The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-02-10

| the matter will be gone into fully Due
| notice Of this meeting viii be maize
| public and q free participation OF the
citizens Of the county and city is an
| vited. The chief argument or objection
urged against the plan OF working the
| reads provided in the bill, so far as
has been raised. is:
That 1t is unfair 10 the balance OF the
county TO employ all the conTicts 10
| work upou the roads OF the Raleigh Dis
triet. That the county has for n long
time and will continue under The pro-
posed bill TO pay out OF its general fund
| the cost OF the care. feeding and cioth-
ing OF tie convicts and the roads OF the
| county at large and not one particular
| district should get the benefit of their
labor.
Il is admitted by every one that this
| objection should forfeit the passage OF
the bill unless some perfectly fair
equivalent for the work Of the conNlcts
in the country districts is provided
In the first place the bill does provide
| that not more than % convicts may be
| sent by the Board to assist the work in
these districts. This means that one-tEIrd
| of the entire convict force may be sent
! 10 the country districts. There are tour
County Commissioners from the country
70 one from the Raleigh District and 1t
is likely that they will see that the
| country districts are fairly treated
In the second place ten hired laborers
are provided for each country district
-! this number may be increased by
the Board at li~bcrty-all to be paid out
of the road fund. If -ision of the
c~onvfcts was to be made among the dis
tricts in proportion TO the taxation, no
f 49, ;r,r;at in tho country wnUid
receive as many as ten. Is not this a
| fair equivalent?
IN addition there are many good reas-
ons Why the convict force of the count
| should not be divided.
1t would compel the erection of at
least one camp in each district, increase
the expense of caring for, feeding and
guarding them, and chiefest of all compel
| a division of their work and render it of
less value.
Again. there are many, many petitions
low before the board. for work TO be
dcne on the roads within the Raleigh
District and the number of c%onvicts is
by no means sufficient to do this work,
even in a long time.
It should also be considered that the
Raleigh District will be much larger than
any other district, it will be a circle
miles across tnaI IL VIII nave MANY
mere miles of road than any two dis
t|ricts; that it will raise about 65 cents
of every dollar raised from taxation, and
that its roads will be used, even by the
residents. If a remote district. more
than the roads in his own district. In
! short the plan in the proposed bill was
| adopted with two main views:
1st. Work the roads in the Raleigh
District as nearly as possible as they
/ are now worked.
End. Provide a more efficient way OF
working the roads in the county.
To effect the latter money was neces-
sary. Now lets examine and see how
this money will be spent.
If a road tax of 20 cents on the $500
and 60 cents on the poll should be
levied in the county, it would raise near
" $50, 600. and as the convicts are still
! to be cared for out of the general fund
the whole OF this would be available
| for road work. Heretofore the Raleigh
District has raised and expended on its
| roads about r. 900 or $4,000 per year.
| Suppose SO, 1000, or even $4,000, should
be spent on this district under the pro-
| roser law. it would leave a balance of
from SIS, 900 to $40 GOO available for the
work in the other districts.
Of every dollar raised from his tax
the Raleigh District will raise between
| co and G5 cents. and yet our representa-
tives. (all but oneD, are saving that the
Raleigh Road District is getting undue
advantage of the other districts and the
| people of the country districts will not
approve of the law.
BART. NJ. GATLING.