The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1891-11-11
The Public Roads.
Wilmington Star.


The people do not always
take the most interest in ques-
tions in which they are most in
terested. If they did they would
showLmore e+interest.in the pub
lie roads than they do or ever
have done in this country.
There is not a State in the I'm
ion that has'sroads.which sare
half way respectable, while in
many of them they are an alb
solute disgrace Ito speople5who
claim to be progressive.
The people of the leading ma
tions of Europe have better
IDEAS on these things than we
have, take a more sensible and
business-likessviewlof.it, and al.
though they do not use their
roads half as much as we do
ours, there is not a shadow of
comparison between them, for
nearly all their main roads are
paved or macadamized and SO
Lowell and hard that one horse
can draw with ease over them a
heavier load than two horses
equally strong could draw over
the average road in this coun-
try in fair dry weather, when
the roads are considered good,
and yet we venture to say that
if the time spent in the so-call-
ed working of the roads be con-
sidered worth anything, our
roads cost more to keep them
even in the shabby condition in
which they usually are than
the roads of any country IN
Europe cost, including the first
cost of construction.
There they have some system
about it, while here we have
none, and the result is that they
have good roads while we have
none that are worthy of the
name. There they are built by
contract and kept in repair by
contract, while here they are
only laid out, never built, and
are kept in so-called repair by
a method of working which is
really more of a frolic than any
thing else. The system, if sys-
tenn II can be called, for work
ing our roads must be improved
or reyolutionized before Our
roads will be improved or be.
come what they should be.
There are but three ways by
which this can be effectually
done. One is by taxation. and
taxation heavy enough te
amount to something. But this
would be a heavy burden upon
lprOperty-owners.
The second is by the volun
tary cooperation of the people
Of the towns and of the country
The third is by the employ
ment of convict labor, whicl
would be the most effective ant
the least expensive.
| In a densely settled State
where the farms were small
and a correspondingly larg'
number of land owners to shar,
the burden between them, tn,
system of taxation might worl
satisfactorily, but in a thinly
settled country the burden OF
each individual to keep lone
stretches of roads in good con.
dition would be more than they
could stand.
The cooperative system i:
one in whi.h the people of tn,
towns and of the country mutu
ally aid each other in doins
something which will benefi
eacn. Good roads help tn,
merchants and other business
men of a town by enabling th,
farmer TO come to town oftCner
and to bring more to sell, and t,
buy more than he would if thu
roads were bad and il was hare
work to get TO town. Ii is {
fact, too, that the roads arr
nearly always in the worst con
dition in the spring and in tn,
fall, when the merchants pu
in their heaviest stocks of good
land are most anxious for sale
TO meet their maturing bills
| Thousands of merchants hav,
been bankrupt9d by bad coun
try roads. Good roads help tn,
farmer not only by increasing
the value of his lands, but b,
reducing the labor, time and ex
peDse to him of marketing his
crops, and enabling him to mar
ct more quickly and thus tax,
advantage Of advance in prices
In some Of the Western states
in order to do this. the farmers
take advantage of the dry roadi
when they can spare the tim,
from their farm labor, and hau
their corn, oats, hay, &c, an,
crib or store them close to tn,
railroads, so that they can b.
shipped at once when the price
prove satisfactory.
The convict system is gaining
favor, and our opinion Is tha