The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1893-03-31
Continued to Second Page.
The Condemned Bridge.

EDITOR HERALD:-YOur article in last
weeks issue about the "bridge muddlen
did not touch the seriousness of the
case. The grave questions which con-
Germ us whu live on this side of the
river are--who is to bnild this bridge?
When isit to be built? And how are
we to get a.ong without it?
The quarrel between the County Cou
and the Turnpike Company iorebo0e'
evil to us. The Turnpike Company
says the bridge belongs to the County
thu County Court says it is the prop
erty OF the Turnpike Company. So
here we have it. Neither will have
anything to do with it-nOt so much az
nail on a plank or tighten bolt. 1T is
very eviIent that the courts must de-
eide who must Juld it. Now let's rea-
son lit le about this thing and caIcu-
late the result of This litigation If it is
decided that the county mast build it,
it will be long time before We yet it
for the County Court rs peculiarly slow
about such matters, aid the treasury
is always deplrted-aud there NUT be
Il special tax levied, not Oniy to build
the bridge but to pay. the cost of u e
same. ii it is Il c del that the Turn
pix" Company must build it, then we
may never get iU-fur 1t will cost more
than the bus ness of the road viii JUS
tify aud the pike will probably be
abandoned to the county.
In the event of the road being aban-
dOned, he county must keep i'll repair
aud probably in course of time mu Il
build the bridge. To levy "A special tax
will make y big kick among the tax
payers in the county; but we must have
this bridge-we cannot get TO Town
without it. We cannot get along with
out COlumbia-and Columbia cannot
get along very we'll without as; as il
now is one can almost get TO Franklin
or Spring Hill while we are going
around by the new bridge TO town and
| in bad weather it will be q most impOss =
be to get there with load of produce
| Neither can we 20 30 ufteu b, non can We
sell a. cheap If we could get to market
more quickly and with less labor.
! The damage to Columbia and to us
| will in c few years be greater than the
cot OF a new bridge. Other portions OF
| the county which have good turnpike
roads to town have greatly the advan
tage of us.
Wi hout this bridge the county il
! practically cut in two with neither sec
zion entirely independent OF the other
The ole bridge has neve. been a gOOC
one, neither has the pike been the best
but they have been worth thousands t
us, on this side of the river; they have
been worth thousands to Columbia, 70
by them we nave been enabled to ge
there with our produce and lumher
Without this bridge we must leave on
lumber in the woods and haul our PR
duce to some other market. There il
another subject that has been agita
ting the people of Maury County 70
some time, and IL is a subject that indi
Gates very shOrt-sighted policy on tn
part of our penple--it is this lurnpik
war. A graz many of our citizen
look upon he turnpikes as a nuisanc
and burdensOme tax upon Us; AM
are ready Ia find fault and complain
because Occ 'ssiunally in places the
are allowed to get out of order. III
lHrurupike Companies should be re
quired To keep their roads in better cor
dition, but has their condition bee
such as to Justify the great uprisin
against them, which we have Just ma
: which resulted IN destroying two q
the best rOads in the county and ma
? prevented the building of two others
What would we do without the
r What would our farms be wiihoU
them? What wOulu become OF tn
I people in this county AID what wOui
become of COlumba if we could nc
, get together to trade and traffic, aud ho'
could we have gO,teu y ther this pas
81 winter without these solid roads
Suppose our turnpikeS should be sue
, denly converted into dirt roads, wha
D. would we not give TO have them back
; Do YOU think after one bad winte
without thpm-we would then con
F plain if occasionally there were ha
. places in them? Would we not col
P slider them luXuries and would "
: object to paying oil. Don't you thin
Z Just one winter like last winter, with
+ out them, would he a settler to th
2 grumblers and crOakers? Don't yo
e think the msjOvity OF their enemiC