioners of this (the "a
districO and 1 know them to be men of
Integrity and of good bu.iness qualifi-
cations. They would sporn any such
idea.
think af eT all, if they have laid off
the work as the Ovcrseer says they have
Transcribed the bounds of their author
ity aud are guilty of an error of judy
ment and are therefore subjects of fair
and friendly criticism. The law pro-
vides, if ! am not mistaken, that where
roads of the first Class are TO b ditchF6
and thrown up, they sail be eighteen
feet, and when it says eighteen il does
not mean thirty, as the work now laid
off would seem to indicate. / know,
from some very hot experience, that
the labor and tax at present assessed is
not going to be of but very little prac-
tical immediate benefit, if they are to
be expended on thirty and forty feet
road beds, 1t is but fair to the laborer
and tax payer to insist that the labor
and tax be so utilized and expended as
to he of immediate practical benefit to
the general public. This is simply i'm
possible if expended as the signs of the
times would indicate Any man of COM
mon sense knows that wide road bed
will catch more water than barrow
one, and that it requires more dirt and
other materials to leya;e it above the
common level, consequently necessi. at
ing wider and de. per ditching to get it,
hence more labor and shorter roads
when the money is gone
In my judgment, it is not depth of
titQh but elevation Vi road bod that is
best for good roads. This we can not
Lave in a forty foot lane with thirty
foot road bed and five foo. bitches, I'M
less We dig the bitches so deep tha' it
will require hosting machine to get
the dit out.
Seriously, the idea of raising thirty
fOlt road bed to perceprible degree
with the dirt out of small di'ch of
reasonable depth on each side *, to a
man who has carefully thought ab ut it,
simply ridiculous. don't care if it Is
"down in the bills" il can't be did.
In my judgment we would make mo-
ney and sage labor by employing a
competent engineer to lay off our no d.
for us, If our commissioners and over
seers cannot d - any better engineering
than this l hope no one will feel ag-
grieved at this letter, but take iC IN the
spirit in which it is intende !, and let us
all work together 10 the end that we
may give our new Road Inv a fair trial
and if gOOo results follcw, which I do
not doubt, then will we be The better
to enjoy them for having done |
oar Guty. Respectfully,