The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-10-02
OUR PUBLIC ROADS.
DO THEY DESERVE TO BE
CALLED HIGHWAYS.
A Sound and SensibIe COmHnuni-
cation from Capt. II. w. Patton
to which Much Importance
should be Attached

be charged with egotism, because | may
occasionally refer to my recent expert
cnCes in Europe, and make comparison
between what is seen there, and here.
Many thanks to our numerous kind
friends for their warm welcome, winch
we do not intend to repay by imposing
upon their patience rehash OF mat
ters of which your columns have already
given an opinion, nor do we presume
to dictate to those much wiser than our
selves, but merely to suggest a free dis
cussion of some points OF most vital III
terest to the welfare OF our section. To
such a discussion we know your columns
will be open, and no doubt it will be con-
Quoted on both sides with good humor,
and we hope with spirit.
We have often been asked: " tre you
still an American ?" Yes indeed, in heart
and soul. We thank God our inheritance
is cast in this nation, this State, this
county, this town. We can tender no
bet ter wish to any of our young men.
than that they may duly appreciate thu
blessings they here enjoy this apprecia-
ton will only be enhanced by a visit to
Europe, While absolutely sincere in this
expression we must be equally 50 i'll ac-
lnowledging that many things strike us
most painfully, on our return to our dear
home.
Upon landing in Scotland we were I'M
pressed with the high degree of prosper
ity, to which that country, naturally
bleak and barren, has been brought
While its lakes present beauties of land
srape superior to ours, its mountains by
no means equal ours in fertility, nor
does it's climate in any way compare
tavorablv with this What, then, is the
secret of their success? They have Centu
ries back of them which we have not,
but why may we not profit by their eX-
perience, avoid their errors, and copy
their wisdom:
One great cause of their success we be-
licve to be their excellent system otroads
Wherever we went the driving was
smooth and delightful, one horse with
case performing duty which would kill
four OF ours. One day we mounted a
COACH carrying twenty-five passengers,
to cross a mountain as steep as any in
BunCombe estimating each person at an
average of one hundred and seventy-tive
pounds, and their baggage at thirty
pounds each, would give a load of about
five thousand pounds, besides the pom
derous vehicle. Yet, four horses took us
across the mountain at a speed OF SIX
miles per hour. Could such thing pos
Sibly be done here
On Yesterday we had occasion to drive
from Asheville to Best Within less thar
one mile of the city limits what sight
greeted our eyes! Why is it, gentlemen
that these things are 50? Because roads
and all inanimate things, like mankind
partake of the character OF the law:
which govern them and our road law /!
acknowledged by every one to be thor
oughly bad and unfair. To avoid th'
terrible bugb,ar of taxation, we strive t.
relieve the men who use the roads of TIN
burden of supporting them, and to plaC
it upon the shoulders of the poor, whC
have no horse nor vehicle to pas
over them. Manitestly this is not fair
we are almost tempted to say it is dis
honorable, and as a consequence tn
roads go unrepaired. Each court W
hear threats of prosecution, but usual
, if the delinquent official submits, tn
I Judge allows him to escape on paymen
of a small cost; or it he resistS the jur
will acquit him; and this is only as
should be, because both judge and Jur
know that the law requires him to pei
form impossibilities.
Taxation is horrible thing. No on
complains more than we do but is thi
r. right, and are not roads required for on
- comfort and success?
:, We will all acknowledge that both OF
. county and city administrations will hon
= cstIy apply whatever monies we comic
> to their care, so we will eliminate II
idea oi waste or fraud from this arg1
ment, and merely ask, will road {
street tax pay;
y On Yesterday we were greeted by ol
good friend Nj. L. Sumner as he strui
l. rled through perfectly bcastly mu
s. hole. lie drove three horses, and h
y ", wagon seemed to contain twenty bushe
" of lime. This weighed eighty pounds
the buShcl So the heavy load for this tea
was sixteen hundred pounds. The ma
ket value is six dollars, and to sell it
IL man and three horses and a wagon we
s. occupied all day. Now suppose NJ
'; Summers lime kiln was valued at tv
q thousand dollars, and he had Submitt
IT, to an annual tax of one per cent.
twenty dollars, this would seem exec
sive and he lar above what any o
would advise, and yet, il Mr.. Sumner h;
been provided with decent road |
- team could have brought in sixty bus
els more easily than they now do twent
$ Yesterday it cost him at least three d'
lars to haul his lime to market, or OF
half of what it was sold for; whereas,
ID ought to have brought at same &C
f. sixty bushels, and to have had titte
dollars over and above his hauling
stead OF the three dollars he did have.
n this calculation is even approximate
no correct, how long will it require n
Sumner toget back his twenty dollars
taxes!
)u Again, we met numbers of equally ki
~, friends bringing i'll wood for sale. Tho
% who lived five miles from town prObal
made one load. Two horses and dri'
is and wagon, to haul a halt cord OF WOO
to be sold for one dollar and twenty-t
cents Can we wonder that our peO
are not prosperous? That the great ;
of vantagcs of this lovely country
a., allowed to go to waste; that their DIR
10 horses are mere pignieS alongside of
to huge animals of Scotland; that til
ty wagons are the unSightly objects Il
rec are, broken down, staggering along
=. drunken man under their light loa
'"- rendered heavy by these abomina
de- roads. Why, friends, the wear and t
zen of the vehicles alone will more than
ni nav the heaviest road tax that any
.Lo would dream of imposing upon our I
" pie.
Nor is it rough men, only, who are
to Inconvenience and loss. We are M
happy by seeing the beaming faces
est many of our blooming mountain gi
be, None so surpass them have we seer
RS Europe, and old indeed, will we be "
we cease to admire them; but under W