The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-02-08
WAKE ROAD LAW
Provisions of Bill Soon to be
Introduced.
Drawn by County Attorney Calling and Ap'
proved by the County Commits
sioners.

to be introduced in the Legislature, con
tains the following provisions:
Sec. 1. Provides for the election of a
superintendent of Roads to have charge
and control of all the road work through
out the county-prescribes his duties and
compensation.
Sec 2. Provides that the commission
ers shall divide the county into five road
districts, and fix their boundaries, except
the Raleigh Road District-the boundary
OF which shall be the circumference of
circle whose radius shall extend s
miles from the Capitol Building in Rail
eigh in every direction.
Sec. 3. Provides for the election of five
road supervisors-one in each district
Sec. 1. Provides that each Supervisor
shall be furnished with complete out
1T of teams, carts, machinery and tools
for use upon the roads of this district
and the employment of each supervisor
OF ten hired laborers, continuously upon
the road work in his district This num-
Der of hired laborers to be increased in
| each district when thought necessary by
the Board of Commissioners.
Sec B. None of the machinery, teams
tools, implements or property now be-
longing to the Raleigh Road District
shall be used upon the roads of any 9TH
er district, but the same shall be kept
for the exclusive use and benefit of the
Raleigh Road District; and all convicts
sentenced to the roads under the provi-
sion of this Act, and all such as are now
sentenced to work upon the roads of the
Raleigh Road District shall be exclusive
ly employed up the roads of said dis
trict. PROVIDED that when any work is
to be undertaken in another district
which requires the employment of
large number of laborers. it shall be
| lawful for said commissioners by s3c-
cial order to authorize the temporary
use of not exceeding Is convcts upon
| such work. but not more than this num-
Der shall be absent from the district at
once, and such special order shall not
be made when it's operation would seri-
cusly interfere with the work in such
district
| Sec. 6 Provides that all able bodied
males, between the ages of q and As
except residents of incorporated cities and
towns, shall be required to work not to
exceed II days upon the roads of their
| district To be paid so cents for each
| days labor or in lieu of such work to
| pay a road tax of $500 or furnish a
road hand in his place. If such hand, is
| furnished his pay may be drawn by
the person furnishing him.
Sec. Z. Provides penalty for failing to
| work roads or pay tax-made a misde-
meanor, punishable with fine or impris-
| onment.
| Sec. Is Provides that the - days of
| read duty shall be done as follows: 4
days in March, balance in July, August
| or September, as determined by the
! Road Superintendent
/ Sec. 16. Provides that Superintendent
! and Supervisors shall have power to en-
, ter lands to get gravel, dirt, etc, for
| roads and method of compensation to the
owner.
{ Sec. II. Gives power to the Road
superintendent, with consent of the Com
missioners, to alter or change the road
! bed and fixes the method of compcnsa-
| tion to the owner for land taken for such
purpose.
! Sec. 3. That the County commission
ers of Wake county are hereby authoriz-
| ed to levy at the June session of their
| board annually for public road purposes
rot less than fifteen cents nor more than
% cents on the one hundred dollars worth
of property. and not less than forty
| five cents nor more than seventy five
cents on the poll, and the Chairman of
| the County Commissioners shall place
| the same on the tax list Of the current
year to be included In and collected in
the annual taxes.
| The Board of County Commissioners
| have caused to be prepared for Wake
| county law for the Improvement of it's
public roads. The above sections will
explain the plan under which it is pro-
| posed that the work should be done, and
| those omitted refer chiefly to matters
| OF detail, not of public interest Any
| one, however. who cares to see them can
do so by calling upon the County Attor-
ney.
Much careful thought and time has
been spent in the preparation of the
| bill, and nearly all of it's provisions will
be found in the modern road laws in
| force in the different counties of the
State. 1t moro closely resembles the
| Durham Road Law than any other, but
it differs from this law in two main
| features:
| /. 1t proposes to keep the convict
| force at work upon the roads of the
|
%. which may be sent by the Board of
| commissioners to the country districts.
| whenever they may need assistance in
! doing road work something out of the
ordinary-for example, heavy grading or
blasting. etc, and, second, to substitute
| for the convict labor in the country
road districts, hired labor to be paid for
out of the road fund and kept steadily
employed throughout the year. In each
district not less than 10 such hired labor
ers are to be kept steadily employed un-
der the supervisor of the district In
addition to such hired labor II days of
| read work are to be performed by all
persons between the ages of Il and 40
| for which each receives so cents for every
| days work to be paid out of the road
| fund
2. The proposed bill divides the coun-
| ty into road districts instead OF MAX
| Ing each township a road district as is
| done in the Durham and other road laws.
| When the bill was presented to the
| Representatives of Wake county with
1.-THE request to secure it's passage it
was soon apparent that there was so
great a difference of opinion, between
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