The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1907-01-03
Good Roads.

Editor Hustler: While the good road
agitation is on in Henderson county,
have plans for change in our public
road system which I herewith offer for
consideration of your readers. The es-
tablishment of perfect road system In
our county would reduce the team labor
on the roads so percent, would reduce
the labor of keeping up the roads 75 and
increase pleasure on them 80 per cent.
It is economy on our part to change, but
we should change to the right thing. It
is about as easy to build q road AZ the
right place as at the wrong place and
we have already lost too much labor
and turned toomuch land into gullies by
running our roads up and down steep
hills. Experience has shown that it
pays to build railroads on good grades.
With the disadvantage of the mire and
the inferioIity of the horse to the pow
erful engine, does it not seem much
more important that.we should reduce
our dirt roads to good grades. The fact
that railroads are running through our
country on good grades 10 proof that
good grades can be found yet our wagon
roads run up and down hills So steep
that team cannot draw more than half
load on them and the water rushes
down them with fury that sweeps
them into gullies making it an ever
lasting burden to keep them in repair.
The labor lost in keeping these wash
outs refilled and the hauling labor lost
on account of their steep grades, would
in a few months rebuild all the roads
and put them on perfect grades. Why
should we continue to waste SO much
labor, when labor spent rebuilding the
roads would reward dollars for cents,
The building, rebuilding and keeping
up OF public roads is regulated by law.
This makes it necessary to reform the
law before the roads can be reformed
II the law was made right the people
would volunteer of their own accord to
make the roads right. All that is need
ed to bring the desired changes in our
present road law that authorizes the
County Commissioners, when a majori-
ty of the men along any line of road
who are required to work on public
roads petition them to rebuild their
road, to send competent engineer with
an instrument, to lay out the road where
it should go, on grades not to rise or fall
more than four feet to the hundred.
When the road Is laid out let the COM
missiOners notify the justices of the
peace of the township or townships in
which the road is situated to meet and
proportion the hands who are required
to work on roads according to the work
required and appoint overseers and re-
quire them to work their hands a GER
tain part of each month until their part
of the road is made according to law.
When the road is complete, let the com:
missioners receive it and give every
man who done share of the work per-
manent release from working on public
roads any more in the State and let the
road out to the lowest bidder to be kept
up at the expense of the county. 1t
don't cost but little to keep up roads in
teIligently built on good grades. know
pieces of road that have been in use for
25 years without lick of work being
struck on them. In this way the people
can enjoy the benefits of perfect road
system without hardly noticing the
| difference in their taxes. In order t.
get good roads and get released from
working ON public roads the men who
are obligated to work the roads will
volunteer to rebuild their roads and If
the legislature will give them the priv
! ilege, they Will soon work revolusiOn
/ in our public road system that will prove
satisfactory to our people and honor
able to our county. j. t. Anderson.