The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-10
POLITICIANS FIND
 PRACTICAL ISSUE Advocates of Good Roads Are
 FavoriteS THE WORK IN THE SOUTH Every State Is Interested in the Build Ing of Better Public Highways,
 What Some of Them
 Are Doing.
THE WORK IN THE SOUTH
BY WALTER HARPER.


 Letters from governors and other high officials of every state in the southern belt indicate a strong development in public sentiment for good roads.
 Since it is generally estimated that 90 per cent of all the commerce of the coun- try at one time or aaothe- passes over the rural highways tae question of their improvement is easily the most impor- tant public problem of the age.
 Politicians of almost every stripe have come to realize this fact and there is a general scramble for this particular band wagon. A number of office seekers have already found the advocacy of good roads measures profitable from the political standpoint. With the passing of the rail road regulation and the prohibition issues the road question promises to be the lead Ing campaign issue in coming elections. This issue at least promises some prae- tical good to all the people.
 Up to a few years ago a majority of the southern states clung to the old wornout method of working the public roads with the eligible tax payers living along the route of the highways to he worked. The supervision was unskiled and the general system notoriously in- efficient as d rule
 All persons su 1ject to road duty were warned out" b. the "oserseer'' for five or ten days wcs eacn year and the time was spent in 1liins rets and holes with brush and a sittle dirt The next rain usually undid all the work and the roads were in as bad condition. as before and sometimes even worse. but it sufficed for the immediate insI ectlon of the coun- ty supervisors, who were too often as inefficient as the road overseers them- selves. Road duty was irl1some and un- just viewed by those directly affected fbn " UiNau dnino1N and with as much slight as the overseers would permit in fear of the grand jurys criticism.
 Some of the more porulous and enter prising counties began early to break away from the primitive method and worked roads by contract or employed convicts on them. The result in most cases was not only satisfactory, but fur rished wholesome inspiration to other and more remote communities.
 Within the last few years the people have begun to realize the enormous cost of bad thoroughfares and the inestimd ble value of good roads and in most of the states of the south, as in the north, considerable attention is being given to the matter.
 Though several of the states have taken the matter in hand and are trying to su- pervse the construction and. manten-
 
 ly done by the individual counties Two or three of the states have attempted some sort of legislation for state super vision and aid and other states are pre- pairing to take up the question in their legislatures. So far there seems to be no settled plan by which the state may conduct the work to the best advantage, but all are gropins about for the best practical method.
 With the present general and growing interest it seems certain that the south ern states are in a way to have good roads In most of them good roads as- soeiations have been formed with officers and active representatives in almost ev- cry county, and these organizations are doing much to educate the people in the value of better highways and bring about the enactment of necessary legislation.
 At the last session of the Alabama leg islature bill providing for state aid in the building of good roads was lost through the late discovery that the state constitution forbids the appropriation of money for internal improvements. The bill before the body provided for the ap- propration of money from the hire of convicts for the building of roads. Fail ing of passage on account of the con stitional disability the people were given an opportunity to vote on the amend ment of the constitution, which they will do at the coming general elections this fall. Several counties in the state, how ever, being impatient for better roads, have taken up the matter individually and are voting bonds for various amounts and will begin construction work at once.
 In 1899 South Carolina adopted a sys- tenn of working the roads with free labor in conjunction with cJnvicts and the plan has proven very satisfactory. Be- fore this time some of the counties had done good work in building highways in the vicinity of the larger cities, but now the movement is state wide and already many of the larger cities are connected by fine roads and automobile service Is being inaugurated on long stretches. Governor Ansel reports that the good road sentiment in South Carolina is wide- spread and that the people are proud of the results already accomplished. State Commissioner Watson reports that the sand clay roads of South Carolina are being built at a cost of from s150 to $300 Der mile and about s1O per mile per an- mum for maintenance Since the sys- tematic work began in 1899 more than s5c0 miles of good roads have been built and the work is being rapidly extended.
 Governor Holle Smith of Georgia re- ports that so far the good roads move ment has not assumed any statewide proportions put that Hlucn eIecllNe WOfk is being done by the individual counties. Eome of the larger counties of the state have built some of the finest pike roads in the south mainly by the use of con- victs and by contract. There is strong sentiment in the state for state super vision of some practical sort and it is believed that the legislature will con slider legislation alon~ this line at the next regular session. Some of the coun- ties of Georgia that have built good road systems. are Fulton, Bibb Rich mond. Chatham, Floyd and even some of the smaller counties.
 Gov E. F. Noel of Mississippi reports that the sentiment favoring good roads in that state is developing rapidly and that the people are eagerly casting about for better methods of construction and maintenance. Commissioner of Agrcul- ture and Commerce II. E. Blakeslee gives some interesting statistics of what is being done The old, intellectual method of working the roads with the taxpayers Tn the road duty age has been abandoned by majority of the counties and the al- Rare Coins Wanted
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