The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-09-22
Condition of Roads Reported.

The Court of County Revenues to-day submitted to the Grand Jury eppaneled by the Circuit Court its regular reports upon the condition of the highways of the county. The reports which are four in number are of unusual interest be- cause of the steady growth of public sentiment for the construction and main- tenance of good roads,
 It Is understood that the Court of Rev. enues is divided in opinion as to the best method for building the roads. Copies of the reports of all the members of the court were not available to-day. The fol- lowing is copy of the report made by J. A. Minter, the members of the South Side district:
 To the Honorable John Moore, judge of
 the Circuit Court of Dallas county, Ala bama: I
 I beg leave to submit to your honor the following report on"the public roads in the district known as the South Side dis trict.
 I have gone carefully over all of the public roads in this district. and find them in fair condition.
 would say, however, that this is the most favorable season of the year for the roads. and that their state is such that the fall rains will soon put them in a bad condition. .N
 Very little work of a permanent nature has been done. In fact, it is not likely that work of permanent and lasting character will be had until the county employs an experienced and skilled over seer for the county. Until that is done, whatever work is done will more than likely be temporary in character, and of little consequence when bad weather sets in. The work that has been done is in no way commensurate with the cost to the county. Under a skilled county over- seer. the money expended by the county would be productive of far better and more permanent results.
 My experience convinces me that our present method is wrong. I believe it is duty owing to the tax payers to make the change contemplated in this report.
 In business life we find that the euc- cessful man in any particular trade or profession-whether he be farmer, mer- chant, doctor or lawyer-is the man who has made that particular trade or profess sion his life work I don't believe that you can take lawyer or doctor from his office and turn him immediately into successful farmer. Neither do I believe that you can take a man who has head no experience and turn him immediately into a competent supervisor of public roads. and expending the peoples money DJ atecHIplllS SUCH d LnlnS, IS, to say the least, unwise, if not a reckless ex- penditure. The time has come when we just must have better roads. The people want them and have said so through the ballot, and the officials of the county should carry out this wish of the neo- pie.
 My idea is that the County should em- ploy general road overseer, whose duty it shall be to have general supervision of all the public roads in the County. This overseer should be a man who has made the improvement and building of roads life study and work, and who understands the business from beginning to end, and whose entire time from the beginning to the end of the year. shall be devoted to building up the public roads in the Coun- ty. Not only would far better results be thus obtained. than by having each mem- Der of the Board oversee the roads in his district, but the cost to the County would probably be less-certainly no more. It cannot be. expected that the members of the Board shall possess that skill and ef- fciency in road building that a man would have who had made it his life work.
 The civilizing effect of good roads can not be doubted. Wherever you find good roads you find, not only prosperous com munity, but one desirable to live in from