The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-25
SUGGESTIONS FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT Well Known Engineer Describes
 English System HE NEEDS IN JEFFERSON Denounces Present System of Locat- ing, Building and Repairing Roads
 of the county-Corps. of
 Engineers.
THE NEEDS IN JEFFERSON

''oiily oh ioad construction, gives The Age-Herald some valuable suggestions. He denounces the present system of To- eating roads, building and repairing them. lie luther elaborates upon Mir Ramsay's plan, adding some important suggestions, and insists upon a corps of county en- gineers. Here is what he says:
 T have been interested in the com plaints and discussions in regard to the county roads, appearing in late issues of The Age-Herald, I can testify from per- sonal experience that the conditions de- scribed are not exaggerated or over drawn, the condition of the public roads not only at the present time, but for some years past is simply deplorable and they are impossible at most seasons of the year.
 some years ago when we had Board or County Commissioners with General thomas as chairman, an effort was made to provide Jefferson county with good roads Many miles of macadam roads were constructed under his administra- tion, although the said roads were not built in the best form, or by up to date methods of construction, they were a vast improvement on what we had previous, Whlch gave the County Commissioners some right to boast of the fine macadam roads of Jefferson county. From lack or competent supervision and the making or necessary repairs, the said roads were allowed to run down to the condition now described by the many complaints make of their present impassabfl state The present condition of the roads is such that the county can no longer boast of having good roads, as no good word could be said of the roads in the condition now found. They are simply the wrecks of what were once called good roads and at present they cannot be called passable or in condition to be, used for the purpose intended
 How To Remedy Defect.
 "The question now before the people of Jefferson county, Is to devise ways and means to remedy or correct the above described state of affairs. Complaints of their present condition, although having the recommendation of calling the peoples attention to their condition, will not rem edy their bad condition or put the roads in passable shape. There is one thing evident, that the present system of work Ing the roads or attempting to keep them in repair, has proved to be failure of the worst kind, 1t has proved it's ineffici- ency and failure in every respect to keep in-condition the roads We once had, it not only has allowed the roads to be- come In an impossible shape, but has lost to the county at least two-thirds of the money originally spent in the building of the said roads.
 nave had many years experience in that class of work, and feel that I can speak with some degree of knowl- cage on the subject. can safely assert that the method of locating, building and maintaining the roads of Jefferson coun- ty is wrong from it's inception and con- tinues wrong to the end I will cite A report or the Board of Revenue appear ing in The Age-Herald of the Fist as proof of the above assertion. In the said report the names of several parties were given as appointed to locate a proposed new road. The said men are probably all good citizens, but it is safe to assume mat none of them has any special quali- ncations to locate road The above method is in accordance with the law on the subject and is the only method I believe used in the state for the Ioca- tion of new roads. It seems strange that Jenerson county with all the evidence of intelligent development that has taken place for many years within her bound aries should still continue a method of locating her county roads adopted bv our forefathers many years ago when Alabama was wilderness, such out of date methods being bound to produce poorly located roads, and a waste of a large portion of the money expended in building the same Is it any wonder that under such a system we have poorly To- cated roads, and that it is almost impos- sible to keep them In repair when built?
 Keeping Roads In Repair.
 ''The next question to be considered. is the present system of keeping the roads in repair, the best that can be devised or the one that gives the best returns in work for the money spent. From a late report of Supervisor Hill there are eight overseers in the county, the said over seers have full control of the roads in their districts, they can work them where and how they please in their districts, and there is no evidence that they have any special qualifications for the position they occupy. Hill on account of other pressing business or duties can only find time to visit each one once a month Would any private individual or corpora ton he satisfied tn snend soO OnO nor, .,ao r in business run in the above man. ner? Common business experience should teach one that the above is too loose a system for the expenditure of the sum named. The condition of the roads proves that large part of the above sum fails to give results, which shows that there are more salaries or other unproductive expenses to meet than there should be- The above system of working the roads should be changed without delay. and some better and more economical plan adopted in its place.
 Under the above described system of working the roads. the intention of the plan is to give each road one good work ing per year, and any person with road experience knows that such a system will not keep roads in repair, that good road exposed to heavy rainfals and other destructive features of the weather daily requires a daily attention to keep the same in repair. My business has taken me all over the county. which has made me familiar with the roads therein and the condition of the same. l personally know of several instances where the roads