The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-09-25

decrease The cost OF haulipg, increas
profits, increase the values of land
and largely hcin TO oring prosperity /,
the people.
Gen. Nj. G.. Batter also addrcssr,
the meeting, and said he agreed VIII
senator TillmaN and Prof. Holmes tha
what The system of Edg,lirld COunt'
hcr0cd most was 80 be rcsurveyGd ant
relocated and he had long hclu tbis
4 opinion. He could no, help thinkius
/ oi TINS every time he rode about, il
: pcin9 50 apparent how easily bad hills
! could be avoided He wanted / sec 4
county engineer in every county in the
! State. He had written Il series oi
articles in thC News aud Courier several
Years ago, i'll whlcu he undertook 10
show what great loss the people of
thc state were sustaining on account of
/ pad roads; he had estimated the cost
. "l repairs to vehicles in various coun-
ties i'll the State on account of bad
roads, and the figures were appalling.
Land could not have any great value
with the character OF the roads now
tNi"tIng being permitted TO remain
year after year in The county. He
favored personally an increase in the
Communication X and lcvYing Of a
Spcclat proper tax for roads Good
roads would cost something, but they
were worth The cost But whatever
was done should bc done undor as per-
iccI system us possible.
Genclnl Butler introduced rcsolu-
uon, which be had carefully prepared
before the meeting, asking The Lcgis-
laturc at It's hcXt session to pass d bill
adding the duties OF attention 10 The
Improvement of The State highways 10
the office Of the railroad commission,
making it the railroad ar Il highway
commissions" requiring the creation of
VI" "lflccs OF the county engineers aud
making OF returns of the condition of
highways in the vanouS counties.
This suggestion OF General Buffers
should be met with favor. Mlassa-
chuScitS, New York, New Jersey and
other Nolthcrn States have State high
way commissions which are dong
wonders in The Improvement of The
highways of those States. Nassa-
spends 5000 900 Il year in
short model macadam and
other roads i'll all parts of the state,
under its commission. We have hal
an era OF railroad building that has alb !
sorDed the attention and energies Of !
the people for years, but now railroad |
building is taking care of itself, and !
the people of the entire country are |
taking up the matter of improving !
public highways as they did before the |
beginning OF railroad building. 1t is
only within the last five or len wears |
That even the Northern States have re- |
sumed the old-timc attention to the
pubic roads, New Jersey Neginninc
,hc work IN 1891 and Massachusetts
making her first appropriation in 1893.
south Carolina in lS2O-3O had a State
OF highways aud canals,
tnd many good roads We're built.
" EX-Governor sheppard made a
spirited address. He believed in an
Increase Of the cOmmutallou tax and
cvJ OF special property tax, but that
care should be exercised not 10 make
,hc&c too high. Rcprcs cscntativcs
otrom, RainsFord and Mayson SPOKE
Ill advocating a reasonable increase of
tax, and proper property
cay. Mr.. Sircm insisted that the
'oads should be resurvcyod and rolo-
Gated rs it was the utmost of cXtrava-
rance to try to make good roads up the
1lllS, which were always washed to
pieces. Mr.. MaysOn was for Il pro-
)cr'Y tax to build roads, so that it
would reach the factory, the bank, the
'ai!road, the alien landowner, and all
who LCnIliI hn hnn,Ii' n1 In, |
1t present only The Individual, no mat.
,cr how poor he was or how rich, did
ali the work of building and keeping
up tue roads.
Hon. l.. J. Williams, who is chair
man of the State dispensary board of
said lie believed the time
had come to act, and proposed |
that committee composed of two I
from each town
ship in the county, should meet
and study all plans of working and
taxation, and recommend the best
method to the people of the county.
Senator Tilman offered an amend
mcnt to this, which was accepted,
for the immediate urganiza-
ton of the " Ed4clicld Good Roads
ASSOCIATION" which should have an |
executive committee composed, as Mr..
Williams suggested, to Immediately |
take plans under consideration.
The Edgeiicld County Good Roads |
Association was accordingly organized |
amid enthusiasm, Congressman Tai |
bert being made president, Hon. l.. j.
Williams and j. w. Thurmond vice
presidents, j. III. Cogburn, secretary,
and an executive committee of two
from each township. This committee
and the officers will meet at Edgelield
on sales day in October and evolve
plans to put Edgclield County on the
high road to prosperity. The members
OF the committee declare they are 60
ing to work, and that no one may fear
tagging. Gen. Nj. G.. Butler is a mem.
bcr of the committee from Meriwether
township, and the committee through
out is strong one"
Ambassador Choate is fond of telling
pG how thp loIp William, NJ Eu,,t,