The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1883-08-17


return guarantees protection to person and
property. The citizen is entitled to
this protection, and if he fails to get it
the State gives him his remedy "A man com
mhs an assault and battery upsn another;
the party assaulted has his remedy in civil
action for damages, and besides this the
State rcdrcSses the wrong by criminal
prosecution. One man commits a deyestavit
upon the property of another by doing, or
omltting to do, something required by law,
and the party injured rccovers damages
for the wrong. Why should not n county be
liable for an act of omission or commission
whereby one of it's citizens suffers? The
Legislature evidently thought IL should be,
or 1t would never have cuacted such law
as the foregoing.
There is still another matter of cost, in
the form of an Indirect tax, it is true but
nevertheless tax aud burden resulting from
our wretchedly bad roads, which mght be
m'tisated and greatly reduced by good roads,
viz: the wear and tear of vehicles in cons
mon use and the enormous expenditure of
horse power.
1t is next to impossible to ascertain the
number of vehicles of all kinds and lescrip
tions used on the public highways in South
Carolina, but 1 have adopted the best
method can think of to approximate the
number, and hava submitted this question to
a number of practical men. What is the
proportion Of vehicles to population in
South Carolina !? Some have ans wered one
to every hundred, some one to fifty and
others one to seventy.6ve. Ishoul have au>
swered one to every hundred, but majority
think this too large and decide that one to
fifty would be nearer the mark However,
will adopt one to a hundred. This would
give us ten thousand vehicles. The
average life Of vehicle, carriage, buggy,
cart, wagon, &C., is about five years in the
present state Of the roads Ia localities
where the roads are Uery bad they will not
last longer than three years. Let us suppose
the average cost of the repairs on these
vehicles is 50 each. Is that too much or too
little If correct, they costaunually $50.
900. Now, it is safe tc assume that if the
roads were made good the average lito of a
vehicle would be increased to ten yea,s
aud the annual repairs not more than 50 so
st,tuA taaie,sEEss3 F1esK;shin bess..lz. : t.2
would be a saving of % 900 in cash annually
in the matter of repairs, besides an enor.
nous amount by reason of the increased
longevity Of the vehicles. This is a tax
that comes out of the pockets of the people
every year that might just as we'll be saved
by the exercise of more practical wisdom
and foresight in working our public roads
am satisfied, on further reflection and
inquiry, | have placed the number of
vehicles far too low. There must be one
hundred thousand vehicles in the State.
1t seems to me these questions are well
worthy of consideration. They are not
yagaries INDUCED in for entertainment, but
propositions coming within the scope of
every mans experience 1t is not claimed
that they are accurate, but they serve
to illustrate the point make and to show
that We pay heavily tor bad roads which
could be UNNECESSARILY improved by the
judicious outlay of much les. money.
In an enterprising go>ahead country time
is money. Time is money whe.e tho peo
pie arc active, industrious, vigilant, pro-
gressive. If time is money, what vast
sums are expended upon our public roads !?
Here is another tax-heavy tax Time
spent pulling and hauling, "geein and haw-
ing" swearing and complaining is very un
profitaby spent. There are many sections
of twelve miles of road in Edgefeld County,
and no doubt in other counties, that cannot
be travelled in winter in less than three,
sometimes four hours, whereas not more
than an hour aud half ought to be required
and they can be made so that not more than
an hour and half would be required.
Would it not be better to repair the roads
and save this time to be used more profita
bly, and avoid the torture Of mind an1 BODY
and loss of vital energy and force 1t
would seem so.
might cite other facts showing the cx.
travagant cost of our road system, but they
would only be cumulative. If our roads
cost the one-half, or the one fourth, or the
onetenth OF the amounts above stated, they
would be the most expensive nuisances that
any peopie ever supported. but L nave
not overstatcd t. l have not included the
annual tax we pay for the building and re.
pair of bridges, which is a tax upon prop
erty, and in the aggregate for the whole
State must reach a large sum, and which ]
cannot give because my inquiries on that
point have not yet been answered. have
not referred to the increased expense to
which overy man is subjected in the addi-
tional horsepower he must use to trans
port his family and products over the hills
and gullies and through the mud and slush he
encounters in the public roads. Two mules
will haul four bales of cotton over properly
located, well-graded and well-work'ed road,
as readily as four mules now get along with
the same load. Apply this proportion to
tho internal commerce and transportation