The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-02-13

/ When Mr.. Dodge concluded, Col. Moore
said this was the eighth time they had
held a convention and had seen before
| them the cadets OF an agricultural col
lege. II President Winston will furnish
US the names of the young men pres
ent, we will take pleasure In sending
each one something that may be of much
future benefit TO them.
i SENATOR NJ. C. BUTLER.
| After a selection by the A. and NJ. Col
i loge band, General NJ c. Butler was in
| troduced, and said that he had stopped
over for this meeting on account Of his
| interest in this movement and the i'm
poftunity of his friends, Col. Moore and
Mr.. Dodge.
He said 1t had been his good fortune
! to be acquainted with some of the old
| Tar heels" of 30 years ago. and thought
tat il they worked roads as hard as they
fought battles, they would accomplish
great results.
The two great questions, he said, Were
how to make the roads, and where to get
the money to build them. These good
| gentlemen here are. devoting themselves
to the first question.
1T seems to me the first thing we
1
effect a complete State organization, to
appoint competent civil engineer to lay
out and report upon the highways of the
State, and il had may way to appoint
a competent civil engineer for every coun-
| " do the the same for his county
! And / see in the bright faces OF these
young men before me the material to
| supply this demand
-
| South. and I believe in the North, East
and West also, are not able to spend
| the money TO improve their roads, and
they are the people interested The peo-
pie in the cities can stand taxation bet
ter than the people in the country
| Il submit that a reasonable amount OF
money should be appropriated every year
! fer this purpose out OF the State Treas
ury. The next step would take would
be to go TO the Federal Government and
| say You have appropriated S439, 000, 900
| for harbors aad rivers. and all the people
| did not get the benefit of It,
The Government has appropriated SEQ
! 0O0 900 for experiment stations of agri-
cultural colleges throughout the conn
| try
There is as much constitutional war
rant for the appropriation of money out
OF the Public Treasury for good roads
as for river and harbor improvements
and agricultural colleges.
ut may be objected that rs soon as
the Federal Government interfered. home
effort would cease. and, while ! believe
as much as any one that self help is the
Lest kind OF help. still have seen many
an enterprise grow stagnant and fail for
lack of outside help
He referred to the splendid roads in
Germany, France and Italy, some of them
1000 years old. and said that no country
bad perfect roads without Government
aid.
1T costs the farmers of this country
5000, 900, 600 TO transport their products
twelve miles. There are products that !
can raise on my place, fourteen. miles
from Augusta. that are net worth the
cost of getting 10 market.
with the great productive energy of
cur seople. the problem is one of distri-
hutton. The railroads have largely set
tied that problem as regards the long
haul. and the problem Of the short haul
is the one that now confronts us.
IF something is not done in my sec
ton of the country this depopulation Of
the country viii be complete. People
Will not live where they cannot get
about.
In closing Gen. Butler congratulated
the audience upon the great interest they
We're taking in this all important matter,
and said the sentiment was growing
that the leaven was working :,
CAPT ALEXANDER ON MECKLEN-
BURG.
After a selection by the band, Capt
S. p Alexander, of Charlotte was intro
duced as a man who had been building
good roads, as Well as talking about
them.
lie gave description OF the terrible
condition Of the roads in Mocklenburg
county before the new improvements
commenced, with the red clay OF the sec
ton
When they commenced To talk Of good
roads. the people over fifty years said
their time was out for working rozds,
and those were the people that owned
most OF thcl land. IN 1873 Capt AleXan-
der was sent TO the Senate, and he ana
his associates decided to pass a road Law
whether the people wanted it or not
When their constituents found out that
n law taxing the people OF the country
and towns had been passed, they were
simply wild. A monster petition was sent
up to have that bill repealed 1t took
two pages to carry-the petition into the
Senate chamber. Capt. Alexander moved
that the matter be indefinitely pos tponed,
and when Speaker Robertson put the
question Capt Alexander voted aye"
When the noes were called there was
no response, so the matter was indeti-
nitely postponed.
Road overseers were appointed, and the
people hogan to sSe that something could
be done in the way of Improvement. Capt.
Alexander said that he positively saw at
this time In the market at Charlotte po-
tatocs from Scotland and Nova Scotia.
The next term he was sent back 10 re-
enact his measure, but 1t ives defeated in
the House. Finally In 1884 he was re-
elected and the Legislature OF 1885
passed the bill, and ever since the work
has been going on.
Capt. Alexander then spoke OF the pres
ent condition OF affairs in Mecklenburg
as contrasted with the awful condition
few years ago. great many bust
ness men now can actually live outside
of the city limits. Real estate haC gone
NJ In ON