Smyrna times., 1892-03-30
tut Uft oWyFNd Tim Is.
Our Public Roads.

| nave for some time looked in val,
In our local papers for an article from
some ADLER pen than mine on the de
plOrable condition of our county roads
for they certainly do attain that con.
ul'ion whenever the weather happen,
to be a little moist.
The influence exerted upon a com.
munity, by its roads, their conditior
etc, must certainly be as far reaching
as, the height of a hotels windows :;
the welfare of ii standard actor n,
the dolngs of a Methodist Elder netc
Dut such topics, and the aspirations M
various public men for the Precedence
OF the United States, the divorces ~
prominent people etc, seem to afford
them much food for thought.
With bad road it is surely mucb
harder to make the farm paw. 1t takes
more teams for the farmer To hanI hi,
produce to the railroad, boat, or mar
ket; it costs him more to keep his We.
hicles In repair, and they do not last
Nun near as long as they should be
very often cannot take advantage of a
favorable market. Both he and the
buyer are often embarrassed nv bis
inability to deliver his produce as per
agreement.
de does not get his mail sometimes
Ior days, on account of bad roads
HOW would the town storekeeDer like
thaCY Yet they are both business man
and depend more or less on their mail
II Is harder to make the young people.
ana some of the older ones, too, salts.
ned with their life on the farm. when
u Is sometimes almost impossible for
them to visit friends living perhaps a
few miles distant, or to attend the
party or social set for a certain date D..
or to get their papers, magazines. etc
With good roads all this would he
changed Farm life would be on a
more 9 elevated planet much of the
grumhling now heard would cease
except nom chronic cases. Farms
would advance in value. The farm
owner would find it easier to rent bis
farm to more desirable tenant. and
many of the disagreeable problems Of
farm life would be saved.
Now if we had an extremely unfay.
oraOle climate, or if our country was as
thinly settled as in some portions of
the West, or il our farms were as door
and unproductive as they are in some
sections of the country, then there
would be some excuse for our roads
But the writer has seen many better
roads IN sections no better fayOred
than this.
Admit that our roads are bad. and
the question arises, how to improve
them. We are, so we think, a much
taxed people already, and part of this
tax is spent on the road from year to
year. And it is Ike repairing an old
ship OF an old house. A patch is nnt
op here and there a piece of rotten
stun Is removed, qnder that more rot
ten wood is found which in turn is cut
away, disclosing a foundation that is
little better. But the patch as to be-
put on whether it is nailed to what Is
already of little worth or not. So It. ia
with our roads. Perhaps a half ~
what is now required to keep onr
roads passable, would (were a consid.
erahle sum spent once and for all in
making them into good roads) keen
them in excellent condition.
But perhaps men now getting along
on the shady side and others Ofa fossil
ferrous age, do not see that they should
be taxed for the heneBt of pGosteritv
Like the man who did not see wbv he
should plant out nut and fruit trees as
be might die before they would hear
although he had for years been enjoy!
ing the nuts and fruits of trees nla1tSd
long before he was born. ''''
should there be any such. nerbaDs
they would favor plan sug9es,o5 5Tps Us
pS?i, S9nh M. S'ahl" in late issue of the |
/, r,nl'aueiphIa Press. Which plan is for
M me county to issue bonds, and distrib. |
ute the payments through several
Years, and be SO nominated that thew
WeRty years, / n FT' FsT'