Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1902-08-13
Road Question Becomes Chronic.

Seneca, August 4.-Editors Courier;
Tho road racket is becoming chronic.
1t was one of Ben Tillman's racket
raisers away back in the ninoties, and
because he rode into office on racket
every politician since has been bowling
himself hoarse over this road question.
Any good thing can be over-done, and
this road craze is not only over-done,
but it has caused everybody to lose faith
in the county chain gang. 1t has done up
Mr.. Snead 80 far as office is concerned,
and will do up Mr.. Pool on the 26th OF
August, and if kept up at the gait it is
going it will do up the county in about
six more years. Every man wants a
good road by his house, but he wants
somebody else to build it. Every man
wants new road by his house or an old
settlement road put on the public. /
know of roads being built in this county
on purpose to go by certain mans
house whose farm is not worth the cost
of the road, and whose taxes would not
pay for the road in thousand years.
This is like "holding n 800 funeral over
a 50-cent niger.
When 1 was boy you had to take
down your buggy umbrella along most
roads in this county, and when you
wanted TO pass follow you said "Hay,
Mister, l want to pass you, please" and
he got in one ditch and you got in the
other, and before you could both get
out of the bitches you would have time
to say "howdy," and sometimes ask
how the ''old woman was, etc., and
often you could have the pleasure of
helping to pull your neighbor out Of
the ditch" These were the good old
times" Now some of these roads have
been widened three or four times till a
man with a derby hat on can pass you
almost anywhere, with a cigar in his
mouth, going at six or eight miles an
hour aud never speak--no, not even
look at you. But you either pay the
taxes or work the road just the same.
And now our friend from Newry "a
good fellow, too,) comes out with new
plan for good roads Eight County
Commissioners at salary of about $500
each, total of $1,000, and clerk at So
per day, and all this mob with unlimited
power to levy taxes. Great Scott! and
they would all want an 'injine' and a
road machine apiece, aud chain gang,
too; we'll, if we had all this it would
simply be farewell, old county, that's
all.
The other evening l saw a policeman
and the mayor of Seneca arrest three
men sitting on pile of cross ties and
lock them up. 1 asked some one what
it was for and was told that it was for
doing nothing. Now, if the State will
pass just such q law and arrest every fell
low caught sitting around these country
stores and towns doing nothing but talk
ing about good roads and better roads,
and put them to work on the roads, we
will soon have the best roads in the
world.
But, as we said in the outset, this road
racket is chronic, and we will beg par
don and swear off. You can't pay your
honest debts with good roads, and they
will not feed the wife and babies. When
/ was a boy l used to walk behind the
wagon in public roads to pick up the
ears of corn that the limbs would knock
of. The boy of to-day don t have it to
40. The limbs are gone and the corn is,
too. Now, if you could see the poor
horses in this county and see the West
ern corn that has been hauled away from
the railroad this year at $l.25 per busllel
on time, you would agree with me that
what we need above all things is corn--
more corn and better corn; corn for
home use and some left over for the
chain gang. Then we won't have to
feed them on 5000 flour. Let us get up
a corn craze. hope Tillman or some
politician will start it. Then it's a 20.
Our roads are already so good that most
of the milch COWS have walked to town
to pay off a lien for corn and tobacco.
The rest will follow this fall. And yet
all tho idiots in the county will continue
to hollow good roads. l can't under
stand, 80 l will just beg pardon and
swear off. 1t used to be that the county
owned the roads, but it won't be long
till the roads and "injines' and the
chain gang will own the county. And
the end is not yet. More Corn.