The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-09-30

and taken the limitation IN demon
strating, unaided, that the system is
thorough h and satisfactory in cost and
in giving the best roads the South has
ever had. The first Supervisor, W.
p. Snelgrove, was elected two years
ago, and is again renominated in the
Democratic primaries by an over
whelming majority. 1t is very signi-
icant that almost all of the other Su-
pervisors in the State were defeated
before the primaries.
From the very beginning Mr.. Smell
grove has exhibited marked interest
in this new road system, and in the
plans adopted by him has clearly
proven his fitness for this difficult po~
sition. In Anderson County there are
seventeen Townships. Up to this
time Mr.. Snelgrove has purchased for
these Townships seven Steel Champion
Road Machines, which are manufac-
turcd by the American Road Machine
Co., Kennett Square, Pa. These ma
chimes were selected after careful
comparison VITA other similar ma
chimes manufactured by others, and
they have given perfect satisfaction.
These machines shape, grade and
ditch, leaving a smooth track sloping
from the center to the side bitches,
forming kind of watershed, which
prevents the standing of water on the
road-bed. 1t is found that each
Champion does The work of about GO
hands. The Supervisor intends to put
a Steel Champion Machine in each
Township in the County in the course
of year or two. There is only one
squad of convicts in the County at
present, and in the different Town
ships work has to be performed by
hired labor, but the Machines have
gone over nearly the whole County,
cutting down the hills, rounding up
the roads in good shape, and leaving
them in a condition to be easily fin
ished.
At the convict camp there are
about 30 convicts. The camping out
fit is complete. There is a substantial
tent for the convicts 16 by 40 feet.
At night the men are placed with their
feet together, chained and guarded.
The tent for the guards is II by IA
feet, and conveniently located near
the convict tent The most unique
article, perhaps, of this camping out
fit is the portable kitchen, built Of
corrugated iron and placed on wheels.
This kitchen is Z by IL feet, with q
stove bolted down securely. It is ar
ranged inside with shelves, tables and
everything necessary for cooking pur-
poses. Ventilation is provided by
means of wire gauze doors. Two
mules only are required to move this
kitchen from place to place. Every
thing has been working smoothly at
the camp so far. No attempts to es-
cape have been made, but among the
necessities of the camp are blood
hounds. Several of these dogs have
been purchased and are terror to the
The task of transforming a million
miles, or more, of bad roads into good
ones, a task which involved the dis
ruption of century old systems, the
development of new lines of legisla-
tion in all the States of the Union,
and in many even the changing their
constitutions, and which has threat
ened to require an expenditure run
ming into billions, has commonly been
deemed so vast and difficult as to be
utterly hopeless; but it suddenly ap-
pears that the few good citizens who
have had the courage to attempt 1t
here and there, have reason to be as
tonished at their own success. Not
only have the ways and means been
found without oppression to the tax
payer, but the actual cost Of good
road making has been brought far be-
low che early estimates. Sixteen
States have passed new road laws,
more or less radical in their nature.
and one has amended it's constitution
to permit the adoption of such laws.
Many hundreds of miles of good roads
have already been built, in localities
widely separated, under varying con
ditions and through various methods
of administration, finance and con-
struction. In the South more especl-
ally the question of better roads has
been thoroughly discussed, and active
steps have been taken to have the
plans carried out.
In Anderson County this new sys-