The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-11
TO WORK The COUNTY ROADS
The Commissioners Detail Twenty five
Men to Put Them in Repair.

improvements - The Commissioners
Want Detailed Statement of the Ez-
penditure Of the County Poor Furd
The Vernon Shell Road Company to
be sued-Dr. Read Thinks Of Suing
/ the County Next Moath-rhe Mayors
Attention to be Called to the Matter of
/ Escaped Conviets so That the Police
| Can be Notified to Look Out for Them.
| The county commissioners met in reg
ular monthly session yesterday afternoon,
and the most important matter taken up
was the discussion of the question of
road improvement
The result was the passage of a reso-
luton by the board detailing a gang of
" enty-five convicts TO go to work at
once to improve the roads 1t is esti-
mated that such gang can repair in a
week a mile of the roads which are in
the worst condition.
The matter was brought up through an
application from c. Z. c. Fell and others
for drainage and improvements on GER
tain portions of the Augusta road and
Bay street extension, which was received
as information.
This led to considerable discussion
about the roads and their general bad
condition. DR.. Charlton said he believed
the sooner the road commissioners ac-
knowledged their inability to take care
of the roads, and the roads were put in
the hands Of the commissioners, the bet
ter 1t would be for the people of the
county,
He said he was in favor of putting the
roads in such a condition that people can
get from one part of the county to an
other. He believed, however, in doing it
on more extensive scale than the com
missioners are able to do at the pres
ent time, and he thought a road gang
should be established as early as posi-
BILE.
Chairman Dale was of the same opin-
ion. He did not think that there was
any law against the commissioners
working the roads or building them, and
he thought a road gang should be estab-
lished as early as possible to keep the
roads in order. He thought it time 10
begin working the roads.
DR.. Charlton said it was a question of
how it was to be done Chairman Dale
thought the county had the force and
ought to use part of it on the roads. DR.
| Charlton thought best to let the road COM
missioners state their inability to do the
work and then bring the matter to the at
| tention of the legislature, so that the
power of improving the roads might be
specifically delegated to the commission
ers and that body could use the fund col
lected for the purpose.
To bring the matter to some issue, Mr..
Chaplin, who was a strong advocate of re-
pairing the roads, moved that gang of
twenty-five men be detailed to fix up the
roads. DR.. Charlton opposed this, as he
said this was not at present the duty of
| the commissioners to do this work, but
| he thought If the plan suggested were car
! ried out money enough to enable the COM
missioners to do the work could be OBJ
| tanned Mr.. Kehce seconded Mr.. Chap
/ Inns motion. As a substitute, DIR. Charl-
| ton moved that further action on the
| road question be deferred and a special
| meeting of the commissioners be called
| for the purpose of acting on the question
! as soon as all the commissioners are in
! the city. Mr.. Chaplin did not want to
| procrastinate as he did not think Dr.
| Charlton would vote for his motion any
more at that time than he would now.
| There was no second to DR.. Charlton's
| substitute and Mr.. Chaplin's motion was
! put and carried. The gang of twenty
! five men win probably be put to work on
| the roads at once.
| DR.. Charlton then moved that a spe-
| cial meeting of the board be called to dis
! cuss roads and road improvement as
| soon as Commissioner Carson returns to
| the city, which will be within a week or
! ten days The motion was unanimously
| carried.
| IN speaking OF the drainage WOIk MAJ.
| r. A. Blandford, the county engineer,
said the progress of the work had been
| greatly impeded by the water in the
swamps. Neither the storms nor the
| heavy rains have done any damage to the
works, however. over three-fifths of the
average annual rainfall has been precipi-
| tated in the last three months, and nearly
five inches more than fell in the same pc
riod of time last year. The work is now
| progressing well.
| In the matter of county roads Mai
Blandford said that there were two or
three bad washes on Schwarz avenue,
! several very bad places on the Augusta
| road, some ten or twelve on the Louis
| Vile road, and as many more on the
! Ogeechee road. Waters road has several
| bad places, and in fact, there is not a sin
gle road around or near the city, or in
| the county, but that needs the attention
| of the road commissioners. 1t would
seem from this that the roads need at
| tention badly.
Beyond the destruction of a few tents,
the storms did little or no damage to the
| county works.
Maj. Blandford called attention to the
escape Of William Herd, a colored trusty.
on Oct. 3, and mentioned again in this
| connection the fact that 1t is impossible
to catch all these escapes on account of
the fact that no provision is made for
| their recapture, All the escapes, Mai,
| Blandtord said, are reported to the proper
| officers. but they claim there is no pro-
vision made for them to look up county
escapes, and that personally they cannot
afford the expense. The fact that no re-
ward viii be paid for the recapture of os-
capes is well-known among the prisoners,
and they feel that II they can get away
from the guards they are secure to come
to the city or 80 whore they please.
1t was decided to call the attention OF
Mayor McDonough TO the matter Of es-
| capcs.
There are 1859 prisoners in all in the
camps
a petition from the people of Pooler.
presented by G. b. Whatley, Esq. asking
that the commissioners give their atten-
ton to the drainage Of that town. was re-
ferred 10 the committee on drainage. The
petition stated the town was in a very
unsanitary condition, and the bitches
there were totally inadequate to carry
off the water. They wanted the bitches
deepened and widened.
The application Of Thomas b. Downing
for county aid with the statement tina;
he had not been able to get It through the