The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-13
JACKSON COUNTY
 PROUD OF ROADS
Backward in Some Things But
 Has Fine Highways
THE SYSTEM COST $25O,OOO
The Farmers at Least Have Fine Roads on Which to Haul the Corn Which They Buy From Other
 People
E WALTER HARPER

l | Scottsboro, November 12-(Special)-
 Jackson county, in the extreme north
 eastern corner of Alabama, was one of
 the pioneer road building counties of the
 state.
 The people in Jackson admit that the
 county is backward in some things, but
 they should have full credit for this one distinctive virtue.
 It is the fifth county in area in the state and is fearfully and wonderfully built. There are mountains of perious
 grandeur and valleys of peaceful beauty
 or fertile as those of the Nile. There
 are mountain folk and valley folk types
 almost as widely different in their views
 and modes of living as city people and
 rural people.
 The county has gone backward or is standing still In the matter of growing l corn and raising cattle. But it has gone | forward in educational matters | The farmers and cattle men of south
 eastern Tennessee in days gone by came
 tc Paint Rock valley, In Jackson coun- ty, for corn. Carload after carload of Il
 these fertile valleys. Now only a few progressive farmers are engaged in the | profitable raising of cattle and when a
 merchant at Scottsboro told me the amount of corn that was shipped into the town this year to supply the farm | CTS begged him not to let me print it. | The farmers of Jackson are backward and slow in one very vital particular. They will not listen to plans for cattle tick eradication. this scourge that is not only sapping the south of half billion dollars annually, but Is claiming the precious life of hundreds of our darling babies
 But Jackson is not the only county | in Alabama that Is blindly, I almost said criminaly negligent in this matter. 
 But I intended to write of Jackson countys road system. It was begun in 1900 and completed | few years ago.
 The system is comprised of 118 miles. | leading out from every railroad town
 in the county and touching practically every section.
 l They were built with a bond issue of | $250,000. Fine roadbuilding material is | found in abundance in every part of | the county and good results were se- cured for the amount of money avail l able.
 | There was considerable oposition to the bonds and the building of the roads l in the beginning. Some people even
 objected to giving rights of way
 through their property. But after a few | miles had actually been constructed | other farmers literally ran over each
 other in their eager petitions for im-
 proved roads to be built thorugh or by
 their property.
 Since the bond issue is exhausted
 am told that people in different sec l tions of the county come to the com | missioners and offer to co operate with I the county in paying half the expense of extending inoompleted and cross sections of roads.
 Jackson county did good days
 work when it issued $250,00o in bonds ten years ago for the building of inn proved highways said R. s. Shelton, one of the leading merchants of Scotts- boro, and the man who superintended the building of the system. "The people have not felt the burden of the bond indebtedness When the bonds were sold the county was in. debt We have paid that debt kept the interest on the bonds paid up and the county is now out of debt with the ex- ception of the road bonds, which are not yet mature.
 Before the road system was completed
 the property tax valuation of Jackson
 county was $4OO0,O00. Since the building of the roads taxable values have in- creased to more than s6,000,000 Good roads pay for themselves. For a county like Jackson an issue of
 bonds is decidedly the best plan for the building of roads. An agricultural coun- ty like this can never have enough funds
 for effective road building during one year or the course of a few years. The road system to be effective must be com pleted after it Is begun as speedily as pos slble. The only economical and satisfac- tory way Is to get all the money that Is necessary at once.
 "The argument that bonds pile up debts for our children is all rot and not worthy of intelligent consideration.
 q would say to the citizens of every county like Jackson, build good roads; if
 you haven't the money get 1t and build good roads. They will take care of them selves and your children will pay the debt
 and bless you for the comfort and pros- perity you leave for them.' Jackson county never did better
 thing than placing $25O,ooo on her public highways"
 For the maintenance of the roads of
 Jackson county a special road tax Is
 levied to supplement the regular per capita road tax. Besides this wheel tax of s2 per month Is levied against tim Der and other wagons engaged in regular heavy hauling over the roads. This
 brings In something like $4O0 per month. drove over some of the roads of Jack son county.
 They are delightful. n mDC nYUrn mn