The Chickasaw messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1880-1900, 1881-04-28

own good We have had g sprln
working. But they are still wis
they should not be. And when II
fall comes and the crops begin Z
get ready for market We shall b
where We have been. with bad road
and loud complaints. A writer ia ID
! n. G. Farmer and Mechanic speaks Q
the roads Of his State as follows; an.
what he says applies with still NOR,
force to our own section. Are We I,
profit by his hints
The miserable public roads o
North Carolina, not only disgust the
emigrant and capitalist, whom We in
vite 10 come aud settle among Us
but they actually retard our agricul-
tuIsl developments to such q deere,
that they may well be termed-thl
lock-that locks up agriculture
During the summer and early fall, ID,
roads are firm, but rough. The holei
dished out during the winter anl
spring, are still there, and the ditch,
long since transferred into the road
reminds as that light vehicles wer,
made for the towns, not the country
The road overseer, that ubiquitous
individual, having seized all the handl
in the neighborhood, (the great ma
iority Of whom feel no iltegea. In th,
road, snd have only come to put In
their slime" and listen to "the road
hand yarn, the wonder Of an hour ~
traverses the rosd, cutting a few
emblematieal pine tops, plaOes then
heFe and thero, with q few shovell
Of dirt on each, leaving enough ex-
posed to attract the eye Of the passel
by, and warn him that next winter
this place will be as tough as tar,
pitch and turpentine. The agricul-
turis.s has the least use for the pub
lie roads in summer and the early fall
than at other seasons Of the year
Then, his whole time is required in
"making" and harvesting his crops.
In the late fall and winter the crops
are marketed, and IN the spring the
fertilizers are hauled to the farm.
When "the winter rains set in" The
roads commence to cut up, and
farmer vies with farmer, 10 plOWing
the public roads with his wagon
cutting one, two, three, and not un-
frequently, in places from from ten
to fifteen inches deep. A farmer
living ten miles from his market
town, nine miles Of the road good and
one mlle had, is compelled to load
his wagon not with the number OF
bales Of cotton he can draw over the
nine miles OF road good, but with
the number of bales Of cotton be can
draw over the one mile OF bad road,
and that one mile is generally adjoin.
ing the market town. Having given
the public roads much attention for
the last tea years, am firmly con-
yinced that the marketing Of aaF
crops costs-as ip transportation three
times what il should do. Isnot that
alone an erroneous tax. | will leave
this part Of the subject for the pies
ent, aud call attention to another
clock" that strikes the agricultural
lists n heavy blow. When the farmer
has housed his crops, repaired his
barn, aud finished blowing the public
roads with his wagon, he goes into
winter quarters, and like the bear, to
say there until spring,-his family
you may say in prison. Ask your
neighbor. who has made the trip on
horseback to see you, why he did not
bring his wife or daughter The roads
are too bad. When you summon
courage enough to return his visit
do you take your wife or dsughter
With you? No, the Foada are too
bad Winter ihe farmers leisure time
brings no social enjoyments, no
social gatherings. Is it any wonder
that so little feiloW-feeling exist be-
tween farmers, and each knows so
little Of his neighbor ? Is it any won
der that country lassie prefers to
marry a tawusman instead Of far
mers She thinks she must break
"the lock, aud hear no more forever
at is true, my dear, the horses
are al ia the stable, but The roads are
too bad" Is 1t any wonder that our
young men are docking TO the towns,
accepting places that barely support
themg They, too, think that sit is
not all Of life 20 live"--locked up.
And is it any wonder that we feel
older at forty than we should at sixty,
this prison life is telbng upon Us.
Farmers give rs your views how
this lock can be broken.