The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1909-12-09
Port Gibson, Nov. II, 1909.

Port Gibson, Nov. 27, 1909.
Mr.. Editor:
I see that one Traveller" has
taken it upon himself to criticize the
road contractors and board of su-
pervisors in regard to the public
roads. First he says that the roads
have received very little attention
from the contractors and that the
roads had been scratched little in
good places, etc.
Now, I don't know who "Trav-
eler" is, but I suppose he is one of
those goody- goody sort of fellows
who is too good to work and not
able to pay the Communication for
his negroes without borrowing.
As for making crops with the road
teams, l had a very small corn
crop, not more than III acres to
the mule, and NEGLECTED the crop
for the road, as thought my first
duty was to the roads. As for the
bitches across the road being SO
hard on teams and vehicles, they
had nothing to say of the impassi-
bic condition of the roads when. the
contractors took hold of them. As
to the roads getting narrower, !
can say without successful contra
diction that / have widened my
roads in many places and have en-.
deavored to keep my water bitches
close under the banks so that the
water would cut under the bank in-
stead of.coming on the road bed.
[ started on this road work to be
honest and conscientious in my
work and try to give value re-
ceived.
If the "Traveler" will take, the
trouble to interview some of our
best people who have TO travel over
the roads regularly. he will find
that they are satisfied with the.
contractors work Three of the
physicians of Port Gibson have told
me that they find the roads vastly
improved over the old system. Our
fastest auto rider told me that he
found our roads in fine condition
for running on, and as for the
iump-offs, he only found one be-
tween Port Gibson and Russum,
around back to Port Gibson on an
other road. and that was in the
corposate limits of Pegt Gibson
Our old veteran vegetable raiser
who has driven over the road from
his place to town for The last forty
wears from three TO FIVE times
week. says that under the old sys-
tenn he has had to carry his shovel
along to fiji holes and bitches to get
to market. Can now load his wag
on, take his paper along and read
while his old trusty trots to mark
ct, without a jolt. And he says
further that the board can double
his road tax rather than go back to
ruts and bitches.
AS to the forcing of the road tax
driving the labor away from the
county, 1t is a farce, while it's a
fact that these same lords of crea-
ton, or landlords. refuse absolutely
to give the negro anything to live
on till he can start another crop,
and, poor negro, he is human, and
as he sees his family suffering for
the absolute necessities of life, he
goes 10 the delta, not from choice,
but to get something to eat, and
and these landlords cry out that
road tax enforcementis driving the
poor negro away.
Now if the people will be fair
with MS, we will be fair with them.
Everybody knows that the extreme
heavy rains caused large bodies of
water to collect in the roads and
cause wash outs and slides in the
roads In the spring that gave the
road contractors. double the work,
and, of course, having to go right
back over our work, we could not
90 forward as we would have done
otherwise. I can cite one instance
where I put full half day on less
than a hundred feet of road, with
FIVE hands, two yoke Of oxen and
four mules, taking3out one of those
slides, clay, roots, etc, and can
prove it, l think, by a man who
gave money TO hire lawyer to get
out this injunction. and that's only
one of many such places. Besides,
/ have hired many road hands dur
ing the year, and paid them the
money for their services, and these
same hands never said once, s'let
my time &c. on the road. +" And, by
the way. they are delinquent now.
I paid our OH the Tillman road,
outside of my regular crew, $40;
Red Lick road, $50; Russum road
S11; Woodvine road, $a8; Martin
road, $3.50; Sims road s. so;
Rodney road, IS; Poor House road,
SAYS. This was in cases of emer-
gency where my regular crew could
not get to 1t at once, to show that
I went after my work.
So I think Traveller" if he will
Just step in my shoes next January,
and ride as I have done, work
as I have done, spend money as I