Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-04-10
ROAD COMMUNICATIONS.
EDITOR CITIZEN:

EDITOR CITIZEN:
While we are looking out for the
ruts and mud holes in our public
roads--a true foresight in self-in-
terest, a duty upon any progressive,
wide-awake people, self minister
ing unto our bodily aches and mate
rial needs-should we not look out
as well for the possible pitfalls that
lay unseen by the most anxious and
conscien tious of our spiritual and
temporal directors?
Your recent cor tributor, Mr.. Cur
lett, assume 10 be right in his fig
ures. There is $4,000 wanted in
lump, to be borrowed at 5 per cent,
costing at the end of thirty years
$4,000, principal and interest, as
against $50, 900 already our own and
potentially in hand, cumulative at
$4,000 (present annual road tax per
year for thirty years. That is to
say, mortgage the 100000 to secure
$25, 1000, or set aside $500 of the
road tax to meet annual interest,
and $400 of the same fund sunk an
nually to liquidate the borrowed
principal at maturity. Certainly it
is matter of arithmetic as to how a
small fund may be operated so as to
extinguish a larger principal and
interest borrowed on it, but it is
we'll known that calculations some
times miscalculate. 1t comes in
somewhere that the business end of
the looking-out should be attended
to in dead earnest, lest the ending be
smash-up on the road by overlook
ing the various equations in this
sort of figuring.
Properly handled. less than S400,
$500 even, sunk annually will cover
thirty-year maturing $4,000 obi
cation, but it is the $4,000 $4,000
borrowed and $1,l00 annually of
the road fund after setting aside the
5000 as above) against 100000 in
hand for highway work for the next
thirty years. | do not know the
public road mileage of the county,
most of us may be thankful we do
net travel over all the bad places,
but put it low, say 400 miles, when
it will be seen the $4,000 would
yield less than So per mile per year
for road work thirty years to come.
But borrowing $4,000 means this
sum is intended for outlay as soon
as practicable, and surely not many
believe such sum is enough to inn
prove permanently our whole, road
system.
There is a maxim with engineers
that betternents are waste of
money unless there is a reserve to
them. The result: $40, 900 |
laid out on particular places, and |
only $1,100 reserve to keep these
places up from loss; besides, it is the |
only money for road work at other
points throughout the county. In
this view, money all absorbed and |
the roads needing more, do not see
where the "fair salary" is to come |
from foi the three able directors
probably the first of all to make pro-
vision for.
But no, our people are sensible of |
the fact that $1,l00 is not sufficient
to be charged with all this load, the
three honorable citizens a-hungering;
so to be in. the enterprise at getting
out variety of ruis they must face
an increased road levy. The $4,000
is inadequate for improving our road
system. Make it more and increase
the levy. Better still, do no outside
borrowing. Borrow from the citizen
IN the form of levy and pay him
back ten-fold in good roads. His
health, his temper, his material well
fare will be improved in a greater
Improve by sections, be-
gin on the main lines and no big.
round lump sums of thousands by
.ens need be wanted.
The posterity argument is anti
luated; time has shown it to be
begging argument. The living are
entitled to their share of the well
fare; they cannot bear their own
and the burdens of the future. If
The unborn would inherit condi-
ton superior to what their fathers
enjoyed they must inherit along
with the good their share of the
Incidental burdens. Sentiment over
The yet-to-be should not stand in
The way of utility for all. i under
take to say that no civilized poster
ty has ever grumbled over a pub-
ic benefaction, properly main tained,
which has been handed down to it
from a wise foresight. La there a
greater benefaction to people than
an ease in getting from place to
place? LANCASTER.