Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-22
ROAD COMMISSIONERS FINED
BY JUDGE ADAMS.


I alternative but to enforce the
I rule as prayed for. The law pre-
I scribes what the penalty shall be, and
I the lowest sum imposed as fine is $50.''
I The Judge then sentenced each Commits
I siOner to pay a fine Of that amount. The
/ services Of Messrs. Lester & Ravenel
I were then secured, and it is probable that
/ an effort will be made to obtain a new
/ hearing in the case.
The Louisville road extends from the
junction Of the Augusta road at the
! crossing of the Central Railroad, a short
/ distance west Of the city, to point four
I teen miles west.
DR.. L. A. Falligant, Secretary of the
/ Board Of County Road Commissioners,
was called on by a MORNING NEWS re-
| porter in regard to the action of the court.
In referring to tho fines the Doctor said.
/ 81 believe it is a hasty proceeding"
"HOw many Road Commissioners are
| there on the Louisville road" asked the
reporter!
''There should be six'' was the reply.
| "One has moved beyond the limits of the
/ county"
500 these Commissioners work the road
/ individually its entire length of fourteen
I miles, or is each Commissioner supposed
| to be in charge of divisiOn?'
''The road is divided into two districts,
the upper and lower"
HOW many commissioners I0eQ are
responsible for the work in each district 20
''Three in the lower district, one Of
whom has moved beyond the limits Of the
county. These Commissioners have en-
| tire charge Of the work, and they sub
| divide it, subject to the approval of the
board. This practice of subdiyiding the
work has been the custom since the Or
| ganiZatiOn of the Board of Road Commits
siOners, and it is warranted not only by
81 HrTN hr~N h 1awr - h. Nokl
| acted in 1S03."
t'In case of neglect of duty by the Com
missiOners, or any of them, what has been
the practice of the board in dealing with
| themT'
''The board holds the individual Com
missioner responsible for the condition Of
the road in his subdivision"
"Would the board condemn the Com
missiOners of an entire district for the
bad condition of a subdivision
"By no means. The board, having full
power under the law to make its own
rules and regulations, recognizes the right
Of the District Commissioners to subdi-
vide their districts into subdivisions, and
in case of neglect of duty, applies its Gen.
sure to the individual offender, not to the
District Commissioners as body"
s'By what authority does the board GEN.
sure and punish Commissioners for neg
lect Of dutyF
"Under the laws Of the State giving it
the power to punish its own members"
''What is the-<cOnditiOn of the sub
divisions of the Louisville rOad?'
''The first subdivision nearest the city
extends to the fve-mile stone and is in
fair condition, there being a few hollows
between the two and three-mile posts,
due in a great part to the presence of
roots in the road bed, and to the fiat
nature of the land, rendering drainage
impossible. The second subdivision eX-
tends from the five to the eight-mile
stone, and is in good condition, excepting
the cOrdurOys. These exist at 10
calities where the entire adjacent country
is subject to overflow, and the road
bed becomes saturated with the surround
ing water that cannot be drained of, and
consequently the road is rendered sobby.
Little or no effective work can be done on
these portions, except during the dry
weather, when the water dries up suffiei-
emily to enable the road bed
extends from the eight-mile post to Sta
ton No. l, and is under the charge Of two
recently appointed Commissioners, who
therefore have not had much time allotted
them TO do any satisfactory work. That
portion of the road from Station No. 1 to
the fOrteen-mile post is in splendid con-
ditto nand under the care of Commissioner
D. C. Newton, fined by the court. 1t is
due 20 his energy and the generous outlay
of his own means that the public is in
debted for an amount of improvement far
beyond that of any district in the
county. Indeed, to visitor, the i'm
proYement at once suggests that live men
live in the neighbOrhOOd. No complaint
has ever been made to the board concern
ing the section beyond the fourteen-mile
post, and am told that but one defect
exists on that line, to remedy which the
Commissioners have established a turn
out road, which is said to be in good order"
"What portion of the expenses are the
Commissioners supposed TO bear in keep
ing the roads in Order?'
1.-The county is presumed to pay any
expense beyond the labor of the road
hands,"
s'What defense have the Commissioners
to make against the enforcement of the
order Of the cOurtr
''The defense which they wished to
make, but were not allowed to make. In
the first place, they wished to be heard
seYerally. not altogether. In the second
place, they had a right to the severance,
under the regulations and practice of
the Board of Road Commissioners, which
regulations and practice have their origin
in the laws of the State empowering the
general board to appoint sections or sub
divisions of roads to distinct and indiYid-
ual Commissioners, and under which the
sections of the districts had been distrib-
uted between the Commissioners"
''What is your view in regard to the
action Of the cOurtw
81 cannot help thinking that the course
adopted by the court has been both hasty
and unjust, for the reason that when the
law authorizes the board to permit
these subdivisions and to hold each in
diYidual Commissioner responsible for
- !, ~ss~Sz
being entirely within the scope and
powers of the GARD, the court should
have ascertained the extent of such Com
missiOner's responsibility. I do not think
it was the intention Of the court
to do any injustice, but it is APP
parent that a Commissioner could not
have considered himself liable for the
neglect of another when neither the law
under which he holds his office, nor the
regulations of the board of which he is a
member, held him to any such accOunta-
bility."
"Then you think the Commissioners
should have a rehearingE'
E'UnquestIonably. So distinguished an
officer as a Judge of the Superior Court
cannot afford to permit an injustice"
'sWhat do you think of the indictment
of the Commissioners as a bOdyT'
81 do not see how such an indictment
could have been legally made. The Com
missioners Of one district are no more
liable fer the conduct of the Commission
ers of another district than for the con-
duct of the Commissioners Of Whitemarsh
Island. The presentment Of the grand
jury did not indicate what district or
what section was in bad order, and an
Indictment as faulty as that in any other
cause would be thrown out OF court as
waste paper"
DR.. Falligant concluded by remarking
that the difficulty of controlling labor is
much greater than in former days when
each land owner could send his force Of
men to do his share Of the public work.