The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-04

sSSSs3sS9osss
 Mobile, October 3.-(Special.) )-Presi- dent John Craft of the Alabama Good Roads association has issued the fol- lowing statement to the voters of Ala bama explaining the proposed Overton amendment:
 To the People of Alabama:
 The Alabama Good Roads association, of the state of Alabama, issued the fol- lowing address to the voters of tine state, in order to call their thoughtful attention to the importance of adopting the amendment of the constitution to be voted on at the general election in November, and to answer certain sug- gestions that have been urged against 1t, which are calculated to mslead the voters by the ingenious but faulty logic of those who are opposing it.
 ''The absolute loss by bad roads to the farmers and people of Alabama, amounts to more than 1t costs to run the entire state government including the public school the county governments and the i municipal governments"
 | Have you any Idea what our farmers are taxed year on account of the bad 1 roads? Take as example to move one product alone The crop of cotton for the year of 1906-N was 1,25O,OO0 bales. To move that one product so that the farm CT could get his crop to the railroad sta l tion, steamboat landing or cotton mill, take the average haul of eight miles, and ! on account of our bad roads, it costs 9 | cents a ton mile, which makes a bale | of cotton cost the farmer 50 cents to ] haul that he can get it to the mar kets of the world
 If we had good hard roads, such as proposed by changing the amendment, it | would cost ten cents ton 8 mile, which bale of cotton could be transported for sixteen cents from the farm to the steam boat landing, railroad station or cotton mills.
 Loss of 34 Gents a Bale. | This shows an absolute loss on every bale of cotton the farmer raised for the year of 1906-1907 of 34 cents on each bale of cotton. The crop of 125O,000 bales 1 shows an absolute loss to the farmers of Alabama, for one year, of $425,000 This | Is due to our bad roads. Take this aver age for 10 years, to move the cotton alone would mean the enormous loss, absolutely no way possible ever to recover it, of S4 250,000, and which should have been in the pockets of the farmers.
 We want to illustrate another farm product that the farmers have that is the cotton seed. Cotton seed sold for 1906-19N was about 500,000 tons. The aver age haul on this from the farm to the cotton oil mills or the steamboat landing or the railroad station is about 10 miles. On account of the bad roads in Alabama | it costs 25 cents ton mile to haul over our dirt roads. If we had good, hard roads the cost would be reduced to 10 cents a ton mile. This shows an abso- lute loss of $1.50 a ton to the farmers on every ton of cotton seed they had to haul over our dirt roads.
 This shows an absolute loss on the cotton seed crop of s7500O0 for one year alone. Take 20 years as an illustration, it would show an absolute loss sunk in the bad roads of Alabama no way ever to be recovered, of $15,000,OO0. This enor- | nous sum would have been in the pockets of the farmers instead of the mud If Ala bama had good roads.
 We want to illustrate another article the fertilizer. The fertilizer that the farmers buy in Alabama, which they have to haul from the merchants, railroad sta tion, steamboat landing to their farms, they use about 300,0Oo tons. But, on ac- count of the bad roads, it costs them 25 cents a tone a mile to haul. This shows an absolute loss on the fertilizer that the farmers use for one year to haul over our bad roads. such as we have in the state of Alabama, of $450,OOO year. This should have been in the pockets of the farmers.
 Loss of se,ooo,oo Take this illustration for the last 20 years and that will show an absolute loss of s9.000,0O0 to the farmers of Ala bama. Take the cost under the present plan of maintenance of the public roads and the laws that are in vogue for the last 75 years. results show from the pres ent system, we expended in money and statutory labor, about s1,S00, ,OO0; and for that vast sum of money, not one mile of permanent, hard, roads is con- structed The roads have been this way for the last 40 years; always bad and at times impossible. Add this for 40 years and it will show that they expended the vast sum for $72,00000O.
 Now add up the four items above. Take the loss in hauling his farm product, the cotton crop amounts to $4,250000.
 The next item. The farmer loses on his fertilizer for 20 years, would be 5000, GOO.
 The next item. Money expended, the loss for maintenance of the county roads for 40 years, is $72,000,O00, and this will show the enormous burden of taxation on the farmer which is heavier than any other subject of taxation he has ever had to bear, is the vast sum of $10O, O,0O0.- 0O0 If we had good, practical road leg islation by good state supervision, money
 
 have built trunk highways all over the state of Alabama. It is these conditions that the Alabama Good Roads associa- ton want to improve by asking you to vote for the Overton amendment at the coming election. in November
 Bill Is Prepared.
 The Alabama Good Roads association. in convention assembled, December, 1906, in the city of Birmingham, recognized that the country roads of Alabama should be improved along practical, permanent business methods with state supervision and state aid. In pursuance to a resolu ton, the convention was requested to prepare bill and present sane to thes legislature, which bill was prepared and introduced by Senator John W. Overton and referred to the committee of common carriers and commerce, and the bill was declared to be unconstitutional.
 The Alabama Good Roads association then had Senator John W. Overton. in the senate, to introduce a bill asking>1 q, tlna ,cfif l,o ba