Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-03-02
ACTS PAV0RABLY
ON ROAD PETITION
April 18Th Set by Circuit Judge KsgIsy as
Day on which the People of TaleweH
viii Vote on Issuance of Bonds.

Jetersonville and Maiden Spring-were
presented to Circuit Judge Kegley pray
ing that an election be called on the
question of issuing s625, 900 in bonds for
the purpose Of building good roads in
Tazewell county. The court, after
careful consideration of the petition, set
Tuesday, April 4th, as the date of the
election. Several appeared in court
favoring the issuing of bonds, while one
or two apparently were opposed to this
manner of procedure to secure better
highways for onr county.
On Monday, the attorneys for the pc
titioners appeared in court and present.
ed an order embodying the petitions and
setting forth the roads to be improved
and for the courts final action. At this
time several attorneys, appearing for
themselves and as Taxpayers, asked
the court to postpone the bond issue for
ninety days, in order to give the people
more time to consider the question.
After listening to the arguments of at
torneys V. L. Sexton, w. H. Werth and
I. c. Bowen favoring an election as
soon as the same could be held under
the statute, and A. S. Higginbotham,
Barnes Gillespie and J. w. Chapman in
favor of postponement for ninety days,
the court changed the previous order
and set Tuesday, April 18th, as the day
for the election in the several districts
as to whether or not the county should
issue the bonds as prayed for in the pc
titions.
The general sentiment is. that the
bonds will carry, so the next question
will be: what is the best method of pro-
cedure to secure the greatest quap ity
of roads at the least cost. In this nat
ter experience is a good guide, and es-
pecially the experience of citizens of our
own State, who have devoted almost
their entire time to the question of bet
ter highways.
The first is from speech delivered in
Richmond last week by Logan Waller
Page, president of the American Asso-
citation for Highway Improvement, and
director of the United States office of
public roads and a resident of Virginia.
In his speech concerning good roads,
Mr.. Page confined himself to facts
backed by figures learned in his long
service with this department of the
government. The first and greatest
barrier, he said, was the county system
prevalent in every State of the Union.
His observation was that there were
100, 900 road officials, with hardly as
many as lO,0 actual laborers, clear
case, he said, of putting the cart be-
fore the horse" He estimated that
in the United States there were 2, ,15O,-
600 miles of public roads, of which less
than per cent were improved.
The supervisor system came in for its
share of criticism, being characterized
as more ancient than the country itself.
One of Mr.. Pages plans was to place
the public roads in the hands of the
hands of the Highway Commissioner,
who should select, for instance, 10 per
cent of the most important roads in
each county to be directly under the su-
pervision of competent man the year
round. He recommended merely the
suspension of the supervisor system in
order to convince the people of the su-
periority of the new plan.
AS to bond issues for roads, Mr.. Page
said: Spend your borrowed money on
construction of roads only, and let the
regular fund go towards maintenance.
Bond issues build roads, but roads dete-
riorate and the debt remains" He
commended Virginia's policy in discon-
tinuing the system of allowing tax pay
ers to work out their assessments on
the roads.
The second Is a letter from Hon. P.
st. Julien Wilson, State highway COM
missioner, quoting from the experience
OF Captain r. S. Ker, for twelve years
commonwealth's attorney of Augusta
county, and who after four years expe-
rience in road building under State su-
pervision, recommends to the board of
supervisors of that county the issuance
OF one million dollars worth of bonds
with which to build more roads. Mr..
Wilson's letter follows:
Richmond, Va, Feb. "a, 1911.
Tazewell Republican,
Tazewell, Va.
In the Harrisonburg Daily Times of
February 10th, notice they published
in full letter from Captain r. s. Ker,
commemorative attorney of Augusta
county, in which he recommends to the
board Of supervisors a million dollar
bond issue. AS Captain Ker states, Au-
gusta county has had about four years
experience in road-building and in that
time has built some twenty-five miles
of roads; and his conclusion is arrived
at after close observation of what has
been going on, as he has been a member
OF committee of three to audit all the
accounts Of the expenditures on the
work. 1t might also be stated that all
of these roads vuoro l.nilf nnde- A. .>t...u