The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1913-03-07
COMMUNICATION FROM J. W.
HARDEMAN ON GOOD ROADS
Marietta, Ca, Feb. %, 1913


Editor Marietta Journal and the Tax
Paying People of Cobb County:
Some months ago Hon. John P. Che
ney had quite lengthyletter in the Ma
rletta Journal on the question of public
roads, something that everybody is in
terested in, or should be. Mr.. Cheney S
letter was very good and suggested
some good ideas. heartily agree with
him that our grand old county ought to
have good roads, but don quite agree
with him as to the plan He is in ia
vor of the commission form of govern
ment, convict labor and free labor.
favor the free labor system, but do not
favor the commission form of govern
ment nor the convict labor under the
present system. | take it from a BUSH
ness stand point. We are going back
ward in good roads instead of forward.
The public roads are in worse condition
now than Whe,. they were under the or
dlnary's control. Every man over Is
and under 60 was warned to appear
with pick and shovel and work out his
allotted share of the public roads twice
a year, just before court. We had
pretty good roads then and, if remem-
Der right, our state and county tax was
$3.50 per thousand and now they are
$14.O0 per thousand. l believe that
n'ne-tenths of our tax payers will agree
with me. Our next step up was under
the ordinary's supervision. We had
section squads of free labor with a
good foreman for each squad of men
and our roads were greatly improved.
Then politics got to work and wanted
to take everything out of the ordi-
nary's hands and form a commission
government and use convict labor
against free labor. When politics gets
into anything it always fixes it. Ev-
erybody knows that. If you don't be-
lieve it, look at your last tax receipt.
II you think our roads are good, try
them as whole. We have some good
spots, not many. Cobb county is
spending money enough to have good
roads all over the county if it was spent
IN the right way. think the proper
way to get good roads is to work free
labor and have a squad of hands with a
good foreman in each militia district.
Let each district in the county be work
ing its roads at the same time. By
that means every road in the county
would receive about two good workings
each year, and believe it could be done
for very near half the money we are
now spending, and that would give
work to the laboring man that wants to
work. Under the commission form of
government and convict labor system,
have been informed that Cobb county
is spending about $125, 000.00 per year.
Who pays it? The tax payers. What
are we getting for it? A few months
work in one part of the county and a
few months in another part. When
will the county be worked over? | do
not believe the convicts will get over
Cobb county once in twenty years.
There are too many fat jobs and high
priced men for the number of convicts
we are working. We could get good
district overseers for $50. 90 per month,
get good laborlng men that will work
ten hours day for SIPS per day, and
when bad weather comes and they could
network their pay would stop. believe
our roads could be put in firstclass con-
dition in one or two years at an ex-
penSe of $50, 900. 90 per year. know
the holes could be filled up, and | be-
lieve the old roads could be fixed in
good condition for half it is taking to
cut new roads.
There is talk of calling an election to
issue $500, 100000 worth of bonds to
spend on our roads. We need the roads
all right and should have them, but
don't believe our people will ever vote
them until the commissions and the
convict system is done away with, for
they are spending too much money for.
the amount of work we are getting. T
believe if we could get good strong
petition from all over the county to the
legislature to give us a vote on this
question our representatives could get
bill passed that would give US
chance to say at the ballot box what
we want. You know we had no voice
in this commission form of government.
1t was passed without asking US if we
wanted it. Now let us get rid of it and
go forward to our best interests.
Take the $4,000 per month the Su-
perintendent gets and the $500 Mr..
Morris gets and the $75. 90 Mr.. Nc
Clesky gets and the $500 Mr.. MAYS
gets and it will pay seven of our dis
trict overScars.
Cobb county has about seventy good
mules about seventy-five or eighty con-
victs, and it takes from 100000 to
81, 10000 per month to feed them.
Isn't it little bit queer that all this
bill goes into one firm every month?
Is there no other merchants in Cobb
county that can feed those mules and
convicts2
| may be wrong about this amount,
it may be more or it may be less, but
that is about what it run when the
commissioners made monthly state
ments of expenses, but they have quit
publishing the expenses of late.
Neighbor; how is the road to YOUR
house. Don't you think we are paying
too high for the amount of work. How
long can Cobb county hold out at this