The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-07-22

into account the wear and tear on
the wagons and horses. The say
ing in the hauling of fertilizers and
produce Of all kinds would be in the
same proportion. He said that we
pay this heavy tax when We have
sandy or muddy roads, indirectly,
but we would save it if the roads
were in good condition. 1t was be-
cause the tax was indirect that we
did not mind paying it, but if it were
made a direct tax, although the tax
itself was not half as much. there
was bound 10 be some kicking right
aw;-y. He then went on to tell about
the roads in the county, why the
money TO put them in good condition
shouid be borrowed by the county
and why it was so much cheaper
that way.
Hon. II. G.. Mcleod of Bshop-
vile was next on the program. Tie
said a; the start that he had for
merry been resident Of this coun-
y and had commenced his career in
this county. He was a taxpayer so
he would have to pay along with the
other tax payers. He said that if
you study the history Of any civiliz-
ed nation, you found that they have
always set about establishing the
most permanent things. These gov
ernments early in their history al
""ys built mighty system Of reads.
many Of which still exist. W, have
just passed through an epoch when
the procession was from the -,oun-
ny to the town. Now the tide has
turrcd and the cry is back - the
country" The reason Of this is
that the country is obtaining every
possible access to the town. No coun-
try can be successful unless it has
highly developed system Of farms
and roads. The very highest type
Of citizenship comes from the coun-
try and 1t is the boys who grow into
men in the country who make the
great men Of the country. This is
because the boys Of the country are
closer in touch with nature and with
the things Of nature than those of
the city. For this reason everybody
should do all he can to make these
things accessa BILE and to put the
country and town as near each 9TH
er as possible. The country needs
ready access to good schools and
churches and to the town and the
town needs to be kept close to the
country and its products.
Sumter county is facing a business
proposition just now that ought to
be looked at from a purely business
standpoint. The dividends from the
S15O,OOO should be counted before
the voters go to cast their ballot at
the polls. Perhaps the profits were
not all direct ones from the system
Of good roads, but the indirect pro.
fits should also be ':aken into consid-
Grafton. When the people Of a coun-
ty get used to bad roads it Is hard
to arouse them to the necessity Of
having good roads, but when they
once get used TO a system Of good
roads they will never have any 9TH
er kind-no matter what the good
roads may cost.
In old Meck1enburg county, North
Carolina, under the old system Of
roads the cost Of hauling was great.
Only two or three bales Of cotton
could be hauled at one time. Now.
since the system Of good roads for
which the county is famous, has been
put in operation, six or eight bales OF
cotton can be hauled over the same
half OF the time. Just think Of this
enormous saving, was II not worth
while? The dividends returned were
something like 100 per cent, if not
more. The road building made near
ness one OF the items that had to be
taken into consideration, and it was
not small item at that 1t had also
helped increase the value Of the
land. Recently a firm bought 8 large
tract OF land near Georgetown. The
first thing that was done after the
land had been purchased was the
building of a system Of good roads
through the whole area purchased
and the dividing of the tract up in
to forty or sixty acre farms. The
land was also drained, and where 1t
had been purchased at cost Of
$500 an acre it was now sold for
from S25 to $35. If it paid cor
poration to borrow money to build