Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-03-16
We WANT GOOD ROADS.
Unfair to Expect the Farmers to
Shoulder the Burden.

UNFAIR TO Expect the Farmers to
Shoulder the Burden.
The trouble about building roads
is having to pay for them. We
know that it will take great deal
of money to macadamizo the high.
ways extending throughout the
country, and we also know very well
that it it uniair to expect the farm
ers to shoulder the burden, of this
expense. The average farmer is not
to be blamed if suggestion, that
the roads in his township should be
radically improved, calls forth a Wig
orous protest on his part. He has
always been responsible for the con-
dition of the roads in hs township,
and he alone has had to pay the
taxes for keeping them up. What
wonder, then, that he should believe
the proposed radical improvement is
to be made at his expense, just like
the annual road work ?
We maintain that those who
profit by an Improvement arc the
ones who should pay for it. We
maintain that every one using q
highway should contribute in q
proper measure to the cost of its i'm
provemcnt. The farmer is not the
only one who uses country roads.
They are travelled by the country
merchant, the itincrant peddler, the
village doctor, the commercial sales
man from the city, travelling by team
to sell his goods to the cross roads
country store, and to greater or
lesser extent, by the entire people.
We feel, therefore, that if our roads
are to be improved for the benefit of
ali these people, they all should bear
a share of the taxes necessary to be
levied for the purpose. And it
should DO remembered, too, that the
entire city population will be bcne-
fitted by the Improvement Of our
country roads, not only those who
travel them, but all others as we'll
For, if the farmer, by having better
roads, can save in the transportation
of his produce, and can afford to sell
it cheaper in town; or, on the other
hand, if a saving in its transporta-
tion gives him larger margin of
profit on what he sells, with more
money to invest in the things sup
piled by the town, this results in in
direct benefit to the population of
the town. A great injustice has
been done the farmers in expecting
them alono to shoulder the RESPONSE
bility and the expense of building
country roads, while the construction
OF canals has been heavily subsidized,
while rivers have been, made naviga-
bic by the government, and while
untold millions have been showercd
upon railroads, by cities, villages,
co o'ntics, States and the nation, in
sook and bond subscriptions, cash
donations and grants of boundless
tracts of government lands. Gen.
Roy Stone, Chief of the u. S. Road
Inquiry Office, declares:
at is time to do way with the
cruel injustice which places upon
farmers: and upon the small fraction
of property in the State which they
own, the entire burden of building
highways for the whole people. The
farms of the United States are be-
tween one. fourth and onc-tifth of
the whole property of the country
probably not more than one fifth
yet that one-fifth is providing the
primary highway for transportation
for the whole country"
In the State of New York this
burden is borne by less than one.
tenth of the property of the State.