The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-03-02
The Public Roads.

ihc labor is abundant; it is the jntelli
gent application OF the labor that is most
needed"
/ This sentence was used by Judge Mackey
III hls charge to the Grand Jury of this
county, few years ago, in his remarks
on roads and road working. 1t made last
ing impression on the mind OF your cores
pondent as being the true solution of all
our troubles and difficulties on the subject
OF Keeping our public roads in good travel
ing conditions and leads him, for one. to
the conclusion that the Local of your Jour
nal is in error when he expresses Tie opi1,-
ion that the present system Of keeping un
the public roads is insufficient for the re-
quiremens of the present time" If Won
abandon the present plan, you certainly
resort to taxation, and the taxes now i'm.
| posed upon and paid by road workers are
regarded as oppressively burdensome. And
we could not reasonably expect the road
| work to be any better or more faithfully
executed if done by individuals under spe-
cial contract than it has been performed by
the contribution of labor. As evidences Of
this, witness the bridges built and repaired
under the system of special contract They
are not always faithfully and honestly nut
up, and are always subject OF speculation.
The same officers now managing both sys-
TENS conformity would control the letting
of contracts and receiving the work of road
| repairing when done, and if they have par.
TALLY failed in operating the labor system
it certainly cannot follow that they will
succeed simply because new plan has
been substituted.
We don't think the partial failure of "the
present system of keeping up the public
| roads" should be squarely denounced and q
new one called for until we have fairly and
| fully exhausted the old one As the most
costly and approved machinery, managed
by unskilled labor and unframed engineers.
may fail to satisfy the expectations of the
| owners, so the present system of road work.
| ing may fall short of accomplishing every
thing its advocates desired. and perhaps
from similar causes. The County Commits
| sioners are expected to manage this road
system with all the intelligence, skill, econ-
omy and energy that public officers are ca
pable of bestowing for the advancement OF
the interest and comfort of the people.
When complaints and dissatisfaction arise.
the County Commissioners may make n
scape goat OF the Oyerseer and in turn he
may say his hands won't work, or the num-
ber Of hands allotted to his road section are
insufficient 10 do the work. Four able
bodied hands to the mile on ordinary bad
roads are quite sufficient. There are yery
few sections that have not that number per
mile allotted to ii, while there are many
comparatively level sections of road whose
allotment exceeds that number, and they
| perhaps run over their section in half a day
once year. If this be true, it Is very un-
fair treatment of those hands, who are re-
qnired to work from three to five days to
put their section in reasonable repair. II
the hands were equitably allotted to the
several sections and their labor intelligent
ly, judiciously and faithfully applied, VIC
should hear much less complaint OF bad
roads and insufficient plans and systems of
keeping them i'll repair. We hope the un-
precedented condition of the roads ut this
time ill spur the officers, overseers and
hands TO more vigilant duty hereafter
And by way Of making n new start, let the
County Commissioners see to it that equal
justice be meted out to all classes of road
hands in the county, by fair and equita-
bic division of hands assigned to certain
sections, by numbers and in proportion to
the amount of work to be done, not omit
ting to appoint the most Intelligent man Of
each section overseer; and impress him
with the great necessity OF making an
intelligent application OF the labor under
his direction for the public veal, ease and
comfort of the weary wayfarer.
Inasmuch rs overseers in different neigh.
borhoods work on different plans and seem
20 have different objects in view, the Com
missioners would act wisely to call a con
Yeation Of overseers of roads at en- early