San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-01-21
NEW COUNTY ROAD.
MADE IN THEM RY THE
COMMISSIONERS.
They are Cheaper and Better Than
The Streets OF the City. The City
Authorities Refuse 10 Coop
crate With the County OF.
ficisIs In Securing
These Improve
mentS.

This is remark that has been frequently
heard lately in the city, especially dur
ing the recent bad weather. 1t was fOunC
by a LIGHT reporter TO be a true one
The county commissioners went out yes
terday to inspect the roads in the precinct
Of Commissioner Peter Jonas and accom-
panying them was a reporter for the
LIGHT. The party travelled all the way
through the city over poor roadways and
streets until the city limits was reached
and when they arrived at the confines OF
the city one of the finest turnpkes ever
seen in the state was found to
connect with the street that end
ed impassably there in wet weather.
The party consisted of County Commits
Edward Dwyer and Frank Umscheid,
Fred Balm and the LIGHT reporter. On
arriving at the end of the Austin road,
they found that the county was con-
structihg a first class road in every re-
spect. 1t was macadamized turnpike
superior in every respect to Avenue ID.
This latter street is said to be the best
thoroughfare in the city and the one
which has cost the city the most money of
any of the streets in the whole corporate
limits. Avenue ID is less than half mile
long or only ten blocks and has cost the
city for its construction over $4,000 while
the cost of tLe Austin road was about
5000 per mile and over three miles and q
half of it have been completed. That the
work on this road is good Is demonstrated
ry the fact that several hard and soaking
sainS have fallen since IL has been con-
Dtructed and the road bed remains intact
and uninjured, although the heaviest
haulage of all seeking ingreSs into the city
is that that comes over il.
The work that is being done on this
road is under the superintendent of MIR.
Emil Beck who is using the county con-
victS. They are in charge of the Superin-
tendent of County ConvictS, Fred Hide
brandt. There are AZ convicts and about
40 men besides engaged on the work and
the base of their operations is the county
convict camp on the Salado creek, seven
miles northeast of here. The county COM
miSsionerS have had considerable diff
Guilty in securing gravel for the purpose
pal property owners along it not only re-
fusing to donate the gravel but even re-
fusing to sell it to the county for use on
the road, although the building of this
pike will increase the value of their con:
Liguous property over so per cent. They
say they don't want it increased in value
because If its value is increaeed they will
have TO pay the county more taxes. The
principal property holders along the road,
all OF whom have refused to give or sell
this gravel are Colonel Terrell, Colonel
George w. Breckenridge and others. On
all of their lands are large deposits of
gravel which are not being utilized by the
owners in any way or turned by them
into any sort of profit, while the county is
to haul the gravel for this road
all the way from the bed of the SaladO
creek to the end of the road where the
work was begun. II the owners of the
contiguous land had been at all fairly dis
posed, they would not only have reaped
the benefit that they are enjoying from
the work but the county could have had
1t done for about half of the cost.
Besides this stretch of road, which is
tirst-class in all respects, in this same
precinct, county commissioners precinct
No. 3, there are two miles of macadam on
the Blanco City road, and there is also
about three quarters of mile on the Bull
verde road, making about five miles of
road in this precinct In Com
missioner Boerner's precinct which is
No. 2, there about two miles on the Ban
dera or HelOteS road. In Commissioner
{ mscheid's precinct, which is No. 4, there
are two miles on the st. Hedwig, one mile
on the Asylum and one mile on the Sui
phur Springs roads. These make about
twelve miles altogether of macadamized
roads in BeXar county. A number of
roads in Commissioner Dryers precinct.
No. |, have been graded and grubbed. but
no graveling has been done thus far in
that precinct on account Of the scarcity of
gravel and the cost of hauling it. 1t is
however, as soon as prac-
ticable, to improve number OF the roads
in that precinct.
The commissioners have had a great
many difficulties to contend with in the
improving of the roads of this county. In
the first place they have been unable to
obtain roller heavy enough to properly
roll the rOadways and all efforts to secure
from the city the use of steam roller
were futile although the city is not using
one of it's rollers. InaSmuch as these
ROADS OF the county connect directly with
the streets of the city and are the means
of securing the city's supplies from the
tributary county, such a policy on the
part of the city is considered by the
county authorities as being very mig
gardly. 1t would, however, be money
in the cOunty'S pocket to buy a first
class steam roller and to be independent
OF the city In this respect. The county
authorities should also procure black
smithing outfit as its purchase would be
the means OF saving great deal of money
that is now expended for repairs. The
county has two road graders that are
very good and two which are not. About
five good road graders and ten scrapers
are needed badly and when they are pro-
cured the work can be much more econom-
ically and efficaciously done.
One thing that is very commendable In
the matter is the fact that the work on
the county roads, that the convicts are
not engaged In, is being done by the
farmers in the neigh horhoods where tho
improvements are being made, and by
their teams, thus giving employment of a
profitable character to the people most
benefited by the roads.
Commissioner Jonas, in whose precinct
the work on the Austin road is being
done, said to the LIGHT reporter: "Bexar
county should and will be the best county
in the state so far as public highways are
concerned, II we can get the proper en-,