The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-07-16
ABOUT GOOD ROADS.
MIR. RciScr Tells of Roads Seen On
His Recent Trip.

went to attend the annual convention
of the National Association Of Real
Estate Exchanges, was seen by an
Item reporter, and asked to give
some idea of the good roads condi-
tions as seen by him on his trip
While en- route to Minneapolis, Mr..
Belser spent a day each at Columbia
and Charlotte, where he was able TO
examine two representative classes
of roads; Micklenburg County, N. c.,
! having the best macadamized roads
in the Carolnas, and Richland
County, S. c., having the best sand
clay roads.
What Mr.. Belser said about both
the conditions out west and near
home. follows:
while the conditions out West
| are entirely different from ours. and
the roads seen out there by me were
| principally bOulevardes, running out
from the cities which I visited, yet
l saw enough to show that the West
erners greatly favor good roads.
II went over many miles of roads
| about st. Paul, Minneapolis, and
Duluth, and find that all of these
roads are either macadamized or
| oiled. and they are we'll kept up.
THE real estate men Of these
cities say that property along the
| boulevardes, since having good roods,
has increased in value about 800 per
cent.
"As is we'll known, Richland coun-
ty has the best sand-cIay roads of
any county in the State, and the day
l stopped in Columbia, Mr.. Owens.
the Supervisor of Richland county.
was kind enough to carry me over
many of the important roads in this
county.
They have 400 miles of sand-clay
roads, which cost from five to ten
dollars mile, per year. to maintain.
The original cost per mile for max
ing the roads was from three to eight
hundred dollars, with an average of
less than $500.
To maintain the 400 miles cost
about $4o0 per year. Two carts are
kept busy filling in the holes.
"On my way home I stopped for
day at Charlotte. where Mr.. Long,
the Supervisor of Mecklenberg coun.
ty showed me over a number Of the
principal roads of that county. They
use macadam, principally.
1.-The roads are about 80 feet wide,
20 feet being clayed and the other
10, macadamized. This is a very
good method, as the clayed portion
is used in dry weather. and the ma
cadamized part, in rainy weather.
ITO grade these roads cost from
three to four thousand dollars per
mile.
"All Of the bridges in this county
are constructed Of steel and concrete,
so that including the bridges. the
roads averaged in cost about $4,000
per mile.
"On some roads, l went out from
Charlotte as far as Is miles, and
found them we'll built and well kept"
When asked what sort of roads he
preferred for Sumter county, Mr..
Belser, said:
Il prefer sand-clay roads and think
nacadam roads impossible for Sum-
ter county. One hundred miles of
macadam roads cost more than four
hundred miles of sand clay roads. so
that If macadam roads were built in
this county. unless an enormous
amount Of money should be spent,
only few Of the principal roads
could be fixed, and the taxpayers
on the other roads would, Of course,
be dissatisfied.
I'm North Carolina, along many
Of the roads there are rocks in the
farmers fields. and all that is neces-
sary is to rake them into the roads
and crush them.
Here no such conditions exist, and
we would have to have the stone
shipped in, and transported along the
roads.
Sumter county spends $4,000 a
year on roads now and if we were to
follow Richland's example, we could
maintain 400 miles Of good sand-clay
roads. and have $4,000 left over per
year to expend on more good roads.
I'm a recent talk which had with
Mr.. ID. III. Winslow, Of the L. S. road
department. who is in charge of the
construction work in Marion county
where 100000 have been voted for
good roads, he said that sand-clay
roads were unquestionably the best