The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-21
SAYS LEEDS ROAD IS BADLY NEGLECTED Citizen Points Out Lack of At-
 tention Since 1904 OLD FORM OF CONTRACT A. w. FuIghum Thinks Contract Used Four Years Ago Would Be Good
 Now-Hire Convicts To
 Contractor.
OLD FORM OF CONTRACT

To the Editor of The Age-Herald.
 1 have been reading with a great deal of interest all that has been said in your valuable paper in regard to our public roads Four years ago we really did have fine roads, and they were the pride of the county. Having about that time in- vested quite largely in fruit and truck lands along the Leeds road some three miles from Irondale, have kept up with the condition of this particular road, and can testify that the half has not been told as to the fearful condition of this road until quite lately when some im- provement has been made on about one mile of it just beyond Shades creek to top of the mountain. In looking over my scrap book I find the enclosed article on the county roads cut from The Age. Herald in the summer of 1904. It is so pertinent to the present, when so much argument is being made for and against working the county convicts on the coun- ty roads, that I send it to you for publi- cation again if you see fit.
 Now, l am pretty well posted as to tho work that has been done on this particu- lar part of the Leeds road, and if any part of this road has ever been worked by contract l have never heard of 1t, in fact during the past four years it has not been worked at all except what littie it got from the citizens living along the road summoned to do so as the law pro- vides, and perhaps a very little scraping and scratching over 1t done by the board of revenues instructions to the road su- pervisor.
 If any such contract as this has ever been In force on any of our county roads I have never heard of it. If such cori- tracts had been let and contractor cont pelled to strictly comply with the terms of contract, our county roads would never have been in their present deplorable con- clifton, and costing the county nearly as much to put them back in good condition as they originally cost.
 This is a good form of contract, and 1t seems to me the proper thing to do, let out all new roads and repairing the old ones by contract, and hire the convicts to the contractor, as I really believe the contractor could get more and better york out of them than the board of reve- nue could under the present system of working the roads themselves.
 A. w. FULGHUM.
 Birmingham, March 20, 190S
 The clipping enclosed by MT. Fulghunl from The Age-Herald of 1904 is as fol- lows:
 Country Roads.
 There has been just enough agitation over the county road matters to confuse some people. Under the law the county roads are worked under a contract witll the president of the board of revenue. and the contractor has to enter into a contract that binds him follows The contractor shall furnish all the labor teams and tools necessary, accord ing to the boards plans and specifications. This years contracts begin September 1 and are to be finished December 3l
 The pay of the contractor is given him at the end of two months from date of contract, if approved by the road super visor.
 
 a whole or in part forfeits his contract and any sum that may be due him. That is the contract signed by the con- tractor and the president of the board of revenue, but there is a more detailed con- tract which is also signed by the con tractor, which compels him to do specific things to the roads, Here is an exact copy of that contract:
 '1. To keep in good order all roads in his precinct by filling up all holes, washes or ruts across the roadbeds, and looking 8 well after low, swampy or marshy places in the roads and see that they are kept in good passable condition, and remove all rocks or other Instructions from the roadbed.
 .2. All ditches to be opened and kep- open and free from any obstruction to the free flow of water along said ditches.
 "3. To keep all waterways open and to make drains at all places where the water would be likely to oam up on the roadbed. A. To keep all bridges in good repair. the county furnishing the lumber and nails.
 .5. To furnish labor, teams and tools necessary in the working of said roads.
 "s No bids will be received from any party or parties who do not reside in the precinct bid on. and no one to whom a contract is awarded will be allowed to sublet all or any part of this work on contract.
 "7. Payments: One-half payable at'-fhe end of the two months on the approval of the road supervisor The balance wher contract Is finished and approved by the road supervisor"
 Any citizen who knows of a contractor s failure to keep this contract can go before the board of revenue and complain. He will get a patient hearing and there is no doubt that the board would gladly attend to any such complaint.
 The \roads are the pride of the county and the board of revenue Is composed of citizens of the county who are property owners, and any reasonable complaint of the condition of the roads, or failure of il contractor to do his duty, will get their prompt attention.
 For some time there has Eeen complaint that the contracts are sublet for sums which make it impossible for the con tractor to do the work. The only question is whether the roads are properly worked. This is what the contractor must do to earn his money.