The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1898-05-28
A Charge to the Grand Jury,
EDITOR TINES.

| EDITOR LINES.
Dear Sir:-Considering the pres
ent time very favorable for pre-
ferring such a complaint, ! desire,
through your paper, to call the
attention of the Grand Jury now
in session, the Board of Supervis-
ors, and the public generally, to
the condition of public roads in
this county. | venture to say,
without much fear of contradic-
ton, that there are roads in the
county which no report has been
made to the Board Of Supervisors,
and which have received little. if
any attention during the past ten
years. In many, even among the
important and much used roads,
| the condition is 50 bad as to call
Ipremptorily for attention before
they become completely impassa-
BILE and useless. bitches are neg
lccted. and even. IN some places,
are cut acros, the road topermit
water to escape, and allowed TO
remain untitled and uubridged.
Plank and other material for
road work is hauled and thrown
down there to remain for month
after month, until 1t is carried
away piece meal by the negroes.
and Culyertsbridges are per
mitted to fall into ruin, and
remain broken and useless, d
menaceto travel and obstruction
to the road until they are
gradually carried away adm burnt
for fuel. Even new wook work
Is stolen by negroes Tor this
purpose and no effort is made to
call the offenders to account. Of
the deep mud holes and sloughs
which are allowed to remain from
Year to year, increasing in depth
until impossible, nothing need
be SAID. They are too common
for remark. The practice is sim
ply, when a mud hole gets too bad
to cross, to make a new road
around 1t, which is used until i'll
can no longer be travelled, when
another one is beaten out in the
same way. Fallen logs lie for
months across the roads, ana this
obstacle is overcome in the same
way-a new road around the fall !
en- tree is established by degrees. |
and the log remains where it fell. |
A few months AGO the most i'm
portant road in the north end of
the county got into such a condi-
ton 1t could no longer be travel |
led, and persistent complaint was
made by the GREENvTI.LE ITEMS
IN behalf of the people using it
lntll the condition was in GREAT
measure remedied. That was one
If the main arteries Of the county
yet it was suffered to become prao-
lcaIly useless, What, then, must
le expected by those roads which
le remote from the railroads and
.entres of population, unless a
lgorous protest is made by the
PEOPLE to whom they are all i'm
,ortantl
| repeat, that there is not a road
2 the county which is in anything
Ike the condition in which if I
hould be; and the state of 1
lany of them is one of un- i
ardonable neglect and disgracefulI !
ilapidation.
! understand trstrthe Judge. in
is charge to the and Jury, com b
WashiAgton county on S
s. law-abiding character. This
nplied a light task for the Grand Il
lry. If those gentlemen find -
emselves suffering from ennui 81
ey will readily find, in the public u
ads of Washington county, a il
bJect which comes legitimatelv ,y
thin their province, and which ="
III easily give them full and ao, !"
&c employment during the ii I'm
their session, + is earn %a3,e II
pea that il will also serve VET y u
ne away many summer bonrg =
the Boqrdof Supervisors before 81
other wet season sets in. W
Yours truly, Ct
CTTT1rn- IN