The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-11-03
Roads at HaIf the Cost.


Written for the Epitouist aud Published By
request
Having travelled over a good part
of Wisconsin the past winter attend
ing farmers Institutes, and the qnes-
ton Of good roads coming up at
nearly every meeting. have had
some opportunity to learn how the
payment of the road tax in cash com.
pares with the ole way of working it
out or paying it in laber. | notice
that it is very much like every other
reform in that it meets the greater
opposition from the ones it is most
intended to benefit. There seems. to
be very prevalent idea that the
good roads movement is intended en-
tirely to benefit bicycle riders, and
that at the expense of the farmer
The ores who make the greatest OBJ
lection on this point never stop to
think that while one bicycle rider
goes over the road 100 farmers travel
the same road with teams, and that
about one third of these teams are
pulling heavy loads The time and
effort that is wasted in travelling over
the roads as they are now, if it could
be properly. expended. would more
than keep in first claass condition all
the highwys in the country. Where
the cash system is in use. l End that
the roads are much better. First,
because they are put in charge of one
man for half or the whole of town.
ship, who makes study of the mat
ter, and soon becomes skilled in the
line, and is able not only see just
what needs to be done, but he can do
much more and better work than
could possibly be done by any one
unaccustomed to that work Second,
because the road commissioner will
insist upon each and every workman
being at his post at the proper time
in the morning, and see to it that he
does full days's work every time,
for unless he can show that the work
is being properly done and the peo-
ple's money is being judiclously ex-
pended, his term Of Office soon ex-
pires Third, because the tax payer
himself has q personal interest in
seeing that the commissioner attends
strictly to business, and does thor
ough and intelIigent, work.
Then, again, if the road-tax is paid
in cash, improved road machinery is
used, and it is certain that we can no
mere afford to ignore improved meth
ods and good tools in working
our roads than we can on our
farms. What would we think of the
farmer who to day would cut his
grain with sickle and thresh it with
fail? Yet we find more than half
the farmers are bitterly opposed to
any improvement in the system of
roadmaking, preferring to go in the
same old way year after year. Is it
not fact that our products come in
competition with the products offhe
whole world, and, if so, must we not
make every effort to get them TO
market at the least possible expense?
Where the cash system has been In
troduced better roads are made at
less than half the cost, and in some
cases only one third as much is now
collected as was formerly paid under
the old system 1t seems to me that
we could well afford to pay our road
tax in cash, and have the time we
usually spend in working it out to at
tend to our growing crops. even #
we had to pay the full amount we are
now paying. For what farmer can
afford to neglect his own home busis
ness to go on the road at 81 50 q
day? If we can get more and bet
ter work done by paying in cash
only one half as much as we now pay
in labor (and believe we can, it
seems to me utter folly to continue in
the old, unsystematic. expensive
and unsatisfactory way. Let US rath-
er adopt newer and better methods,
and make an intelligent. systematic
effort to improve our highways.
4 j. Coz.
Fort Atkinson, Wis.