The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1882-04-05
OUR ROADS.

To the Editor OF The Mornstown Garette:
/ There seems TO be some opposition TO
the working of the present road law
This Is quite natural-as eroakers are
seen and heard in every section. You
ask them what better system can be
adopted that would have less expense
TO the county and the people2 They
will fail to give definite plan, and go
of half cooked. We hope snch infiu-
enees will go towards strengthening The
law and make it more effective. Real
estate and personal property should be
made as responsible, il not more 81, that
individual interests In keeping our
roads in repair.
The purpose of this article is TO call
the attention of the people 10 some i'm
portant facts in regard to road making
and REPAIR. Good roads are as essential
10 the farming communities as good
\ fences are to a well cultivated farm.
They give better facilities TO transport
products to market and an increased
value to the lands. TO many Of our
roads heretofore have been subject to
the whims of property holders. Apub-
lie road should haYe preference 10 loca'
tion in every instance and our laws
should be so made and understood by
those who have charge of the highways.
Wooden or stone eulverts should be put
in and low places, and high points cut
down and the excess used to elevate the
miry places where roads are properly
drained, with sufficient bitches, they
soon dry of and become passable.
A plumber of the counties have avail
ed the use of certain class OF con-
victs This is well enough as far as ii
has gone. The limit or :he grade oil
the convict system should be extended,
so that more of them could be used or
confined in the county, they received
sentence from. The counties could well
afford to purchase a portable traction
engine and crCsher. The convicts could
be confined In stockades at various
quarries and made to quarry stone ready
TO be broken up by the crusher. The
individual labor and the tax assessed
could prepare The road bed and also
haul and distribute the rock, so that the
lcrusher propelled by the traction engine
I would break and spread the macdam-
lied rock. This convict labor would
not really be of any more expense to
the county than it now is. The engine
aud crusher would cost about $1,000.
By this method we would have in few
years our principal roads macadlmized,
and the repairs would thereafter be very
light and inexpensive. The labor per
formed by each individual and property
holder would not, by this method, be-
come irksOme-
/ The commissioners should be onpow-
cred TO meet at least once ayear, and be
privileged to select such roads TO be
macadamized that would be of the
greatest benefit to the community, and
also allowed TO select person as super
fntendent of such roads and have the
control Of the convict labor-distribu-
iiOn of the broken rock-and the direc-
tious in regard to the preparation Of the
road bed.
With a steam crusher, and an increas-
ell number Of convicts, ten TO fifteen
miles each year could be macadamized,
and without great expense to the coun-
ty CT ak payer. Property holders and
individual interests would not regard
their labor thrown away, but delight in
seeing the benefit and permanence of
their work.
The past winter will no doubt stimu-
late our people to see the importance of
better roads. Only the principal roads
would at the present be benefited
Let the present road law stand. I'm.
provements can be made without doing
away with the principle. VAN.