The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-12
Systematic Effort Also Greatly Needed to Improve the
 COung's Highways
BOARD GAN DRAW ON THE
 GENERAL FUND FOR MONEY
Treasurer's Books Show Good Surplus Was Left In Various Road Funds at End of December-Some
 Fierce Spots.

The Jefferson county roads are oed with rake, and rolled with a lawn mower. In other words, the cause of
 the present deplorable condition of roads is simply that the county is try ing to do its work without tools. It is
 spending more than $1oo,oOO every year, and not cent of 1t is doing half the good it ought to do.
 It is true that the small sum of money being expended is not half half enough to keep up the roads and | bridges of Jefferson county. Captain Crook, a county commissioner who lives in Bessemer, is quoted as saying that 1t Is impossible to keep up 1900 miles of road without money, and that the only
 recourse they have Is praying for good weather.
 Finding more funds is the problem for the coming year. It is said that the l recent session of the legislature passed an act allowing each county to use it's judgment about spending money out of the general fund on the county roads.
 Machinery Badly Needed. The opinion of those who have
 
 thousand dollars should be expended
 this year for machinery. Steam road rollars, blows and many other devices
 that are used on up-to-date roads. "The good roads movement is spread ing rapidly all over the nation," said R. S. Munger yesterday. Tt is bene-
 hcial from so many views that people on every hand are taking it up.
 "From the standpoint of the farmer, good road Is the greatest profit in his business. Those who heard our Con gressman Underwood on this subject cannot help but realize the importance
 of bending every effort toward the i'm provement of our county roads. l Certainly we in Birmingham and
 this vicinity have the best road ma terial in the world right at our hands.
 It ought not to cost much to construct
 our highways when we have every grain of the material in sight q favor any plan which will secure the best and the cheapest in the long run for Jefferson county. We should I find out how to build roads, and espe-
 cially how to repair them There Is a
 science in it, far more than mere con- tracting. Few people in Birmingham
 know anything about it.
 Nothing can be done without machin- 1 cry Our club has always urged this upon 1 the authorities. Steam rollers are in-
 valuable, and save their value time and
 again. I favor the campaign begun by
 The Age-Herald and hope it will bear l good results
 | Roads Around Irondale.
 Dr. J. w. Howard of Irondale, when
 seen yesterday. commented: Good thing. l Push it along. The roads out our way
 are as bad as they could be. I haven't
 seen any work being done in long time. ! During the Is years I have lived here the roads have never been so bad as today. | While the macadamized road Is very i good, it is wearing considerably and needs
 attention. road 16 years old has reason l to call for improvement. Everybody is complaining about the condition of the
 dirt roads,"
 B. L. Crane, the rural mail carrier who leaves Irondale on his route, said yesterday that he never saw such horrible |
 it is something ferce," he said. Mud
 holes and ponds rocks and trouble from l one end to the other. It is all I can do to get my little cart through and passage of
 large wagons has become impossible" More Funds Available.
 q am of the opinion,'' said R. F. Love-
 lady yesterday, that the legislative act | aF 1 some of the general funds on roads could ] help conditions some The board can use 1 it's discretion in the matter, and might | find places where money could be saved 1 for this use. l favor good roads and | more of them. Equipment is the first | thing. and then work. Things should not l be trusted too much to inferior officers" !"
 "The roads in this part of the county"
 said E. B. Knight of Brighton. "are ex- | ceedingly bad I have driven over a great
 many of them recently, and find them in a ] mighty bad shape. The Hueytown road,
 which was only built three years ago.
 has been torn all to pieces by the heavy | railroad contract traffic. It seems to have been built entirely too weak.
 l From Brighton to the pipe shops is a continuous line of mud holes and rocky l gulleys I hope something can be done | immediately for the farmers in this end I of the county"
 l Said F. M. Jackson: Put your spikes
 into these municipal roads. They are in a | terrible condition. Little towns with only l one or two highways running through | them ought to keep them up and make l them passable."
 Figurers From Treasurers Books. 1 Figures from the county treasurer's 1 books show that nearly as much again could have been expended during Decem-
 ber and still left a surplus in the treas 1 ury. Here is the way the books closed for l 1907:
 Macadam Bridge 8 l Fund Fund Fund
 Bal. from Nov. .$1e,SeO.o5 $15,56414 $1904.2S I Rec. for Dec... 4693.76 469377 491 73 ] Total ....... 21,053S1 2,25791 2396.01 l Total Disb. Dec. 1S4.99 7592s7 731.17 Bal. Dec. 31 ..s1S,9O4s2 $12,665o4 $1664.S4 l ,opfe 1,o