The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1885-09-23
COMMUNICATES
The Proposed Change.

II the IN Whlch the re-
Iuircd work is performed.
You assert in very positive terms,
that the road law must be changed,
yet in the last paragraph of your
article YOU say the question is a
vcXCd onc and full Of difficulties,
which YOU would not attempt to
remove.
No doubt your article is written
in good faith and with Il desire to
correct the evils of the present sys-
tenn of the road law, but / cannot
believe that every sentence of your
article is strictly correct, nor do |
believe, from the language YOU
used, that YOU have very clear
idea of the difficulties complained
OF. 1t seems to be Il metaphysical
impossibility that n man should
discover defects in Il system and
not be able to conceive of Il better
plan. How II eve reason, except
from what we know" There must
be some standard i'm your mind by
which the evils were judged of, if
not, your conclusions were the
fruit of imagination. The concep-
ton of Il better plan would be the
means, and tho only means, by
which you should affirm difficulties
and imperfcctions in the present
system. You say "it is impossible to
make permanent improvements I'M
e the present system of working"
III you mean by this that no per-
manCnt improvements can be made
upon the highways under the pros
cnt system, | cannot say that your
language is correct. That is tantu-
mount to saying that Il mile rock
could not be set up nor Il tree cut
down, nor Il jutting rock blasted.
y are correct in saying that
h necessary labor is not given to
the roads. The General Statutes
require every able bodied male,
from 10 to 30, to work the roads,
not less than 3 days nor more than
II in each year. You must have
made Il very careful estimate and
travelled over every road in the
country, to be prepared to say that
"ninc-tcnthS" of the work on the
roads is washed away i'm a week, if
pcrchancc the rains should come.
n" doubt the hands look upon the
work as Il task. But this is no ar
gumcnt against the system, be-
cause taxes are also n task, but
they are enforced by law; 40 could
the desired work.
The desire Of Laurcns C. II. to
have It good trade is no reason why
the hands within five miles of that
place should do mOrr work on the
public roads than the lay requires.
If the merchants want better roads
to facilitate their competition, they
should be willing to supply the de-
hcicncy over and above what the
country is required by law to do.
some writer's have undertaken to
say how the roads should be work
ed. They ask for Il change of the
law from road duty to taxation.
This scheme has great objections,
which give it no higher claim than
the present one. This system would
require the employment of skilled
0NcrSccrs and high-wngcS hands.
This plan must grow out of the
idea that property and not brains
and muscle must pay all taxes.
1T must have grown up since the
abolition of slavery, when more
than one half the population, who
were without amy properly, we're
made citizens. In Keeping with
this view, the law was more cuui-
table in its inception, for when This
law was passed by the Legislature
the negro himself was property,
and his owner worked in proper
ton to his property. There is no
doubt that property should pay the
burden of taxes for internal inn
provemcnts and the support of the
Government, but it is not II heavy
mroad upon natural liberty to re-
quire the man without property to
pay Il poll tax and work the public
highways. AS Il price for such an
imposition, he receives the bless
ingS OF public education and the
guarantee Of personal security at
the hands Of The Government. He
should be willing to give value
Tor the protection and advantages
he enjoys at the hands of the State.
If the poor man haa to contribute
at all to the working of the public
roads, it is better for him To give
his labor than to pay money, for he
can work the roads ut n time when
he cannot work upon his farm. At
a time OF the year when the crops
are "laid by" he can better afford
to work a day than to pay - cents,
for at that time Of tho year money
is scarce, and the demand for work
at good wages il at ~ low cbb.
You may say he can pay his road
tax ut the same time he pays his
other taxes, but this will diminish
the income of his yearly crops,
which is hardly sufficient to pay
his other debts. We had better
"bear the ills we have than fly to
others we know not Of"
The proper remedy il to enforce
and not change the present law.
Apply the general lash of the news
papers in regard to the enforcement
Of the law. Newspapers may apply
the lash to "laWlessness," but they
IN NOT In .kNNINy A.... 49,, - MA