Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1908-02-26
Editorial Remarks

~ will he noted in the above letters.
the gentlemen seem a. desire 10 becloud
the issue The COURIER insists hat the
point l. not so much the slight amount
of increase in tax. but the very great in
crease in results upou the public high
ways. As an illustration. ihr take. of
Nr. Gold aud Sir Barnett together will
he increased less than SO per annum
under general law Just think Of these
gentlemen "kicking" So vigorously
against an INCREASE INTAXATION.
hen the amount TO fall ON them will be
as above stated (Wc haye looked up
The tax books. and base that calculation
upon The amount they paid for road
purposes last year) The gentlemen
should be- more generous, especially if
they arc TO snow the common peoplen
what they want and ought 10 have. The
COURIER roughly estimated the miles Of
road in the County 10 be 200. 1t now
appears that the amount is 25O miles
With $4100 per year to keep that up.
the sum which en- be allotted per mile
is only about SIG so per mile, instead Of
the generous SEQ per mile wdich we es-
timated Does anybody need any fur
ther argument for a change, or any fur
ther reasons or an IMMEDIATE
change? On our estimate. the amount
that will be ,ceived per annum for road
purposes will be, roughly, $4,000. They
say $4,000. Admitting $4,000 as cor
rect (Which we don't believe) for the sake
of argument, that will give an average
sum OF $40 per mile per annum. which n
blind man can see beats SIG 80. They
say ii may Ice sixty years before We get
roads built. II has been thirty years
since the special road law was passed.
none have been built, and we will wager
that il will be six hundred, or six thous
and years, before any better roads will
or can be secured under its special pro-
visions. They speak of amending il.
Mr.. Colo was in the State Senate for
awhile. He knew and knows what a crv
the people of ClaIke county have been
making for better roads Why didn't he
amend il so that better roads could be
secured. Because the law has been
amended and changed so much already
that IL Is necessary TO have a legal opin.
ion on ii every time anybody proposes to
have ruling a TO its provisions The
time is ripe TO have the entire law struck
from the statute books. Another thing,
doesn't it seem strange that any County
in Virginia should be forced TO have a
special law 10 tell them how much they
can spend on their roads-lOcal work
entirelyg The gentleman saws he has the
opinion OF attorneys 10 the effect that
Clarke county can DO this under the
special law. We have ;he opinions of
attorneys diametrically opposed TO his
view. Lawyers, like Mr.. Gold, Mr.. Bar
nett and the COURIER man, often disa-
gree; otherwise, there would be no
courts. The gentlemen says that high
priced men will spend the money and
give the people the same mud roads as
now. w are not of the opinion that
everyone Is a rascal and a thief, and we
| have an idea that the employees of the
| County who spend the money on the
roads are just about as honest rs any
other class of men you will run across
Incidentally, the law we favor will pro
vide for bonding every man who handles
a penny of road money The present
road law (Which we believe three fourths
of the landowners want repealed at
once) was passed at a time when land
values and returns were very low. Ii is
a similar creature to the late lamented
school law. The writer once heard an
opponent of better roads and better
schools say that This business of public
schools is going too dad burned far.
YOn are spending the peoples money
just To give free education to people " no
haven't got any business with it" That
was the view of Governor BERKELEY, but
it doesn't go" nowadays Men ofprom-
inence opposed the public school a hun
dred years ago But they don't dare DO
ii now, Men of prominence now op-
pose better roads, but a hundred years
from now they will be remembered with
the same feelin as that shown toward
Berkeley aud his school opposition in
this day. There were many people W ho
opposed the bridging of the Shenandoah
river, and said that their fathers got
along all right wiihoat The bridges. ",
doubt If half dozen men can be found
, in the County today who would vote tc
take ihr bridges away In advocating
{ and working for The immediate repea
of the special road law we have nC
| apology or explanation To offer To an,
} man or set of men We Will not b,
, materially affected one way OF the other
so far as taxes are concerned Bui W,
, want tn see the people of this County
} get better roads Jhan they have ever hs,
before. We want To see Jhc TOuntr
more prosperoUs in every WAY Bette
e roads mean more prosperous am,
4 richer community. Here is proof as Il