Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-11-20

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1. OUR CIVIC TRIALS. i.
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(Edith Dickson, in The American

edith Dickson, in The American
Magazine.)
We have a country town which
within a few years has beer taking
on the airs Of a city. That Is, we
have industriously torn up our
streets and put in W pipes and
water pipes, and torn them up again
and laid pavements, and then torn
up the pavements to lay pipes for a
central heating plant, and are now
constantly making upheavals Of
pavements and six feet Of earth be-
low to stop leaks, clean pipes, and
examine into the condition Of our
subterranean affairs.
Naturally extensive work Of this
sort must have supervision and direc-
ton, and quite as a matter OF course
there has been q clash between us
who are served and our dictators,
misnamed Jul servants. Our town
officials have been men Of integrity
and ability, having the welfare Of the
community at heart. But when q
man has the charge Of a public i'm
provcment, his own particular work
becomes Of more Importance in his
eyes than any other popular interest.
Hence, the laying Of pavements and
improving of streets have been &C
comapnied by an amount Of devasta-
ton and interference which property
owners which has called forth rage,
lamentation and bad language.
Beginning on one of our oldest
streets whose chief beauty was in the
fine old shade trees with which it
was bordered, the arbiter of our ways
decided that before laying a now
pavement the street must be straight
ened. 1t was not crooked to the eye,
but a survey revealed the fact that
the sidewalks laid in careless old
days had been allowed to meander
comfortably down the street instead
Of following a mathematical line
throughout its length. This repre-
hensible habit had rendered the space
between the sidewalk and the curb OF
slightly varying width in different
places. Such shiftless courses met
with no tolerance and the street was
vigorously Strengthened; in which
process the trees we're cut down,
leaving the old fashioned houses pa
thetic in their exposure. The street
now flaunts in the glory of a red
brick pavement, thanked with curb
stones set with rigid exactness and
with a line OF young trees like bean
poles planted with precision on each
side. In the course of fifty years the
shade may be restored, but this is
small consolation to the present gen.
Grafton.
Similar trials have been in store
for all Of us. On the street by which
commonly go to town the attempt
to set sidewalks back five or six feet,
cutting off the front yards Of the
residents and making the usual havoc
with trees and shrubbery met with
resistance. A suit, at length dropped
FOR lack of funds with which to carry
1T On, was brought against the town
by property owners, most Of whom
were women. While it was In pro-
gress operations in that quarter were
suspended, and for a year or two the
sidewalks furnished conspicuous evil
dence OF the attitudes IF the different
families concerned, the walks of the
supporters Of The administration be-
ing set in several feet, while when
you passed from these to the premi-
ses or a non-conformist, you found
his walk six feet nearer the middle
or the street. So your in
that part of town was made by a sue
cessfon of zigzags, which when view
ed from a distance would place your
sobriety under strong suspicion.
My own particular grievance grew
out of the theory that all sidewalks
must be brought down to a level. My
landlord some years ago laid a fine
new stone sidewalk in front Of the
premises he rents to me, from which
the water ran off quickly, leaving it
clean and dry soon after a storm. Az
ter a year or TWO the street commit
sioner decided that our walk was too
high and must be brought down to
grade. Consequently, it was taken
up and laid several inches lower,
bringing 1t well below the surface of
the surrounding soil. Ever since, so
long as any moisture remains in the
ground, our walk is always wet and
covered with mud washed down from
| the Slvtorp ahoyo INIT. on,I.t,n.