The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-18

tax payer as to how the money which he pays into the county or state treasury is expended is amazing when it is com pared with his keenness in looking after every other outlay which he makes.
 Raising of Funds.
 There are many people in Alabama, as well as elsewhere, who are considering only the question of raising funds to be expended in improving the public roads, and not how. such funds should be expend- ed. It might be interesting for persons who are looking at the matter in this light to know that the various counties in the state of Alabama are expending about s1,6O0.0O0 per annum on the con- struction and maintenance of county roads only. How many miles of improved roads do you suppose have been con- structed with this amount? According to careful census made by the officer of public roads, there were in 1904 172O miles of improved county roads in the entire state. of which only S92la were surfaced | with stone.
 I will not go into the question of the cost of roads, because the cost of a road 1 varies just the cost of a house varies; l but when it Is considered that with an 1 annual expenditure of Si,600000 the total mileage of stone roads is less than 40O | the average person will certainly think | that the results obtained are not com | mensurate with the expenditure Now, if you are considering the issuance of bonds in any county in this state, do not wish l to urge. or even to suggest, that the plan | be abandoned or curtailed. but I do sug- gest that you earnestly devote your at | tention to obtaining better results with this $1 ,6OOO00 than you are at the present | time Why are not better results ob- tained? The effect Is apparent and the | cause must therefore exist
 Now the citizens of Alabama should as- 1 certain the cause and do away with it. If you have examined the circular which has been issued by the office of public roads on the public roads of Alabama, ] you will immediately call my attention to the fact that of this $1 ,6O0,000 $l .O0O Is represented In labor which is required | by statute. This. however does not alter the fact that s1,6OoOoo is being ex- pended annually on the roads of your state.
 It Is a sad reflection upon a man to say that his time Is not worth anything, and 1t is an unjust insinuation upon the citi- zeos of Alabama who perform the labor required by the stature to say that their labor Is mt worth the amount at which 1t Is computed in this statement l do not say that 1t Is worth $1 or 50 cents or even % cents day, so far it's value to the road Is concerned. But what I do mean is .I-i,, the public roads, they could be earning as much or more, sometimes treble the amount. if engaged in some other occu- patton.
 It Is costing the individual citizens of the state considerably more than sl,200,00C.
 Inefficient Labor
 I have never yet seen a farm which would not yield revenue for the daily | labor of the farmer to the value of at least the average of the days wage in that par tcular section. 1 do not believe 1t would be hard to find q lawyer. doe tor teacher or any other professional man, or any tradesman or mechanic or skilled workman or even the ordinary day aborer, who could not find something to do whereby he could earn at least the lowest average wages paid for day la Dor in any given commu1iiy We cannot | assume therefore, that the iaoor put upon the roads under the statute would not earn more than the equivalent if di- rected along other lines of activity. state 1t how you will the citizens of the state are paying the full price of the statute labor Now let us see what is being re- ceived in return.
 In ihe first place, statute laborers nave not the inclination or incentive 10 give a full hard days work, as required by the l statute. l have known places where work ing the road was considered sort artI,I, A H