The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-07-23
GOOD ROADS NEEDED.
Burning Question or tho Hour-An
Age ofIsoad Building.
Charlotte Democrat,


Charlotte Democrat,
Road building is a burning question
today. Every community Is crying
aloud for good roads. The demands
ior the best OF roads are greater and
more pressing. For 20 miles truck of
all Kinds is hauled to the towns to
supply the increasing population with
fresh country eatables. In this county
are men who bring butter, eggs,
chickens and vegetable as far as l0
miles by private conveyance. You
want goou roads in order to make
quick time, to travel on before daylight
IN order to escape the hot rays Of the
sun, and 30 that trips can be made
more frequent. Mecklenburg has the
pest county system known in the South.
But her township system is to q Ger
tain extent a failure. Every man be-
tween 10 and As years old in the county
has to work days on the public road
during the year: This is good deal
OF work 1t 1t could be carried out,thor-
ousl y. But there are many things
against the system. A man who has
TO attend to his farm has not the time
TO look after the public roads. There
lore 1T Is hard to get men to serve as
oVer-seers. O II you get good over!seers
ana good tools the ruO comes In train
ing the hands for goods service. -Four
days hardly gives O man start on the
road. His sole aim is to pass away the
time. He mainly beats itaway regard
less OF the efficiency Of the over-seer as
boss. Most Of the time put on the
roads out in tho townships is wasted
so oyer-secrs tell me. 1t IL no body's
FAULT, either DThe law just does not
meet the demand. Too many obstacles
| span the way.
Anderson County, South Carolina,
has adopted plan that seems to be
working we'll. Instead OF the or 6
days work every map is required to pay
ore dollar as communication tax. They
tried the work, but it did not work
well for too many worked instead of
paying 1t. But when one dollar Is re-
quired instead of the days work the
money comes. Those who have tried
it say that it beats working the time
out all to pieces. The dollar tax rate
will do much more work and more ef-
fective work .han the 4-days work.
Now in Anderson County an over-seer
is employed by the county superinten-
dent and placed in the township with
d squad of hired hands. The Champion
Road machine is made to do most of
the work. 1t is found that the ma
chine takes the place OF about 40 hands.
Tho machine shapes; grades and
bitches. The shape of road Is O. great
point to consider. You want O. smootl
track sloping from the centre to tie
side-d1tch. This makes kind CT q
watershed. No water is allowed tn
stand on the road.
or course the county cannot place a
sufficient squad Of hands in each town.
ship to make Macadan roads-that IA
not the Idea. But each township can
haye excellent work dono by number
OF hands and machines employed for
that purpose. They can PREPARE the
road Tor the coming of the rock crusher
and the chain gang. They can make
g1ou goo roads tn the final work comes.
Then 1t would not take long to 90 to
the ,county's limits with the Maoadam NJ
roads. 'o''''e''"
Anderson county now has a number
OF hands In each township with several
r"oliines w"rlI ae aolng some fine and lasting
work. 'oon 'he