The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1899-03-02
COBB COUNTY ROADS.

Cobb county roads In all kinds of
weather can be a good judge Of
them. /.
lii good weather no one could
desire better roads. They are al
most like asphalt pavement, so
hard and smooth. Many people
are seen, at all times. of the day,
riding wheels along the country
roads, and at dusk many, both
young and old, are seen taking an
evening stroll.
But when the rains set in. no
worse roads could possibly exist.
Great holes are to be found all
along; the mud is hub deep; the
poor horses can hardly move the
lightest load. There is place
between town and my home, about
two hundred yards long, and as
the horses pull through the mud
here, they can scarcely go half of
their length before they are COM
Rletely exhausted and have to wait
a few minutes before they can
get breath enough to go on.
| know if the road commissions
ers could have driven only few
miles out Canton road, the week
before last, they would have i'm
mediately ordered it to be ma
cadamized. If this were done,
real estate would increase so per
cent. To prove this, will take
one of the Northern states for ex-
ample: viz, New jersey
The macadamized roads lead
ing cut from every city in New
Jersey have doubled the value of
real estate along which they lead;
for now rich people of the cities
go out fifteen or twenty miles and
buy them small places and build
splendid country residences; and
now large numbers of automobiles
and electric carriages are running
out and III every day. A farmer
can draw seven or eight tons now
when one and half tons was con
sidered good load before the
roads were built of McAdam. The
state pays one-half, the city one
fourth and the township in which
the city is situated, one-fourth of
the total expense. New York state
appropriated $4,000, 900 for canals
and it was stolen. If that had
been devoted to macadamizing
roads, New York would be in the
lead. Georgia must take hold of
it.
Since this state has the chain
gang system for it's convicts, it
would be an excellent idea to use
them on the roads. The main
roads could be called state roads;
the state furnish one-half and the
county through which the road
run and the city into which they
run could each pay one-fourth of
the expense.
But to return to the roads as
they now are. In the place,
which / before mentioned, some
person, meaning well, no doubt,
has put eight or nine loads of
marble chunks of various sizes.
These pieces stick out of the mud
about n foot, and as you ride
along you are almost jostled to
death as the carriage goes bump
ity-bump over them. A stranger
would doubtless think he had dis
covered marble quarry or else
recent volcanic eruption had tax
en- place.
A few days ago we were coming
to school and as we bounded over
huge boulder we rose into the air
as if shot from a gun, and coming
down again with great force, we
broke the bottom of the seat. The
county ought to pay for it, but if
it had to pay for all Of the acct
dents, both great and. small, caus-
ed in this way. ] am afraid it
would be bankrupt, so / think it
would be vastly cheaper to put in
McAdamized roads Immediately.
See the advantage coming to
the farmer of good roads. The
time which is now consumed in
carrying so cents load of wood
to market would be sufficient to
carry four times that amount, and
the same amount of labor would
do it.
should think Mr.. Granting
would be in favor of a good roads
law, for the farmers instead of
driving rude lumber-wagons would
then have fine carriages. The
harness man would be benefited,
for when the carriage is substitute
ed for the lumber-wagon, a nice
harness would take the place Of
the rope, chain and strap affair
which is now SO commonly seen.
M .xoaax ...o..1J 10 Ln,,nG%%oI