The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-31
ROADS AND DRAINAGE BONDS.
The County Engineer Submits Some
SuERestions Anent thu Matter

Sobh CS1AOAAb "A III tAA5 uAdbJbIs
Savannah, Ga, July 29.-Editor Morn
ing News: In connection with your edi-
torial of the 27th relative to the issuance
of bonds for drainage and roads, permit
me few suggestions.
No compulsory labor is equal in guam
tity per capita TO free labor and the less
the power TO enforce such labor the less
the quantity and the poorer the quality
Our road law is a system of compulsory
labor, and, owing to the inability or in
disposition of those in authority 10 carry
out us provisions, produces results the
poorest in quality and the least in guam
tity.
When the United States became a ma
ton it was easy and simple to adopt colo
nial>mgthods, and as these methods re-
lated In some respects to the use and
keeping of the common roads, it was an
easy step to borrow the road
laws of England, since England
was the mother of the colonies At
| that time there were few better roads
than the English roads-and none worse.
There were better road laws than those
OF England; but not being printed in the
English language, they had little claim
| upon the American affection, if indeed
they had any place in the field of Ameri-
can knowledge. So we adopted
the English law and the En-
glish dirt road. That law, like
hundred others on the English statute
BOOKS, has outlivCd it's usefulness. 1t was
clio Of judaism, involving system of
statute labor which was born of an ignor-
ant brain and suited only TO answer CON
dltlons of national poverty, or a system
OF serfdom. In the early days of the re-
public the fortunes of war and the unde-
veloped condition of the country compelled
US TO subscribe to the trst of
iona y,I - rs,,Il Al
barrassments which it imposed We
were poor, individually and collectively,
and might well have been excused for at
tempting to work our own roads, even
in that crude and unsystematic way
which the passing century has bred
within US as a natural habit. But we
| nave long since outlived the pains and
trials of national infancy. The American
greenback holds front rank in the finan-
| cial procession. Every species of pub
| lie debt, national, state, county
and town, has largely decreased within
the last decade. The banks Of the coun-
! try report large increase in the num-
Der Of individual depositors as well as a
corresponding swelling of the funds de-,
! posted, and every kind of industry seems
| to have been enriched in value and quick
ened in its operations by the DEVELOPMENT
! OF population and by the adoption of the
thousand and one methods and appli-
] dhNCo NhlOu 1pTtNtE seek Il market Ia
| populous cenJers. Save only the farmer.
/ lie and his industry seem To be beyond
the stimulating influences of modern in
/ yentious. and while il is true that his
methods or tliiage have been improved
and lightened by the use of machinery, it
Is no less certain that the general pros
| perity Of the farmer has not kept pace
with that of other branches of society.
and that the allurements of grain
are no longer conspicuously prom
lneut IN the general field
/ OF American agriculture indeed il
IS quite safe 70 say that farming lands in
general are not increasing in value With
/ the thousands of acres OF uncultivated
lands in Chatham county il is well worth
/ while 10 inquire why this is So The
! value OF farm produce is not essentially
/ less than IN former years. The methods
/ OF farm work have been lightened by i'm
/ proved appliances, and from the farmers
/ standpoint the conditions IRE quite as
! favorable as AZ any time in the history Of
! the country But from the standpoint Of
/ tae business man and investor, other
/ iues or business offer more substantial
/ promise. The value OF farm property lu
! these dahs must depend not 0uly upon the
/ quality ~ the land, DC productive uual-
/ tiles and Us location, blt n must be- 'con-
/ siaerel also with "a special yleW OF lhs
/ lines " comm lnlrgtiOu which connect II
Wlth the market Delays uncertainties.
T the amount 0f power required. uuue.rs.
/ safN expense uud useless wear and tear
I are iHparllui questions HI th tHr capital
4 lat aHd thc investor uf These dass. ana
] sfery obstacle which stands IN tAe way