Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-02-18

! cures written uppllCatlOn signed by
ten residents, each having one or more
children OF scholastic age, before trustees
can be elected or appointed in colored
I districts appears TO discriminate against
that class, as nothing of the kind Is re.
/ quired in white districts. 1t should be
repealed.
I Having been county treasurer from 1870
TO 1876, and holding my present position
since that time, | have had an opportunity
Of becoming acquainted with each of our
school laws as they have passed down the
procession to oblivion. IL appears our
legislators have tried to give us new
school law with each almanac, and have
almost succeeded.
The present road law, think, should
/ be repealed and poll-tax of 5 levied
| for road purposes, and the remainder
made up by an adyalorum tax on prop
erty, the money to lie disbursed by the
I county commissioners ms supervisors OF
roads. w. X. HAYES,
County Judge Bee County
CALLAHAN COUNTY.
! BAIRD, TEN, Feb. ., 1885
! To the Editor OF the Gazette
| Replying to your letter of the 2Sth nit,
/ in regard to needed changes in the road
and school laws OF Texas, have to say,
| in the first place, that | think that THE
/ GAZETTE letter is opportune and the ques-
lions pertinent; and IT, through the ef-
| forts of The GAZETTE, the laws in refer
ence to these matters are changed, ii will
| have rendered good service to the state.
| think that the road law, in regard to
the manner of having the road worked,
should be changed, because it appears to
be an unfair and unjust system In some
respects, and it seems to be impossible TO
keep up good system of roads under the
I present law, and, therefore, the law is al
most nudity, as the people cannot or
will not work all of the roads in the
county and keep them in proper repair
In these Western counties the land and
climate are of such character that good
road can be laid out in any direction,
save where insurmountable natural oh.
iects intervene, and yet often hear com
! plants that the roads are in a
poor condition. 1t is evident then
that there is something wrong
with the woodworking machinery
The people are DESTROYS of having good
roads, but complain that they have so
much road work 20 do in their precincts
that 1t Is impossible to work all of the
U lphho HAplSlils luz DIECluILS arc 100
large, but the commissioners court can
not avoid making the precincts large In a
sparSely settled county, because If the
court made the precincts small, then we
would have some precincts In which
I there would be no road hands to be up-
/ portioned, and hence no road work on
such part of the road as happened TO be
in those precincts could be expected
inc lqW TpDlTirgG no l.
the roads not more than Ave DAYS or Dav
s per day for each day the hands are
summoned to work the road. The prp-
clncts being necessarily large, five DAYS
OF work on them is not sufficient to mt
all OF the roads of the precinct in proper
repair. In nearly all of the precincts the
oyerseer gets some money from those
who pay IN lieu Of working and this
money Is usually expended by the over
seer IN doing some extra work, after de-
Quoting their commissions, but he never
gets enough money from this source to
DO any material good. SO my conclusion
IS that the present law is. to say the least
OF it, not success.
Inc present law requires all of the
residents to work on the roads or nav
money, the rich aud the poor, and even
tne man without home is required TO
contribute as much towards keeping IN
good roads In the county as the man who
owns thousands of acres OF land, or Ms
huch as the man whose commercial busi-
ness amounts to thousands of dollars
Each OF these men derive, certainly. n
greater benefit from good roads than the
man without home, and yet the law re-
CURES him TO contribute as much as each
OF the other two men. The first mans
llnds arc enhanced in value and the other
man enjoys large increase of trade by
reason OF good roads. Again a non-resi-
dent who owns large bodies of land reaps
the benefit of good roads, because
MS lands thereby become more valuable
and the law does not require him to con-
tribute anything. 1t Is true that the law
docs permit the commissioners court TO
levy road and bridge tax, but as long as
the present road system Is REQUIRED bv
law, no court in the western counties
should levy this tax Gnless IL is necessary
lor bridge purposes, because then we
would require the people not only to
Mork the roads but TO pay a tax therefor
IN addition. 1t would not be proper to
leVy such tax II possible to avoid it, be-
cause the people are pressed in regard 10
money matters, and most Of the people in
i .uIs section OF the state are paying taxes on
iahds which they have not yet paid for and
besides they are paying interest to the |
state on deferred payments due ON these |
Iands, so 1t does seem that taxation Is |
not the proper remedy to be used m |
making better system of roads.
thlnk the laws should be changed so |
tIlat the state convicts in the penitentlarv
could De worked on the roads of the sew |
eral counties OF the state. Let the com
inlssloners' court retain general sinner
vision OF the road matters of the county.
ana when the commissioners find II
necessary let the law be so framed that
the court can make an applica. |
uon TO the proper authorities for
the number Of convicts necessary |
10 work the roads Of the county. The |
counties using the conyicts, TO paw all ex-
peuses while the convicts are being used |
Dy them' The counties OF the state conld |
.neh nave system OF roads kent In |
proper repair with little or no direct ex- |
pense TO the people, because call fines
anu iofielturcs" In the courts of the
county belong by law to the road and |
nrldge iund, and any surplus in some of
tne other funds might be transferred "a |
tnis iund, 50 that all expenses connected
Win the employment of necessary rnards
ana keeping the conyicts might he TINS
betrayed without taxation on ne neonle.
and the people would be relieved nom
''ns tne roads. II any taxes were |
nceessary 10 assist in defraying these ex- |
,~a,S ol tne county a very small levy
,, ou,s ne SUFFICIENT, and property owners |
haze nuoa prefer 10 pay that than to |