The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1903-07-15
Present Tax Dodging Plan held up;to
Kidicule--Frolics and Fun Take
Place of Real Work-CasI Plan the
Only One-Alternate Road Law Dis
cussed.

pose.
This is bold proposition. and
doubtless the county commissioners
will say that / am the fellow they
i have been looking for. If ! can make
it good. But / do not come with any
mere theory, but demonstrated fact.
There is nothing original about It.,
nor is it experimental vet like many
other simple things in an agitation
like this. it is passed by and strangely
Overlooked, although | believe it to be
| the 'sina.qua nom of the situation.
| l want it understood, too, that my
proposition is not offered in COMPETE
| tion with any other that is being con-
sid cred, or by way Of obstrncting or
!disparaging any plan that may be put
on foot; for have such peryasiye
|sense of the Importance of a new deal
| In relation to orr nubljc roads that I
would favor ANYTHING and everything
that promised an Improvement, know
ing, however. that whatever course is
taken the millennium will never come
It'll my plan is adopted.
| In the course OF the remarks made
| by Mr.. Harrison, the Government ex-
pert. at the recent meeting. he said
that .no county ever has good roads
which does not get its road revenue
| In cash. This remark fell unon the
ears of his audience without any spe-
cial Significance, aad was forgotten
| the next moment. although il, was
the most pertinent thing he said. con-
tanned the KEY to the whole situation.
and was at once the exclamation of
our bad roads and the suggestion of
the remedy. TWAS as If he had said:
+" You are simply repeating history In
your county, and no county has had
any other kind of roads than YOU have
while adhering tc your method of
maintaining them; and YOU will have
the same kind of reads tin The end
of the world unless Won change your
method
In other words we are trying to
maintain our roads and have good
roads under A system that has come
down to us from the time of the In
dams. and probably originated with
them. by which the Comfy Court an
points a supervisor or Dancing Master.
or Epd-Man for each district. and
this official periodically calls out his
his company of performers composed
of farmers. drawers. merchants. music
teachers. preachers. trl1cksters. black
smiths. pedlers. loafers. and gentlemen
of leisure for a frolic on the road side.
Most of them do not know a road when
they see it. and the balance do not
care whether IT, Is a road or cow-nath
or mere Indian trail. They have not
come ont to make road but to have a
frolic. They lounge on the bank, tell
stale Jokes. exchange the local scandal,
smoke pipes, and guy those who occa-
siopally make feints as though they
were making road. They skelp lit
tie dirt. throw it anywhere and every
where. throw big boulders in the mud
holes. and when they have thus spent
the day they shoulder their picks and
90 home. and the county credits them
with their road taxi
The only skill that is needed in this
kind of road making is that of lodging
the road tax.
tits simply and solely tax lodging
scheme. 1t is afarce and a fraud. 1t
| is the patent source of bad roads. 1t
never did make good roads. 1t is i'm
practicable and worcestershire To ex-
meet good roads under such a system.
No wonder that. as Mr.. Harrison said,
"those COMMITTEES never have good roads
which do not collect their road reye-
nues in cash.
And vet. for hundred years this
county has tolerated and perpetuated
this swindle. It is diyertiog TO OBJ
serve the road-tax-dodpers are always
nresent in the Tepislatnre and succeed
in lacking this scheme unon every road
! law that is enacted
Not one successful stem can be
taken toward good roads until this
frand is eliminated No matter that
we conclnde to make macadam roads.
tbav will mi. maiotain themselves
The hest road that can he devised will
not continna lono without need Of re-
noir II ua continua tn denend on
the tax.dodoino system for maintain
inc them r. viii resnlt in hnrvinp our
money in the mud They will 90 TO
rnir, and he washed away while the
ravNd,'aaors frol;c On tho rood side
Theraforo wn renaat that no mafs
tor what nlan Is adonfed for improy-
inc mn rnaJs the f,rst and most essen
tial tbino ~ 1,rst GOT rid of the most
successful davice for defeating good
roads that hos ayer haan conceived
Its oroa;oo.;an ~ ~ erst essential.