The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-06-02


| protect what we believe that this
have already done will be the last bond
"Tbe spending of issue necessary for
! one hundred thous- street improve
and dollars on our ments, as this bond
| streets will put our issue will naturally
| city in fine condi- make better show
ton. 1t will give ing now than all of
employment to sew the money previous
| eral hundred men ly spent"
and will benefit
/ every man in the
| city,
Would any one reading these two Sc
! lections, knowing the dates of each, but
entirely ignorant of the situation other
| wise, ever imagine that they referred to
the same city?
| In 1899 100000 was asked for to put
our streets "in fine condition.
The house story was used as an illus
tration, strongly implying that the job
was then half done. and that the finish
F.! ing touches" would-if the bond election
were favorable-be put on. Yet we find
in 1901 that the fund is exhausted, an
other appeal is being made; the same
straw is being threshed and the amount
of work which the proposed bond issue
will do is simply astonishing in the light
of past experience. We have eight miles
of maeadam completed, we can with a
like amount complete thirty four miles.
BY the way this house story. though
of the vintage of 1899, can still be used
ito point a moral and adorn a tale"
Suppose the Arkansas Traveller had a
contractor employed to put a roof on his
house; had furnished him the money with
which to do it and had left it in lbs hands
for two years. Returning, instead of the
work on the roof to shelter his home hav-
ing been completed, he found the contrac-
tor busily and absorbingly engaged on a
crazy quilt of beautiful patch work, and
when upbraided for his folly and his fail
ure to fulfill his contract the contractor
should say, Every dollar has been hon
estly expended. l have labored for two
| years constantly and faithfully on this
beautiful design; just allow me two years
more, and enough money to connect these
exquisite squares and when the lovely
quilt is completed the balance of the fund
will then be used for the roof which you
have so long needed" Would any one who
is sane believe that the owner would
again trust that contractor or that he
would furnish the funds with which to
complete the quilt? Nay, verify, but both
the quilt and the contractor would know
that place no more forever, and the own
er would put on the roof.
Now about prophecies. In 1899 the
Street ommittee said in effect that $780,,
900 would put the streets in fine condition
and put on the finishing touches" The
citizens believed that they could, and they
would be able to do this they entrusted
the committee with the funds with which
to do it. Have these great expectations"
been realized? Upon the contrary, but
two single thoroughfares to the city linn
its have been completed, Notwithstanding
the fact that the township of Raleigh has
for ten years been paying ninety per cent
of the Road Tax" and has completed
about five miles of every road leading
into the city. This investment was made
because these roads are the arteries
bringing life to the heart of the city and
consequently every citizen is greatly in
terestcd in them. To realize the full bene-
fit of good country roads, the city streets
meeting them should certainly be made
as good in all respects And yet you
will find a few squares not only neglected
but made almost impossible by the work
of the Street committee.
There is no reasonable explanation of
this failure on the part of the commit
tee. The roads being like spokes of a
wheel radating from the hub to all parts
of the compass necessarily pass through
each and every ward of the city, there
fore the city as a whole would have re-
ceived the greatest benefit by having
these thoroughfares improved while each
ward would have derived it's just share
of the public funds.
The public work of the State in all its
history furnished only one parable case of
the Street committee, that being the
North Carolina Railroad; projected as a
great work to run from the sea to the
mountains, it was expected that it would
be like the back bone of the animal king
! dom, while We find it like a snake, par
TALLY coiled which in it's folds gathered
almost every member of the Legislature
who had to be persuaded" to give his
| vote to the success of this grand concep-
ton
The committee asked would you tell
| a man he must not wear his coat be-
cause he cannot get a silk-lined on?" If
/ were asked to decide that question |
would inquire, "Can the man pay for
coat Of any sort?'' If the answer were
mo" l should certainly hesitate to adj
| wise him to mortgage the balance of his
wardrobe at this season of the year and
| invest it in a coat of "Shoddy" The coat
would be gone before the summer was
ended and like our first ancestor the man
would be longing for the Garden Of Eden
and for fig leaves for covering. In the
atmosphere of Raleigh in the month of
December neither the Garden of Eden