Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-12-11

of the work. 1t Is quite possible that
the same labor and expense, in many
instances may have been applied to
better advantage: but still the fact
remains that much good work has
been done.
The first piece Of really creditable,
permanent work that was done by the
chaingang probably, was on the Char
lotte road for several miles out OF
Yorkville That was about ten years
ago. The Charlotte road has since
gotten in bad condition again; but
even now it is much better than when
the chaingang first began operations
on 1t. The road from here to Rock
Hill has many bad places in it. There
are frequent gullies and long stretches
of mud perhaps. but let the candid,
competent man who was acquainted
with conditions six or seven. years
ago compare those conditions with the
conditions as they exist now and give
his verdict. 1t will be in favor Of the
chaingang. 1t will be the same with
reference to certain roads leading into
Rock Hill, roads In Bethel township,
Kings Mountain township, Bethesda
township, in fact wherever the chain
gang has worked.
But the chaingang cannot do 1t all.
That is a simple proposition in COM
mon sense. And the question just
now should be, not so much what the
chaingang Is doing as, what are the
road overseers and road hands doing
There Is the real crux of the situa-
ton. Say that the chaingang really
does cost some $4,000 or $4,000 a
year, can We expect to keep in repair
and maintain between 500 and 900
miles Of road at such a small expense
And this is not all. A still more i'm
portant question Is this: Are the road
overseers and road hands doing their
duty as thoroughly as the chaingang
There are or ought to be as many as
5000 people in York county who are
subject to road duty Of not less than
four days each, and If these did their
duty each mile of road in the county
could get an average Of full months
work during the year. That would
come pretty near giving us good
roads.
While we are not willing to assent
to the proposition that the chaingang
is worse than useless, we are almost
willing to subscribe to the proposition
that with a few honorable exceptions,
the road overseers are generally neg
lecting their duty. There are road
sections in the county where not a
single read hand has struck lick of
work for years, and it is fact that the
road law is each year becoming more
and more a dead letter. 1t has been
suggested that the chaingang is res
ponsible for this-that instead Of fix
ing their roads themselves, everybody
Is waiting for the chaingang, and If
this be true, then we yield that the
chaingang is really worse than useless.
But in all seriousness, the road
hands can do lots If they will. The
mere cleaning out Of bitches and
throwing of the dirt to the centre OF
the road and so directing the drainage
as TO guard against the water from
adjoining fields, and preventing the
washing of gullies in the roads will
help things wonderfully. II along
with proper direction of the drainage
the road hands will fill up the holes
and gullies that have already made
travel so difficult, the situation will
be very much improved. And it Is a
fact that even under present condi-
tions, all the people eligible to road
duty could do all that would be ne
cessary in less than four days.
That the chaingang and all the bal
ance of the road working system is
open to criticism will have to be
freely admitted: but at the same
time it will be just as we'll for all OF
US to remember that If we would have
good roads we must either pull of
our coats or go down into our pock-
cts, and ii we decline to yield to eth
er alternative, we will continue to pay
the bills all the same, the important
difference being that the expense OF
neglect will be assessed in the shape
of penalties.