The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-04-28

! gust. in order to sec candidates beat
he air anu vociftratc on the common
school question and on appropriatiny
for higher education and follow them
| with mouth and eyes wide open as
they discuss the whiskey question
from Il to and Il dozen other ques-
tons that have onl y Il remote bearing
on their personal interests, while
| right before the doors Of every one Of
, these tirclrSS listeners there stretches
out mile after mile an object lesson
| that Should teach them all that the
road question is by for the most I'M
portaat amt most serious Of all others
Let us now rc-ad.just our vision, let
u> take off that lono-distancc view
which our eyes have become accus-
toned to and take calm. sober look
nj that miserable. h.tnpy, mutlat ed,
r"'l trail in front Of our doors which
"" have the presumption To call Il
r"ad
IN Il former communication, | stat
.' several very serious objections 10
tn. present system OF roadworking
rmipIuycd in this county and in ad,ti-
li"n 10 those oh. .irc!ionS. will say
that il is Il physical imp"s>,ibility TO
have rood roads under the present law
because Of the comrnrnuvciv small
number of people subject to road duty
and the few days that they
arc required to .work. Have
N"n ever thought that out Of
all Tie male population Of this
county. white and colored, old enough
I" perform public service. the duty Of
Keeping up twelve hundreds miles or
public roads falls upon the shoulders
of Il handful Of farmers and country
and fifty years, and Il greatly many Of
these excerpt for ono reason or an
other, Where i the justice in this
Why >houll the duly of Keeping up
tn" public roads he imposed upon one
class ui ndr people. Wlru these roads
are public Hr'lmrtN and mny be and
are W*rd by p"orl' "f all classes.
trades and professions! The public
roads contribute a> much TO thr wei
fare and are Just as essential /" the
prosperity Of the merchant. the manu-
iacturrr. the railroad company. the
lawyer. the physician ani all other in
i"rc>l> rs |" the farmer. yet, under
the present system, how much DO
thrSr interests contribute to The
maintainancc Of the public roads? Not
one solitary cent Can you blame
them? Not at all for the law does
not require il Of them. 7 believe,
however, that when these interests
are reminded that whatever is b>nr-
'irial t" The community nj large. is al
- beneficial /" lhc individual mem
hers 81 the community. they will
. ca""rtul'y H.rr" !" carry their part
or ,Nc hurd,u. How can ,ni> be
iou"? Tine answer Is rs simple aS it
j. >hnlj: l.rvy 4 per capita and II pro-
. NrrIy tax. In NcWnrrry rn,,n,y
Here i. taxable property At It's assess
III valuation amounting Ia %G.S:iS.2Sl
! or nearly - .nnn.0n This means
anywhere between twelve and four
teen millions Of property. if assessed
III il> true value. Now what revenue
i derived from all this wealth for
the mainlananr. Of the public roads /?
Not one pcnny~~n"l one cent for The
malMlalnancr OF the greatest public
vililily that we have! To continue
such policy is simply FOOLISH.
Pu, Il three mill lax ON property
and this will give lis $2O5O0: then
levy Il per capita lav Of two dollars
and this will give us about $4,000.
.\dd these two iunl> and we will have
N'i2.noo.t" per annum |" put on the
roads. \ three mill lax is not too
much: 4 smaller amount woulT BE- in
| aduua>r /, give any visible results
; and this movement would be pro-
! uuuncrd 4 failure. We are paying II
! three mill lax l"l the supper. of the
, public schools and way not contribute
IL murh for !hc mainlainaMrr Of the
public roads? The public school. |
admit. is y nrccsSity: on the other
hand. the public road is indispensable.
Any one OF lis may pass from the
cradle To the grave and never enjoy
th" privilege of attending Il public
school. but no one Of us can live in Il
civilized community and keep ont Of
! IN" rublic road.
The public road is the barometer