The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1903-04-11
CONDITION or The ROADS
County Judge Hawkins Submits
Few Facts for Con.
sideration.


great deal talked and written upon
the conditions then existing, and
various plans suggested looking to
a betterment of our roads. Now
that a change for the better has
come-thanks to the wind and sun
shine-we will have an oppornity of
observing if the philosophy of the
Arkansas man as it related to the
leaky roof will also apply to the
people of this county.
Being greatly interested in per-
manent road Improvement | have
made trips to several counties
gathering all the information OBJ
tainable on the subject in order that
| might discuss the matter intelli-
gently with my own people who were
interested and bring the information
thus obtained to the aid of condl-
lions in our own county wherever
applicable. 1t is an absolute waste
OF time TO talk, plan or imagine any
PERMANENT good road Improvement
until our people reach the point OF
willingness in disinterested spirit
to furnish in some way the money
necessary. Without giving the de-
tails of the work and the items of
cost in the several counties visited
| by me 1t is sufficient to give the
prOximate cost per mile of macadam
roads which ! find to vary from
three to eight thousand dollars, de-
pending upon location of material
and various other contingencies not
necessary to discuss here. After
taking to a great many people from
different parts of the county / am
convinced that our people are not
| ready at this time to embark
in the construction of macadam
roads, and my judgment is that I'M
til some further experiments have
been made either by US or some one
else with such road material as we
have at hand ii would be unwise to
expend large sums of money in
using material that may prove unfit
FOR permanent road building.
However it is not of macadam
roads that | desire to speak, but OF
muddy roads, rough roads, un-
graded roads, bad bridges and worse
culverts, in other words of actua al
present conditions, and the deplora-
BILE state of our road and bridge fund
that l wish to get before the citi-
zens. They are entitled to know it
and after being put in possession OF
the facts it is for them to say
Wheeler they will take steps to sup
plement the fund and thereby en-
able the commissioners to continue
the work on the roads now so nee
cessary, or whether they will &C
cept the situation and force the
court to largely abandon all road
work when the funds now on hand
are exhausted.
Last gear the old commits sioners
court had to transfer from the gem
eral fund S., 900 In order to pursue
their bridge work. The general fund
was in good condition and could
stand the transfer without embar-
rassment and the question may be
asked why can this not be done
again? The answer is very simple.
The principal source of revenue for
our jury fund has been removed. II
takes from s. 900 to sI0,OOO per year
TO pay our juries. Already $4,000
have been transferred from the gen
eral fund to the jury fund and it will
be necessary before the year Is over
to transfer 1900 or $1,000 more.
The general fund can not stand the
transfer for both purposes. 1t is
necessary TO provide for paying our
iuries, hence the road and bridge
fund l.ust be supplemented, If at
all from some other source.
The amount collected for roads
and bridges and turned over to the
county treasurer for the year 1902
was $50, 1880. rhe expense per
quarter for this purpose is about
$1,000. Take four times that amount
and you can easily see deficit after
the $40, 1888 Is gone. That has
been the condition in ordinary times
when there was no unusual drain
on the fund. Now after the unpre-
eedented wet spell, with our roads
full Of mud holes, the majority of