Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-11-13
For the Herald and Tribune.
o o ROADS.
A Timely Letter From a Competent En-.
gineer,

Ill
gineer.
EMBREEvILLE, Tenn, Nov. Z, 1886
We are told on %indisputable author.
ity that the world do move" An
evidence of this is offered in the recent
purchase by the County Court of a
rock crusher and engine.
1t has occurred to me that a few re.
marks on the subject of this crusher
from an engineers standpoint might be
OF value to our people.
think comparatively few of our citi'
zens realize the fact that the rock
crusher is only the stepping stone to.
wards better roads. The crusher itself
while admirable and calculated to do
much good, will lose more than half of
its value without a skilled force OF
road makers to work it.
Such a force would have to be paid
from the county treasury, and / make
the following suggestions as to the
way OF raising money.
Our present system of allowing men
to work out their tax is a farce. Men
no very little work when they do come
out, do not do it intelligently, and are
much too frequently excused"
Washington County is q very rich
agricultural community and there is
10 reason why we should not have a
system OF taxation by which the mini.
mum road tax should be one dollar per
man, each N hundred dollars after
the first one hundred dollars adding a
fixed amount. By this method each
man would be taxed according to his
possessions. The present system would
be entirely done away with, because
with the money thus received a skilled
force of workingmen could be KEEP on
the road from year s end to years end.
In the second place, having the rock
crusher already, and, we will suppose,
a supply of money furnished, tits abso-
lutely necessary, in order to retain the
macadam, that the grades of the roads
be changed In many places, as maca.
dam will not lie ON such grades as too
frequently exist on our roads, and
would suggest therefore that q compe
tent engineer be obtained who shall
lay out the roads on regular grades,
maximum not exceeding five feet in
the hundred. This can be very easily
done in a rolling country like this, and
simply requiresa man who understands
the principles of road making. The
present status of affairs by which roads
are run directly over hills and down
into vallies regardless of grades and of
carrying property of soil, would in this
way be entirely done away with, and
we would gradually get good loads
throughout the country.
The County Court should have au.
thorlty, ii necessary, vested in it by
the legislature to condemn property
wherever the engineers lines ran, and
the present method of running roads
around farms, thus inconveniencing
the whole travelling public because the
owner of the farm objects, should be
relegated to the Dark Ages" where it
belongs.
| have thus briefly indicated what il
seems to me the recent purchase of the
rock crushing machine will entail, il
satisfactory results are obtained from
it, and as a starter in the movement to.
wards good roads | hereby make this
offer to the county at large and to such
persons as are designated by the county
to receive such propositions:
will survey, at my own cost, stake
out, and give engineers supervision of
the road from Embreeville to Jones.
boro, maximum grade on which shall
not exceed five feet per hundred.
These services shall be performed by
the engineer of the Embreville estate
under my supervision and shall be
free of charge, if accepted.
Having once run the line | shall not
be required to re-run them without full
cause.
l have put this clause in to protect
myself from possible whims of SUPER
visors who either know very little or
care very little for having and keeping
up decent roads In the county.
Very truly yours,
GUY n. uNSO