Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-02-25
THE "RoAD.ovERsEER" SYSTEM.
The veriest Farce-some Facts rs 'o !"
Efficiency and Its Costliness.
oIrrrIE,V VA February o. 1891.


To the Editor of the Dispatch:
In your last Sundays issue you tell an
inquirer from Cary's Brook. Va, that the
road law, which was recently declared I'M
constitutional by the Court of Appeals
could be made valid by a constitutional
convention; and, also, that the new Court
Of Appeals might reverse the old one on
this question.
Now. Heaven forbid that any convention
or court of sensible men should seek 10
infiict again such a law upon mud
stricken, long-suffering public! In tnls
era OF progressive, scientlnc road-makhs
IL would be like tearing up the railroads
and going back TO stage-coaches.
Taking this county as an example, the
service rendered by the "road-oyerseer-
two-days -work-a-year" system has been
very inefficient and costly for years. The
"overseer" gets his 81 per day for sum-
moning hands, and then his fee for each
day he has them out, together with y
a day for each team and plow furnished.
The law says each hand must work ten
hours a day, but compliance with this IL
the exception. not the rule. The most OF
the few who put In an appearance come
late. work pretty much as they choose,
and quit early. The overseers authority
practically amounts W npAuiibs ihOSV
who fail to come to work after being sum-
moned are supposed to be fined Is cents
n day. but the collection OF a road fine Is
about as rare here as a young dodo. The
vholei system has gotten TO be a farce.
and a costly one, and the sooner II is
wiped out the better, and a road-tax I'M
posed, say, of a dollar a head.
ROAD COMMISSIONER.
v,-t,o ,oo1 ,,,acbinas vvara introduced
into this county, about two years ago. the
county supervisors appointed road
commissioner" for each magisterial dis
trict TO direct the operations of the ma
chine and look after the teams, &c. AT
the same time they notified all the road
overseers that I'm the future they were To
be subject TO the orders OF the commis-
sioners in their respective districts, and TO
do only such work as the commissioner
specified. 1t was necessary often to have
hands go ahead of the machine to cut out
bushes, &C., and to help cross lay very
bad places.
Well the result was a worse attendance
than ever on the part of hands summoned.
they contending .tbats tsey we're rot -s@in !.
to work when the county had mules and
machines to do such labor. until the sum-
moning became the veriest farce To all.
except the overseer. Twice this winter
hands were ordered out, and out of twen-
ty-fve or thirty not one came
Yet there Is this talk about 10000 worth
of labor CD in the State to be expended
annually on the public roads!
Again. 1t has been stated in the discus
sion of the road-question that should work
on the roads b. done by contract such
labor could be utilized by turning il over
to the contractors Now, no contractor
who understands his business would for
a moment hamper himself with any such
arrangement or agree to take any such
labor in part payment for his work. He
would have his own trained. disciplined
force to do what he had to do; and then
after he had done 1t properly he'd want
his money.
WHAT WAS PAID OUT.
When the supervisors OF Hanover were
discussing the advisability of buying road
machines, they stated as an argument In
their favor. that during the previous year
the county had paid out $1,000 In hard
money for the pay Of oyerseers and their
bills for hire OF plows and teams, pine
poles furnished. for "crOss-laying," etc,
etc. and that We were as deep in the mud
as ever.
And it can be added here that after
two years service OF three road-machines.
with their attendant cost. We are, IL is
generally admitted about as deep now as
we were then. simply because the work
wasn't properly laid out in the start and
intelligently prosecuted.
MOI the only way To secure better roads
is to adopt different methods from those
now prevailing: Is to have competent en-
gineers I'm charge. and the work let by
contract. And the county so doing would.
l believe. save thereby every year a goodly
sum. know Hanover county would n.