The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-24
A PLAN FOR THE CONvlCTS.
STATE QUARRIES AND COUNTY
ROADS THE IDEA.

Col. w. w. Gordon Makes n SUCCESS
tiOn-He Desires That Gen. Roy.
stone, Road Specialist OF the Ag-
ricuIturaI Department. BE Invited
10 Address the Legislature-Gen.
stones Plan For the Utilization of
COnvicts in Aid of Road Building.
If the members of the general assembly,
who are now puzzling their brains over
the solution of the convict question, will
accept a suggestion from Col. W. W. Cor
don, they may save a great waste of gray
matter.
What Col. Gordon asks is very simple.
He simply asks that the legislature in
vite Gen. Roy Stone, special agent in
charge of the Office of road inquiry of the
United States agricultural department, to
present his views to the legislature on the
use of convicts for road building.
While north this summer, Col. Gordon
met Gen. Stone and the two discussed the
subject of improved roads at some length.
Col Gordonwas very much impressed with
Gen Stones views on this subject and
thinks the plan which he urges for the
Use of convicts in road work to be es-
peeially applicable to this state.
Gen. Stones plan, in brief, is
that the state- should lease or purchase
quaries, centrally located and convenient
to the railroads, where all the ab.e-bodied
convicts, who have been sentenced for
bong terms, should be employed in break
ing and crushing rock, and that this rock
should be furnished to the different coun-
ties of the state at small advance upon
the cost of crushing, sufficient to pay for
feeding and guarding the convicts. and
that the counties should use their INSIDE
meanor and short-term convicts in build
ing roads of this material
Col. Gordon called the attention of a
Morning News reporter yesterday to bull
letin No. II of the United States depart
ment of agriculture, which contains an
address by Gen. Stone on BOARD Build
ing in the United States"
The following extract from this docu-
ment gives comprehensive Idea of Gen.
Stones views on the subject:
The plan proposed for this is in SUBJ
stance as follows: First, for the state to
buy or lease some of the territory which
contains the best quarrieS of road mater
ial within its limits; second, to make the
necessary railroad connections, having first
secured the permanent agreement of all
its leading railroad companies to carry
road material at the cost ofEhauling, on
condition, If required, of the state furnish
ing to them a certain amount of track
ballast free of charge or at the cost price:
third, having created the necessary build
ings and provided the best machinery for
quarrying and crushing rock, to bring all
eble-boded state convicts and put them at
this work. ba To
Jail prisoners and tramps at the work of
grading, draining and preparing the road
Tor matchmaking; fifth, the state to fur
nlsh broken stone free on board cars as
its contribution to road improvement
The cost to the state, in addition to the
maintenance and guarding of convicts
would be only that of fuel and oil, explos-
ives and use of machinery, or, according
to the Massachusetts commissions report,
6.S cents per cubic yard of broken stone,
amounting, for the 1900 cubic yards re-
CURED to lay single track road nine feet
VIDE and eight inches deep, to $S1 go
The remaining cost would be the rail-
road freight, amounting, for an average
distance of 100 miles, to not more than %
cents per mile; the wagon haul, averaging
possibly 21a miles, 30 cents per yard, or
$3.50 per mile, and the rolling, superintend-
ence and incidentals (not including enei-
neering, which would be a general county
charge) 10 cents per cubic yard making
the total local cost IS cents per cubic ward.
or $S15 per mile.
This plan would bring the expense of
ROAD improvement so low that no elaborate
scheme OF taxation or borrowing would be
necessary and all it's benefits could be
speedily and universally realized
Many OF the states are now arranging
10 estabhsh supply camps at which state
convicts can be worked under proper re-
strictlons. California especially will profit
by this change; the state prison grounds
at FOLSOM contain an excellent vein of
trap rock and crushing rock; there are 700
or 800 Idle convicts in the prison who could
all be employed in this manner and the
prison authorities find that they can pre-
pare road material and put it on the cars
1or 70 cents a cubic yard, and pay all the
expenses of the prison out of the receipts
Many railroads have already offered to
transport material for the bare cost of
train service, and probably most of the
railroads in the country would be willing
TO make such an arrangement, for they
are naturally interested in the improve
ment of the highways"
Broken or crushed stone at 20 cents per
cubic yard would be good deal cheaper
than Augusta gravel even with the freight
added, and If the cost per mile should be
twice as much as Gen. Stone estimates
1t would still be about half what the
county is now paying for the gravel roads
AiiOeISt Suggestion VI zen. stone,
said Col. Gordon, lis the cost of material
should be equalized to the various coun-
ties of the state. That is, that distant
county should be furnished with the ma.
terial at the same cost, freight includ-
ed, as the counties in the neighborhood
OF the quarries, so that all would share
equally in the benefits of the move"
If the authorities of California con-
tinued Col. Gordon, "can prepare road ma
terial and put it on the cars for 20 cents
a cubic yard and pay all the expenses of
the prison out of the receipts, the au-
thorties of Georgia should certainly
De able to do as well. Another point to
be considered is that with such a system
as this in vogue many of the counties of
me state would do what Chatham is now
cong, keep their convicts at home to
work on the roads, instead of leasing
tnem out to private parties. Good roads
are the surest means of developing the
state, and If the Georgia legislature will
provide some plan by which the convicts
can be made use of for this work at small
Ut no expense to the state, they will do