Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1912-02-16
THE NEW ROAD LAW.


reciting briefly the provisions of the
new proposed road law. The article
stated only the facts, in short arti-
Gle, not claiming to give all the pro-
visions of the bill. 1t seems that
some of our readers got the impress
sion that we were criticising the pro-
vision of the bill which, if passed,
will add nine new officers to the
county payroll-viz: Two 'oad COM
missioners and a road superintendent
in each district AS a matter of fact,
virtually four new officers in each
district will be added, instead of
three, making twelve instead of nine,
for the Supervisor in each district
gets a salary as road commissioner of
$3.50 per day, in addition to the sal
airy he draws of one hundred dollars
per year, as Supervisor. We did not
know that this salary of So SO per
day was in addition to the regular
salary when the article was written,
but have been so informed since. No
criticism whatever was either intend
ed or implied in the news article re-
ferred to. We have heard some criti-
cict, onto;do houa,or II ;y co;J tLot
the present Board of Supervisors were
anxious for the office they hold, that
they worked hard to secure it, know
ing that the salary was fixed at 500
per year; that they knew the new
roads were to be built and that addi-
tional demand would be made upon
their time, and Notwithstanding, they
were not only willing but anxious to
have the office, and further, that if
they intended to increase their own
salaries, or attempt to do so, the fact
should have been stated before the
election, and not wait until after
wards, and then vote to increase their
own salaries, in addition to the ap-
pointment of three extra men-pro-
badly four, to help them do work,
which they must have known in the
start, would devolve upon them. This
is about the way they talk-these
critics, and they are not soreheads or
simpletons, either.
We made little investigation of
the matter, and learned that our news
article, written hurriedly just before
going to press, did not state all the
facts because we did not know them.
DR.. c. w. Greever, the obliging
clerk of the county, and also of the
board of supervisors, informs us that,
instead of the appointment of the ad-
ditional road commissioners and sup
erintendents in each district being an
Increase in expenses, it would save
the county hundreds and hundreds of
dollars--in this way:
The districts are divided into road
precincts, of which there have been
about thirty in all. Each precinct had
it's own superintendent or road over
seer. These thirty men, all of whom
had "their hands IN pap's pocket"
will now be dispensed with. They got
a fixed salary per diem, for the
"time actually employd," and had
quite nice little sum besides under
their control. The public is familiar
with the work of these precinct over
seers. Now, they will be dispensed
with, and the money thus saved will
pay, says DR.. Greever, the salaries of
the new officers many times over. Be-
sides, in the matter of laying out
new roads, changing and disseminating
roads, ETC., heretofore the Sheriff had
to summons witnesses, commissioners
had to be appointed by the court de-
eide, assess damages, etc., etc., all
of which now will be under the exclu-
sive control of the road commission
ers in each district, and again, a
large saving in expenses will accrue,
better and more work will be done.
etc. And so, these things being true,
the new road law seems to be a good
one in this regard. The people of the
country, the taxpayers, will welcome
any change which will give them
roads. Under the old order there were
no roads. These precinct overseers,
many of them, faithful and good men,
knew about as much about building
roads as does the editor of this paper.