The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-01-02
COUNTY ROADS.
ALL PRESENT LAWS ON THE SUR
JECT ARE THOROUGHLY IN
ADEQUATE.
A Thorough Discussion Of a Question of
Vital Importance to Travis
County.

Although the discussion of county roads
and road laws may be threadbare and
hothlng new remains to be said, it may be
well, In view of the present effort to "niend
our ways" to briefly revise both and seek a
remedy for some of the ills.
Inc existing law provides three modes
Ior the maintenance of our roads, viz. /:
!. A road and bridge tax of not exceeding
10 cents on the 500. 2. The labor of county
convlcts. 3. The labor, for five DAYS each
per annum, of all able bodied men between
Is and 45 years of age residing upon the re-
spectve roads. This, to read over seems
very liberal provision, and 1t would be if
the highways were already constructed,
but for the opening of new roads and con-
struction of adequate road beds it is en-
nrely insufficient. The two classes of labor
contemplated by the law are forced labor,
ana as such will never equal in efficiency,
by one-half, willing or hired labor An ex-
perlence OF several years in working roads
with the road force of the neighborhood
has satisfied me that no more expensive
system could possibly be devised. AS an
example, take a road upon which there is
tributary force of twenty men. During
the year. their road duty would be
lOO days work, yet the entire labor
performed would equal only thirty to
forty days of one paid hand, This loss of
represents but a molety of the total loss to
the community, for while the road is bene-
htted only to the extent of forty days of
slovenly work, the laborers have lost 100
days from their respective avocations. If
we rate the daily productive capacity OF
each laborer at $l.25, we have an expendi-
ture OF $l25 and return of $780, with but
little or no benefit to the road. know it
Will be answered that the worker and not
the law is at fault; but we are dealing with
facts and not with theories. The history
OF this system has never changed and never
VIII until we can change human nature.
Inc most adroit and persuasive reasoner
VIII 1all to convince the poor renter who
uses road dozen times in a year, that he
owes as much labor to the road as his
wealthy neighbor whose heavy teams pass
and repass daily. 1t is useless to explain
to him that his neighbor is taxed upon his
teams and wealth, and that thus the bur-
den is equalized. He simply counts the
wear of the road, and from his standpoint
1t is unjust. Entertaining such views, and
realizing that his labor, if fully and
properly expended will at best but
patch the road he does as little as will pass
muster with the overseer, who is neigh
Dor and doubtless shares in his opinion.
THE COUNTY CONVICT
of course carries to the chain gang sullen
determination to do as little labor in a
given time as is possible. TO him the SEN
tence Of dollars or days on the road is a
forced tribute to decency and virtue and he
resents it as a wrong. From such labor
little can be expected, and if the sentence
serves as punishment to the wrongdoer
the county can expect no other benefit.
The inadequacy of
THE ROAD AND BRIDGE FUND
to furnish relief in the near future is easily
demonstrated. In this county, on valua-
ton Of $14 800 900, it cannot exceed $4,000
annually. If only four main or trunk roads,
extending from the city to the county line,
were constructed it would require length
of about sixty-four miles. To grade and
macadamize or gravel these roads would
cost at a very low estimate $4,000 per mile
or $12S,000 for the whole. If, then, we sup
pose the whole amount of annual tax APP
piled to these main lines, and all other
roads and bridges ignored, it would require
nearly six years to put them in order. If,
however, all the travelled roads and
bridges of the county are to be patched
and repaired, our annual fund dribbles
away, furnishing barely a foundation for
cursing and abusing the commissioners
court.
To sum up we have in this county some
300 miles Of first-class road, and not one
mile of road fit for use in rainy weather.
We have 800 road hands, whose combined
time represents productive capacity OF
$780, and who yield to the county not
much, if any, over ~, 900 in reluctant and
i'll directed labor. We have an insignifi-
cant and huctuating convict force whose
chief virtue is to furnish employment to an
overseer and one or two teams. We have
road and bridge fund which, if wisely and
economically expended, Is barely sufficient
to fill mud holes and patch and repair
bridges already constructed. 1t needs no
argument to establish the fact that bad
roads are the most Onerous form of taxa
ton, vet few even of those who suffer most
from the evil realize its full extent. No
statistics are at hand by which to make
definite estimate, but il we stop TO- think
few moments we will be startled az the
cost of bad roads. When we remember
that from 1900 to 10000 bales of cot
ton must be brought to this city, that
all the corn, oats, hay, potatoes and other
vegetables; all the poultry and dairy pro-
ducts, and all the lire wood for city OF
$1,000 inhabitants, must be drawn to the
CITY over our country roads, we begin to
realize in some measure the magnitude OF
the traffic. To this must be added the car
rvinp of the dry goods, groceries, furniture
and building material which are directly or
Indirectly exchanged for the country pro-
dncts. With such rains as we had for the
whole of the year 1888 and some four
months of the present year, it was lmpos-.
s;hle for team 10 haul more than one half
The amount which could be drawn over
common dirt roads i'll dry weather. AS
consequence double the number OF trips
we're necessary and somebody paid full
nrice for each trip. For such articles as
perishable vegetables, poultry and dairy
products, the consumer paid the premium,
but for cotton and Gotten seed the farmer
U,as the sufferer as the market price was
NOT regulated by local difficulties. The
eytra loss on corn, hay and fuel was divided
between the producer and consumer, be-
cause prices were regulated by the cost OF
Sucb articles brought in from distant points
hv the lines of railroad.
When we figure up the cost of all this ex-
fra time and labor, add the work OF the
army of road hands and the convict con-
tingent, and supplement this with the $2O,-
on collected for roads and bridges, we can
Iook around in vain for one solitary mile OF
,,ood road in the entire county. In fact we
sre having this heavy direct and indirect
tay annually for the privilege OF pulling
..aronoh mud and mire from January to
TnoooTber. and with each succeeding year
ir;v;nc more and more of our tributary
trode 70 distant points. In view OF these
snats ;S IL not time for our business men
nnd onr farmers-our producers ana our
am take up, discuss and answer
the vital question OF
WHAT SHALL WE DO?