Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-05
COUNTY ROADS.
A County Commissioners Solution Of
the All-1mportant Road Question.
He Favors Tar Levied on,iEvery Man suih-
cientto Ma ke s-6ood Road Across
Els Own Land.
NIX, TEX. april q. 1890.

NIX, Tex, april -, 1851.
Editor Gazette.
sR-Can Won tell me if Mr.. E. A.
Daniel, chairman of the farmers con-
vcntion at Dallas April II. has re-
eoveredp He said: ''The idea struck
melt must have been a random
stroke, and from what followed he must
have spoke at random. 'tThe idea struck
me, - says Mr.. Daniel, "that the county
judges and county commissioners were
not good road builders; that county
court would not be q good court to pass
upon the question as to what roads should
be built or how to build them; that the
farmers who needed those roads and
would use them, knew more about what
they wanted than did the county
judges. -
Does the honorable gentleman con-
slider the county commissioners dis
tinct class from the farmers? Does he
not know that nine tenths of the county
commissioners are farmers, who use the
roads as much as any one elsep Why
does Mr.. Daniel think that the county
judges aud commissioners are not good
road bullders? Are the roads in par
ticularly bad condition in his neighbor-
hooa? If SO, whose fault is it? Would q
reconstruction of the road law, taking
the business out of the commissioners
court and placing it it the hands of the
farmers mend matters? Are not the farm
ers who eerve as road overseers and the
hands working under them, the builders
of the roads? and should oftener blame
themselves for bad roads than any
one else. The gentleman thinks the
commissioners court not good court to
"pass upon'' the question as to "what
roads should be built To use his ex-
preston, will say that the court does
not "pass upon' such questions
regardless of the law and re-
gardless of the wants of their con-
stituents, whose business it is to make
known their wants, and If their wants
are not gratified it is owing to the fact
that nine times out of ten they are want
ing something that is unlawful and I'M
just There is one thing that is sseften
wanted, and that is extravagantasdaIn-
ages for roads running across@ lands
where the owner is damaged very little,
if damaged at ALL And another thing
is very frequently wanted and thatls
to shove the road off ones land on None
other person 3 land, or at least forcfgit
to the land line; and take every iilah
(and little more) than the law Rllew$
bringing all the combined oircums Be
into play; that would bring about that
little nice thing called little, marrow,
muddy lane, besides making the distance
between points much greater land throw
ing the road on much worse ground. and
the next thing in order is to curse the
commissioner.
The best solution of the road question
T. A. emf infn
to make good road across his own land,
and the man who is not willing to
do this is not friend to his
country, neither does he want
to save his own soul. Now, Mr.. Dam
iel. would not appear egotlstical, but
would say that L have lived in Lampasas
county for fifteen years; have served as
commissioner for nearly twelve years.
1 am little one-horse farmer-have 160
acres of land and have two public roads
on it. am over age to work the road
have never received any damage on ac-
count of the roads, neither do 1 want
any damage, and am perfectly willing to
keep up the roads on my
land if you other French
gentlemen" will do the same. "The
idea that strikes' me, Mr.. Daniel, is
that, of all men in the world, county
commissioner knows best how to make
good roads and short ones. If he does
his duty he supervises every public road
in his precinct once a year, and he
should know just where aud how to make
q road.
We have good county judge and good
commissioners and overseers, and good
hands and good roads in Lampasas
county, and we have a host of indus
rrious farmers. And we don It need any
convention. H. WALLACE,
County Commissioner.