The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-01-31

The State, 9th inst
Tue Legislature OF South Caroliu
last night listened to sn enjoyable an
much enjoyed common sense talk q
tho subJ2c Of good roads. This them
= uld not occupy the entire time of Pro
>. a. Holmes, of the University c
North Carolina and State geol0gis,
1 out he referred briefly TO many laten
, resources which should DO developed
, fos cred and maintained.
DIR. Holmes is a native OF South Car
oIlna, and though young man, i
among The foremost OF those who ar
devotlng time and brain to the up
} building Of tho South in tho develop
mGnt of natural riches. He is self
made mau, and the most forcible illus
trdtion Of the cost OF bad roads which
ne used last night WAC taken from hi
O"n life. He rccited how whGn a by,
ne had made threC bales Of cotton u
alu In Obtaining an education. To hau
that cotton from Laurens 20 New berry
cost him $l5, and consumed five days
on account Of the horrible roads-a:
much an expensa rs u trip to New York
on the cars.
M. Holmes began his lecture by re-
lrring to the splendid growth OF
south Carolina in her cotton mill in
| dustries, anC illustrated with his stere.
optlcon the water power OF Peizer aud
OF the Columbia canal. Rapidly run.
ming from water power to water itself,
| nc gave good advice about the sink
| Ing OF wells 80 as to escape typhoid
germs.
Forestry was beautifully illustrated
| and ably discus 3ed. He showed on the
| canvas the spl, ndid pine forests Of
North Carolina in their virgil. state,
and deplored the fact that this great
source Of revenue was nearly extinct
on account OF forest fires. The loss to
North Carolina had been 81 900, 600 an
uually on this account. South .Caro-
lina's pine forests are not so much
ruined. The causes of this devas tation
are sometimes carelessness and some
times cussedness, and In North Caro-
lima the forests have b3en killed, the
seed germs destroyed and the land
made desert by these fires. He ap-
pealed to the Legislature to throw safe
guards around the pine forests and
also to protect the gum and the cypress
in the swamps where the land is being
sold to foreign numbering corporations
for a ptttance.. ,.srxSa .,,,.r, -;
He spoke of the good which the bu-
reau OF geological survey was effecting
In causing diversity of ferming in
North Carolina, and said that the farm
ers were not complaining Of the cost Of
this bureau, for it had brought $lO,-
OOO 900 Of foreign capital into the
State and had helped the farmers to
practicet economy. There is no use,
ne said, for South Carolina to try to
get appropriations from Congress to
help in such work unless the State does
something itself. Our representatives
III Congress are crying paternalism
run mad" and the western and east
ern men are saying, give us appro.
priations fJr our waste places and we
will do something ourselves"
He then came to tho subject upoo
which he WAS TIC address the general
assembly by invitation-good roads.
Ho laid com tho proposition that those
people WOO have not good roads are
paying a - mud, sand and hill tax"
and for this they get no benefit. NJ
creature in the animal or vegetable
kingdom is benefited by bad roads, not
even tadpnlcs, for they die in dry
weather. From letters written TO 10000
farmers, he had been able to estimate
that tho mud tax" has cost North ca
roiina SlO,OOO,OOO yearly, and the cost
in South Carolina is half 30 great.
With his sterOOpitcon he showed how
in other sections of this country hills
were graded, and the roads made
smooth aud firm.
In Californis. convict labor is used to
prepare the mscadam at q cost OF about
20 cents day, against rs cents In
North Cnrolins for free labor. He sug-
gested that a State rock crushing plant
could 0e established at oc in con- nection
with the South Carolina peniteutiacy
and by convict labor the cost reduced
IN a m n m fNha
range with the railroads for nominal
ratio OF transportation. The poorer
countieS might say that it was very
yell Tor Greenville, Spnrtanburg An
derson, etc., to undertake this work,
but they themselves could not. Prof.
Holmes said there was as much com.
mon sonse In that statement as there
would be in the plaint Of country
merchant that he could not keep his
otore open because he was not able to
do as much business as a Wholesale
store In Columbia.
He advised moderation and common
sense In the undertaking. Some Sec
Gions do not need as much expense as
others. He thon complimented the
roads OF Richland County leading out
OF Columbia. The county supervisor
had accomplished, so easily that he
hardly realized the value OF his work,
the building OF roads that are as easily
travelled as those celebrated roads OF
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina,
and at q cost Of 900 per mile, while the
latter had expended %, 900 milo. He
urged the Legislature to advice their
people TO experiment with sand and
clay, mixed to the proper consistency.
He could give no formula as to tho
competition, ~ clay differs in tho sew
oral sections OF the State. But ordi-
narily a sand road for a basis. with q
surface of four inches Of clay, Is the
proper consistency.
In the laying OF macadam he urged
system. The substrata OF larger rock
should be carefully packed, and 1T Is
economy to have heavy rollers. Each
upper stratum should be packed on
carefully.
Throughout his talk he showed the
exasperatlng difficulties and actual cx-
travagance Of tad roads, and by com
psrlson argued that the perpetual tax
for bad roads would be far greater
than tax tor perpetual good roads.
Several good arguments for wide.