The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-06
WHAT ETOWAH IS
 DOING FOR ROADS Convicts Are Used With Great
 Success NO BONDS WERE ISSUED Man Is Put In Entire Charge of Re- pairs for Each 20 Miles and the System Has shown Excel-
 lent Results
NO BONDS WERE ISSUED
BY WALTER HARPER

building or maintenance.
 Let Probate Judge J. W. Penn of Eto- wah county tell you how it is being done.
 Tt is all right for large counties like Jefferson, Montgomery or sIobile to make an issue of bonds to build roads The system is large and the demand so urgent that the necessary time cannot be taken to construct as we are doing, but for a small county like Etowah I believe we have the best plan. in the world.
 We pay for the work as we go and il will not take very long for us to complete the system When it is finally com pleted we will owe no money for the work and can use the money that would oth- erwise be required to pay interest and principal on a debt for keeping the roads in repair.
 Convicts on Roads
 "We have from 25 to 40 convicts and keep them on the road. We have an annual road tax of about $12.0O0. This is used in the maintenance of the convicts, paying of salaries, buying machinery and for paying other necessary expenses con- nected with the system.
 'As rapidly as the first-cass roads in any community are put in order the citi- zen road hands are assigned to work on the second-class roads in the community.
 We begun on seven of the main roads of the county leading out from Gadsden and Attalla three years ago, building each one out distance of 10 miles. When this was completed all round we extend ed all the roads another five miles or to the county line. We have already com pleted about 165 miles and they are as good as the roads that have been built in many counties of the state with large bond issues and but few of which extend throughout the counties.
 Section Men
 After 20 miles of road is completed we employ man at $2 per day of actual service for keeping up the road This one man, without assistance, is expected to keep the 20 miles in good condition. We have eight men so employed on the roads of the county. Each man has about 20 miles for which he is individually respon- sible
 This plan is proving very satisfactory. The mileage per man is little too much and we hope to be able to reduce it some but these roads are not hard to keep up after they are properly built.
 ''These road men are carefully selected and they usually take great pride Tn maintaining in the best of condition their respective sections of highway
 When the entire system of first-class roads is put in the best of condition it Is our purpose to take up the second class roads and put them in good shape.
 Handling Convicts
 ''The convicts are kept out on the roads day and night. We have system of portable cages that accommodate the men and their guards. There are two cage s for the prisoners and similar convey ance for guards.
 ''The gang strikes camp in the vicinity of the road to be worked and operates from this central point. There has never been a single objection to tie convict camp being pitched on any mans prop erty in the county. There is never any disorder and the interest in road improve ment Is such that all citizens are glad to cooperate in any way.
 ''The convicts working on the coun- try roads are not near so objectionable or unsightly as the city convicts work ing on or sweeping the streets. We have never had the least trouble in this re- spect and escapes are as rare as escapes from jail or the state penitentiary.
 Tt is my earnest opinion with the ex- perience we have had in Etowah that the convicts of every county in the -k-4 elk tt~. roads. I believe it is not only the most economical for the county, but it is the most humane.
 Cheapest System
 If nothing interferes with the pres ent plans Etowah county will in few years have the best and cheapest sys- tenn of good roads in the state. In my opinion it is matter of vital import ance and interest to all people that when this system is completed 1t will have been paid for without the borrow Ing of dollar or disturbing any other fund in the county treasury.
 Then with the annual road fund that will still be available we can keep the roads in first-class condition and make the extensions that may become neces- sary.
 "Etowah county has an abundance of the finest road building material, lime stone, chert clay and sand. The roads that have been built and had a trial are holding up magnificently We have some fiat marshy lands where the roads were almost impossible at times before they were improved. By careful drain age and making the proper foundation these roads have been dried out and good permanent highways constructed.
 Method of Building
 By the way, we have made an acci- dental discovery, or rather an exper- ment that may be of value to road build CTS in other sections of the state.
 AS rule, the first work that is done in the building of a road is to scrape the dirt and mud from the sides to the middle of the roads. Then this is cov- cred over with the stone and then the roofing material.
 "On one of the main roads leading out of Attalla I tried the experiment of talk ing the road bed just as we found 1t and putting the material down on that. This gave a solid foundation, not a spongy one that had been freshly thrown up.
 This road has been standing now for almost two years and is the best road in the county. There is a reason. It Is plain.
 When water breaks through the roof of a road, which 1t will do sometime, a spongy, loose foundation will give way and you have a bad hole or rut. This sort of scar is hard to repair If you build on a solid road bed the water that breaks through will not cause the described.
 "Of course, you want to shape your road with sufficient drainage on each