The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-01-15

Sinking Fund are now 81. .391.222. THe
assets OF the Insurance Sinking rum:
| for State insurance OF public build .%*
amounts to s3,l1l.22. ~
GOOD ROADS.
During the past year there has been,
general awakening throughout inc
country on the. question q
Good Roads and in every secs:ca
great interest has been manifested
and movements begun looking Z"
the improvement OF the public high
ways. There is no question that more
! directly and more generally concerns
the great body Of Our people. the
South has possibly been a little Slew
in this matter, and the effects re-
sulting from Ter negligence arc pia!h-
ly to be seen.
For the past few years there has
been a great influx OF people into
our towns and cities and these have
raDidly built up at the expense OF the
surrounding country. This IS an evil
which il possible should be remedied,
for it Is to the people of the country.
and not to the towns and cities, that
the State must principally look Tor
the preservation Of her institutions.
| One Of the prime causes OF this great
| flow Of population into the towns apd
cities is to be found IN the condition
Of our public highways. In most OF
the counties in the State during GER
tain seasons Of the year Some OF tie
roads are altogether lmpaSsao!e, ana
all communication and traftlc Wllh
the cities and railroad points IS cut
off. Such a condition Of affairs must
work great hardships, especially ioon
the rural districts, and the people OF
the rural districts compose the g7ea'
majority Of our population.
Leaving out OF consideration alto
gether the evils resulting from the
condition Of OIL roads, however, and
looking at the {. Eestion from a purely
business standpoint, good roads
paw, and are one or the
best investments which can
be made by County, or State.
Under our present methods OF road
building. it IS necessary to rebuild
the roads after every washing rain,
while if we built good, permanent
roads, the cost Of keeping them IN re-
pair would be very small item IN
comparison to what our present ROADS
are costing. In fact, the saving IN
not having to work the permanent
roads so often. would in q very short
tine pay for their building. This has
been found to be the case wherever
good. permanent roads have been
built.
Fro1, the Seventh Annual Report
of the Commissioners Of Public
Roads Tor the State Of New Jersey,
one of the leading States in the Good
Roads Movement, the following i.
taken merely to show in what respect
good roads are held by the people who
have used them and know OF their ad,
vantages: THE people seem to be SO
wonderfully impressed with the idea
that by good roads the value OF land
will be increased, transportation
cheapened. travel and business at
Ltracted, school houses and churches
filled, and civilization advanced tba'
they. are praying as earnestly 1of
them as for great riches. Consequent,
" the pressure for new roads Is 40
great it seems almost impossible to
hold the people back. They are so
anxious that they are not willing to
confine themselves within the limit
of State and County appropriations
They are constantly insisting upon
building ahead Of the State approprla,
ton, in order that they may enjoy
them now"
1t has been estimated that in forty
Counties in Indiana where good roads
I N,,ilt q q lnprpAE1
in the selling price OF land, due to eI:,
listing improved highways, is S6.4S
per acre. The estimated average in
crease per acre that would result
from improving all the public roads
is $500. The estimated average cost
Of converting the common pu5nC
roads into improved highways Is
S1.146 per mile. The estimated aver
age annual loss, per 100 acres, from
poor roads is s76.2S." On the basis OF
this calculation the average annual
loss from poor roads is seventy:s!x
cents per acre. 1t will be seen tnat
the loss from poor roads would scon
pay for the building Of the good roads
and after replacing the amount paid
for. their construction, the good roacs
will continue to pay. .
OF course, it cannet be. expected
that South Carolina should do az
much as some Of the States have
done, but any action which may be
taken, looking to the betterment OF
our roads, will be Of great benefit and
in the long run will actually save
money. Most Of the work done by our
Chaingangs upon the present roads Is
simply thrown away.
The building Of public highways js
as much Of q science as railroad
building, and in order to build roads
will require money, and in order to
secure money there will have to be
provision for raising it by taxation.
The Good Roads Convention, which
was recently held in Greenville,
passed resolutions requesting the
LEGISLATURE that each county be
given the privilege to determine by
election the right Of such county to
levy a tax, not to exceed two and one
hall mills on the taxable property OF
such county. If so much be necessary,
in order to build good roads. and that
such counties as desire to do so besiven
authority to issue bonds to construct
and maintain their public highways