The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-11
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
GOOD ROADS.
The Work Should be Pushed to the
 Limit.

Ihe Work snOuiu De fusheu 10 Inc Limit.
 e Mobiio Set. 8. 1906. Editor Advertiser:
 notice in your editorial column of I the 1th, your comments on few miles of good roads that you have in your county. and I agree with you, there Is no problem before the people of your l county, or the entire State, that is of home importance to them than is the question how to obtain permanent uni- form methods of having roads built on practical business lines. as the pres ent system now in vogue in our State in the construction of our public roads. with few exceptions, Is a waste Of labor. and the eIsquandering of peoples
 The statistics of our State of 1904 shows that the State of Alabama, in it's several counties, spent in cash about called out labor to perform road duty. This labor is estimated to be one mil- lion, one hundred and ninety-eight four dollars and fifty cents, making a total expenditure of one million. five hundred and seventy-six thousand. four hundred and thirty-four dollars. Thts of the waste of labor. and the squan- dering of money. This Is due to the fact that our roads are not managed on practical business methods. or that the law makers have not enacted uniform highway laws.
 I am an advocate of some uniform road legislation; something similar to the State of Virginia. There IS no burden of taxation that bears as heavy on the people of Alabama, as our neglected county roads: No money spent or labor performed will show bigger return to the people of Ala bama, than the upbuilding of our high ways. This would increase the pros woman or child in our State, and make the burden much lighter on the ant nal who is ever willing. to do mans bidding. when in a peaceful pursuit of called to serve his master. he shirks none of these duties. and therefore, It is our, duty to make his burdens light CT.
 I would urge upon the nominees of cur State officers, especially the Gov ernor, and the members of the Legis- lature, to take up this political eco- importance to our. people. than any question or issue that has been before them for the last forty years.
 |. wish to call your attention 2. to what market one product alone, that he can get to the railroad, steamboat and cot- ton mill and sell his products to the The average haul Is eight miles over our country roads, the cost Is twenty five cents ton per mile. that makes the cost fifty cents on each bafe of cot such as we have in the State of Ala bama, with few expenditures. If we bad good roads, such as one or two of you have in your county, the cost would be on permanent roads. eight cents a ton per mile. or make bale of cotton cost to haul an average Of eight miles, sixteen cents. This shows an absolute loss to our farmers of thirty-four cents on each bale of cot ton that he has to haul over our much neglected roads. Take the last dred thousand bales, a loss of thirty four cents to haul 1t eight miles over bad roads, is the enormous sum of four hundred and forty-tWo thousand dql- lars. so that one product can get to the markets of the world.
 I wish to call your attention to the cost that we hear so much about The I exenlplify this to illustrate another burden of taxation, on account of the the farmer hauls his fertilizer on a9 average of ten miles. and 1t cost him twenty-five cents ton per mile, which is two dollars and fifty cents to haul as we have in our State. If the far n,ers have good roads. such as you have one or two in your county, that you speak of. the cost could be reduced would be eighty cents on good roads, against two dollars and fifty cents on bad roads. thereby showing an lpso- cents to the farmers on account of the neglected roads. h
 I could site you many more statistics ation oia account of our bad roads Your county, In my opinion. owes much to Captain Jeff Falkner and the. other
 good road .Ss o6S 6Sr rgaa gyainm 1Se ment, and I echo the sentiment In yours, which you people can do moth ing better than to continue the ouild- in gup of good roads The best assets that the States of Massachusetts. New Jersey and other States have, IS the money and labor they have expended count distance by miles, but by time
 Hoping -ou will give this problem all your valuable assistance. as your able journal has always been battling for the people, and this will benefit them, more than any other public ques ton. I am. Yours very truly
 Chairman Good Roads Committee Ala; bama Comercial and Industrial
 Association.
 The ,IudsOm the Oldest Baptist Female College in the South.
 Editor The Advertiser:
 In your issue of September 8th, there apeared an article in yI,,e you, columns by which he labors to show that the Wes- ieyan Female College Is older than the Judson Female College at Marion, Ala f Spoken sa of, ' the @ sscond time or V even one time carefully he would have discov- cred. that we were talking about Baptist education and Baptist institu- tions. In my report to the Montgom- cry Association on Denominational Ed ucation I referred to the educational progress which has marked the course of our history for the past century, and said: By 1850 there were schools for the education of Baptist girls in Ala hama. Georgia. Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina and that the Judson between 40 and 150 schools in four teen Southern States and litle up- ward of seventy schools in twenty-five Northern States, or a total of a few more than two hundred Baptist schools in Southern and Northern States. The value of our school property is in round numbers about $40. .0N9. .000."
 I stiiI elaim that the Judson is the oldest Baptist Female College in the South. having Dsan founded in 1S39.> W. J. Elliott.