The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-08-10
ABOUT THAT ROAD.
Mr.. John G. Neel Says That Expert
ment Road is Alright.-Fa7ors
Bonds.

mile of improved road, one half on
one side and one on the other Of my
home.
There is as much as forty cords of
wood carried over this road daily,
it raining most Of the time and the
road is standing alright. I have trav-
eled this road for thirty years and
have had wagons to stall both in wet
and dry weather quite often, before
it was improved.
AS for Bonds. what more is Bond
than note we'll secured?
A county is like an individual if it
waits to pay cash for permanent road
building there will never be many
such roads in this country. I do not
know where this idea originated but,
to my mind, it is a fair proposition
we'll gotten up. Some say they are
afarid the money will be wasted; 1t
seems 70 me that this is safeguarded
by the Bond Act itself.
It also seems evident that the bur-
den will fall equally on each one and,
T am sure, every one will be equally
benefited.
I heard a three horse farmer say
recently that it was the first time he
had received something for nothing
and that he intended to vote for bonds.
7 also heard Mr. Luther Fellers, who
does a great deal Of hauling from his
home TO town. say that if all the roads
between there and Newberry were as
GOOD as this one mile, he wouldn t
keep two horse wagon at all but
would get a heavy four horse wagon
and put two mules. so as to bring a
four horse load.
Mr.. D. ". Buzhardt, who runs
three wood wagons over this road
from near Cannon's Creek church,
two or three times per day, said that
when he strikes this mile OF road, a
cord Of wood barely "tightens the
traces.'
T am satisfied two mules could easl-
" pull five cords over it at one time.
This is the farmers and country peo-
pies opportunity to get something Tor
nothing as one farmer expressed 1t.
The property Of the country has
lain silently by and has done nothing
in the way Of road Improvement ana
if is this that has to work the roads
and educate the children.
What little has been done tor the
roads (and that is little) has been
done by few white people and the
negroes.
Roads. churches and schools 60
hand-injhand, one without the other
being a failure.
T do not know of country church
or schoolhouse in Newberry county
that has a good road leading to 1t. In
fact this mile Of road is the only
GOOD road, outside Of Newberry, that
is really good.
IF the church, the school and the
roads do not get more closely connect
ed and do more for the improvement
Of one another the movements from
the rural districts are going to con-
tinue until a good deal Of our country
will be depopulated Of the white pop
ulation.
We need these good roads for our
preachers. doctors, mail carriers, as
we'll as for ourselves.
With free delivery and the tele-
phone, if the people we're so they
could travel, country life would be al
most as comfortable as city life. This
road question, next to tariff IS des-
tined to be one Of the greatest things
in the United States.
T can't see why the Farmers Union
and other farmers organizations do
not agitate this question more
strongly as it seems to be the key
note to the situation of what they are
trying to do: this would take a great
deal of worthless labor from the farm
to the roads, thereby reducing the
production of cotton. If this could
be done all over the cotton belt, the
production could be sufficiently reduc-
ed in five years time to raise the
price of cotton to Is cents per pound.
There seems to be an impression
over the country that this Is an auto
mobile movement which. | think, IS
great mistake.
never expect to own an auto 1or
~ ,,, ,-o h,,t am sure that a good