The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-10-08
No. 35


foolish waste of money under the
operation of road laws prodigiously
absurd, is far too melancholy in these
moneyless times to be ridiculous. The
doings of road overseers, some of
whom have scarcely information sufi.
cient to drive yoke of steers, are
absurd almost beyond belief, wasteful
of public money and actually ruinous
to the roads This kind of road-work-
ing and road mending often does the
roads more harm in one day than all
the hauling and travel over them
would do in ten years. If there is
anything which does require scientific
knowledge and experience that thing
is the location and construction of a
good and lasting road. 1t can only
be done by well-skilled civil engi-
neer. 1t is not possible to make a
system of good roads in any State in
one year nor IN ten years, perhaps in
some States not in twenty five years;
but it is practicable to have in any
State and in any county scientific
plan OF complete road system and to
go to work at it with but little DELAY.
In order to adopt such plan skilled
men must be consulted; in order to
execute such plan skilled men must
be employed, and means must be
raised to defray the expense. A
large part of it ought to be raised by
general taxation, for certainly the
condition of the public highways is
no less matter of universal concern
than public education. AS at present
managed no one is benefited except
those to whom the funds raised are
paid out for a mere pretense of some
thing useful done by them. We
have had it in contemplation for some
time past to free our mind on this
question, not that we have any pet
scheme or any cut.and dried bill to
offer in the Legislature, but that we
might do our part in directing atten-
tion to a great public waste and a
great public want prevailing generally
in all parts of America. AS a subject
of debate and action by local Alliances,
clubs, and other agricultural and
rural organizations and assem- blies,
none can be suggested more imp ort-
ant than the country roads. In this
manner the general opinion may be
evoked, and a reform in the road
laws effected. The aid of the press
may easily be enlisted in behalf of any
rational scheme Of reform. The
writer, on his own part, is satisfied
that nothing important can ever be
accomplished until the work of con-
struction and repair of public roads
is placed in charge of wellskilled
civil engineers, and he suspects that
every scheme of reform in this behalf
which does not proceed upon that
fundamental proposition will come
short of the best results. That very
great improvements are practicable
almost everywhere by the judicious
expenditure of funds already raised
and foolishly squandered seems very
certain. If the State would maintain
a civil engineer of established repute
in this service his advice in framing
working plans to be submitted to the
Legislature would be invaluable. Such
work is technical and scientific, and
only skilled man can advise wisely
as to the working details to be en-
bodied in the law, whether local or
general In this work, moreover,
convict labor could and should be
fully utilized Any clamor as to its
competition with honest labor in such
employment should be silenced by the
consideration that the money to pay
for the hiring of honest labor to per-
form this work has to be raised by
taxation, while additional money must
also be raised by general taxation to
pay prisoners expenses maintained in
idleness, and that ali taxation, traced
to its ultimate source, is paid by honest
labor. In this manner we should be
free of the public charge to which all
honest citizens contribute for the sup
port of the parasitic class which fills
our jails, and we should at the same
time reduce that class itself to a mini
mum. Ought not every convict SEN
fenced to imprisonment be set to
work on the public highways and to
serve out his sentence at that work
instead of being kept idle in jail at
public expense? If this work were
directed and planned by skilled engi-
neers, would not the question of max
ing and maintaining the best roads
which can be constructed be solved,
with the salvage of g double expense
to the State We believe so, un-
doubtedly. Suppose the convict force
of the State were placed under the
orders Of State engineer to construct
and maintain q trunk line road sys-
tenn for the State, could any valid
objection be raised to the plan !? We
believe that engineering skill and con-
Ia hn7. yso fa ~ C,7.- ~ onxy