The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-24
RAINS ID HEAVY DAMAGE ID ROADS City And County Are Both Suf- ferers M'CARTIN DISCUSSES WORK President Going Says It Will Take but Short Time to Put Macadam
 Roads in Shape If Rains
 Ever Cease.
M'CARTIN DISCUSSES WORK

The rains of the past week have cost than s5O,OO0. while the work which has been facing the suburbs for months has been doubled by the great downpour. Perhaps at one time there was some way to get into Birmingham through the suburbs, but since the late rains Birmingham is practically bottled up with mud on all sides.
 The necessity of quick and extensive repair work Is very pressing in every section.
 John McCartin, street commissioner of Birmingham, said yesterday: q find that the rains have done considerable dam age. All macadam and chert roads have been badly washed, especially on the hill sides. The rains have been so persistent that the street gang has not been able to do much repairing and as soon as the weather changes the city will have to get busy.
 "We are working only about 100 con- victs now and only 40 of these are doing actual repairing, the other 50 being en- gagged in sweeping, sprinkling and gather ing garbage.
 ''The number of convcts right now is a decrease of some 50 since the last year of saloons and I believe that in a short time they city will have to begin hiring gangs of paid laborers.
 Even with the present limits of Bir- mingham the people and sections toward the east which stood the test and became part of the city cannot be as carefully tended as they should under present con- ditions Birmingham now takes in the two long strips of road on both sides of East Lake and Woodlawn and these roads will need attention badly. ''The distances of Greater Birmingham | are going to be immense. Yesterday I received a notice to remove a dead COW, which is located still further beyond East Lake, distance of seven miles from the city hall.
 'In order to give these people good service the sanitary department will have to be largely increased. The convicts will not number any greater under Greater Birmingham than at present and we will have to begin shortly to feel our way and plan for the future when the commissioners work will be one of the largest in the city
 "I noticed that during the rains the
 
 weeds and grass which have been cut and thrown into the gutters are caus- ing a number of floods, by closing up the sewers in resulting in several inches of mud all over the street. More care is needed and closed sewers should be reported quickly before any damage is done."
 Damage to County Roads.
 Job Going, of the Board of Revenue. said "We have received reports from the overseers to the effect that the rains have put the dirt roads in terrible shape and have caused several washouts in the macadam, but he does not think 1t will require more than a few days work to get the macadam roads back Into con dition. when the rainy spell is complete.
 "The damage Is of such nature that it will be impossible to compute the loss but it will run up to a big figure. Bir- mingham is getting a fair sample of the awful misery which is worrying the farmers of the state since the rains be- gan. and the weeds are almost grow ing In the rocks" .-.s.