The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1909-02-25
Good and Bad Roads.


ing on Good Roads-Every
Farmer Ought to be Heartily
in Favor of Permanent Road
Improvement as a Matter Of
Self Interest.
On the occasion OF the Good Roads
convention in Richmond the follow
ing statement was made by State
Senator Charles T. Lassiter of Peters
burg:
One OF the principal crops OF Dim
widdie county is peanuts. The aver
age load for one horse from any
point on the Halifax road, two miles
from the corporate limits OF Peters
burg, is six bags. There are farmers
living on the Cox road who are now
hauling with one horse twelve bags
of peanuts the same distance. Be-
fore the improvement of the Cox
road, during the summer Of 1908. no
greater load could have been hauled
over this road than over the Halifax
road. Consequently, the improve
ment OF the road is responsible for
the fact that the farmer living on the
Cox road can haul twice as many
loads and twice as much at load as
the farmer living on the Halifax
road.
A few days ago the authorities of
the Central State hospital hauled
from Petersburg to the hospital,
over the improved Cox road, 5000
pounds of freight on one wagon, with
one pair of mules. Before the road
was improved 1000 pounds was con-
sidered a good load for one team.
This great public institution is now
able to do it's hauling with one
wagon, which formerly required two.
Numbers of people come to Peters
burg every year from the great
Northwest for the purpose of buying
our lands. They are usually pleased
with the lands and with the climate
and would be willing to pay good
prices for our lands. but for the fact
of our bad roats. 1t is matter
which has been repeatedly remarked
on that some of these people tell the
real estate agents that they would
not have the land as a gift so long as
it would be necessary for them to
haul through such mud holes us now
exist on almost all of our roads.
In Chesterfield county the i'm
mediate result of the improvement
under the direction of the State high
way commissioner of road leading
out of Mo chichester was that farming
lands on this improved road were
sold at an advance of 33h per cent.
1t is evidently a waste of money
for our people to be heavily taxed to
build public schools unless the roads
are to be kept in a sufficiently pass
able condition for the children to at
tend the schools. One of the i'm
mediate results of good roads will be
the building of graded schools of a
better class and the bringing of the
children in wagons longer distances
at less risk to the health of the child
rem, as well as to the consequent i'm
provement of the quality of the in
struction furnished them at the
schools.
1t is a we'll known fact that our
people, on account of bad roads,
have been shut off during consider
able periods of every year from at
tending church and from a reason
able amount of social intercourse
with their neighbours Man is a social
animal and no one cause has con-
tributed in Il larger degree to the in
crease of insanity in the rural dis
tricts so much as the loneliness to
which the women of the country
districts have been condemned by
bad roads.
Consequently it is not merely the
pecuniary betterment OF the farmers
which will be accomplished by better
highways, but the Improvement of
the roads is condition precedent to
the successful religious and intel
lectual training of our people.
Ii the result of the improving of
the roads will be that the average
farmer will be able to dispense with
the keeping of one horse and still &C
| complish AS much work as he did be-
fore, it can very readily be estimated
that he would save in this way alone
many times the probable amount of
all his taxes. 1t is estimated that a
horse will eat a barrel of corn a
month. Twelve barrels of corn at
$3.50 per barrel are worth $42 90.
During the same time a horse will
eat three tons of hay, or other long
feed; three tons of hay at $15 per
ton are worth $40. We will say that
the average value of the horse will
be 500, 6per cent. interest on this
will be- IS. Consequently, if the farmer
is able to dispense with one horse by
reason of better roads, he would be
able to make a saving of 1913 pei
year. This estimate does not take
into consideration the fact that with
better roads there would be less wear
and tear upon vehicles and harness
1t does not take into consideration
the saving of time, nor the fact that
with good roads. the farmer can hau
to market during bad weather wher
he cannot utilize his time on the
farm.
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