The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-09
HI( n Rural Cani -. u Awful Condition, a .igh-
 ways g H l ROAD F.g g. JOY AMO ..# q j12O,OOO
SIag Used Ii, nepairing Is careIessly Laid, Is Not Packed and Is Quickly Washed Off By
 Heavy Rains.

Clackety Rackety, Bump Slush, slush, slush, pop, crack, "Oh! Bumpety, bump. bump Git up, thar, chuck, chuck, Hainr yer goin'? Doggone, stuck up agin!' Jeff ferson county roads.
 Out of the depths of the mud, out of buggies which in the moment of rest, rat tie on though they be still out of coun- try wagons anchored between two "hil- locks," immovable; out of speckled, tire torn automobiles, comes a loud vail of curses on the highways of the Imperial County of Jefferson.'s
 Should the emperor come today, he would get stuck tight in the mud beyond Irondale. Should the czar arrive with the eastern sun, gravity would anchor him beyond Red mountain. Even the messenger from Mars would never have returned to his inquisitiye people, had he not been able to go straight up.
 Birmingham, bounded on the east by mud, on the west by gulleys, on the north by the slough of Despond, and on the south by Mobile.
 Perhaps the persons who know best and suffer most from the roads of this county are the rural free delivery mall carriers. They wear expressions which seem to say 1T don't eat butter. I just drink sweet milk before leaving home in the morn ing' But when you talk to them closely. though greatly shaken up, you find them very agreeable, both for their knowledge of human nature and bad roads. They do not curse. No, they abandoned that five years ago. It did no good.
 Of the four rural carriers with head quarters in Birmingham not one is there who does not kick on the present condi- ton of the road If The Age-Herald can do anythin better roads, no one could appreo more than we," they say.
 Jackson No. 4, has route whicn stward to Rosedale, ..aaa dc s cross roads, south e. f8 shs and pumping house, tl ..e saa4H river to Rocky Ri1.a It4e8, tttlt north to reservoir an npe. Naai cross roads, thence up saaa4 Pools and McDan- iels tfu west to Birming- har
 w .n -stc after his long trip he in terrible condi- tion. 4H nNi have not touched the out Twentysev- enth ni- W The worst part is in n McDaniers to Wade tar .d none that could be ca
 "It al4 .sat tie work to put the TO 1i There is not enough t4r4t on these roads when do any good. The sla tQ any old way and wa days, leaving deep ru su and knocking out the lssl 1. af M es in short time.
 "The side of the pump ho .r worse. The farmers a yay are con- tnually are all ask ing what e.e ith iha unty funds, and they uc I why the county has neer to di- rect it's saw the roads worse sa winter and the wear ha 4sn 1T before."
 The route 1.te 8, s. H. Bailey is Sc au Taylors store, southN 1 crossing, Holcomb's st NIaf4aa ore, Ox- moor, Schwa ri. sae place, thence northw -r- on zaa ntain to Dr. Berry's pl le liens ard and eastward to R, t7ie. 2 irming- ham.
 Said MT. Bailt rh5 sa= ,A fferson county are in tors fl condi- ton than they lae turing the six years Ye The OXmoOr road fl 4#afH HsHHu. rot ten all the way p- a.sE I re- pairing is laid on saa parse to do any good. gr and will not stay. So ga ne dane last winter, but not faa tse sl fi. ent. The road from ca 3tose fc ..4et4l 3 Is a disgrace to the kHEta uts nearly impossible i asz. aud e ud is simply terrible. a galore an always be found O aaea9an r3id beyond the mountai ]1N e1 y route would like to s
 R. G. Hayden's rou,e runs through Ely ton, West End, Berney station, Cleve- land and Powderly, thence southeast to Wares gap and Bedding. north to Smythe Ishkooda, Grace's gap, Spauld- ing and Mason city, return thence to postoffice.
 In his opinion the whole road to Pow derly Is in a very bad condition. Below Cleveland the Inconvenience to traffic IS