Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-23
GOOD ROADS
In Our Zeal for Roads We Need Not Lose
Our Conservatism and Act Rashly.
A New Scheme for Obtaining Coed ROads-A
Blending of Systems ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Should be Il Last Resort
FORT WORTH, TEX, Dec. 20, 1888.

FORT WORTH, Tex, Dec. 90 1888.
To the Gazette.
note with pleasure the interest eX-
hibited of late III relation to good roads.
Almost everyone is having something to
say on the subject. The extract in this
mornings GAZETTE from Governor Ross ,
speech on the subject Is only the boiled
down concentrated quintesscnce of gen.
eral public sentiment; that is, that we
must have roads. But the question of
how TO get them has yet to be settled,
and here is where the danger to the pub
lie veal comes in. In our zeal for roads
we should not lose our conservatism, and
commit some rash act for posterity to re-
gret. have read the bill to be presented
by Major Jarvis, and have no objection
to it no criticism to make against it, but
would like to see Colonel Parker's plan
tried first or in conjunction with it that
is, to work the penitentiaTy convicts on
the roads I believe TaTrant county has
demonstrated the fact that the convict
plan is practicable. With a hand
full of county conyicts7she has i'll
few months made several miles of
good roads. With the state cOnvicts we
cellld do proportionately more work, as
We; would have propOrtionately more
hands, ana ii well managed a large force
viii work cheaper than a small one, from
the fact that the expenses for guards,
equipments, etc, per capita, will be less
when the force is enlarged. I was told a
few days ago that a bill similar to the
one suggested By Colonel Parker was be-
fore the Nineteenth or Twentieth Iegis-
latuTe, but was opposed by Colonel GOree,
superintendent of the penitentiary, on
what grounds [ did not learn. 1t seems
to me that if the farmers of the BraZos
bottoms can make it profitable to pay for
convict labor to work ON their farms the
counties could make it profitable to work
them without paying for their labor; and
as the policy of the state is to make the
penitentiary self-sustaining only, l can
see no objection to allowing each county
to use its own COnyicts. Then to sum up
l would favor this: A law Ito allow each
county to work her own peniten-
tiary convicts without cost to the state.
Should such force be inadequate, as
doubt not it would, to give Us good roads
in q reasonable length of time, then sup
plement that with other forces TO be paid
for by the counties, the means to be
raised by the issuance OF bonds, as pro-
posed by the Jarvis bill. In other words,
1 want good roads; 1 want them badly,
I want all other means exhausted before
issuing bonds, and then as few bonds as
possible. L have great horror for
bonds. I want the rate of taxation to be
light. Those wen TO do do not feel the !.
burden of taxation much, but the pooref
classes do. If there is any constitutional
objection to the convict plan then give us
all bonds: If not, give us some eonvicts
and a few bonds. If the objection to the
convict plan is sentimental one object
to the objection L think Colonel Park
er's communication il this plOrning's
GAZETTE is sufficient argument against
any sentimental objection to the plan,
and think also. that his handsome ma