The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1913-03-14
COL. M0ULTRIE M. SESSIONS
REPLIES TO MR.. HARDEMAN
Marietta, Ga, March Sth, 1918.

Editor Marietta Journal:
l am greatly interested in the
prosperity of Cobb County, therefore
anything affecting the road question
t attracts my attention because that
5 is the most important subject affect
ing the future growth and prosperity
r OF Cobb County before us, and my
} friend j. w, Hardemau's article at
tracted my immediate attention.
= | do not agree with Mr.. Hardeman
, on any of the propositions he laws
, down. His statement about being able
to get District overseers for $4,000
per month and good laborers that
will work 10 hours per day for ST.. %
!; and would not put in any time for
wet weather, would simply result in
having report made at the end of
the year that there had not been a
rainy day during the year, and in
this connection will state that the
four men that Mr.. Hardeman speci-
fles as getting salaries amounting
to,a total of $4,000 per month, now
under Mr.. Hardeman's plan of hiring
District overseers it would take 10
men to cover the districts, and these
at $4,000 per month would amount
to $4,000 in the place of $4,000
as we are now paying, and by way
of parenthesis | will state most posi-
lively that we cannot get good COM
petent men at $4,000 per month,
and the average man is not trained
to be a good overseer of roads.
He talks about the cost of taking
care of 20 convicts; all of us know
that it would take 200 common day
laborers at $1.25 per day to do &C
tually as much work as these con-
victs do. Then again how would free
labor help the farmers, they have
a hard time getting sufficient help
on the farms as it is. AS to the sale
of convicts. Mr.. Hardeman probably
overlooks the fact that under the
law we are not allowed to sell our
convicts, and if we stop using them
, in our county the prison commission
will let them out to counties that
do not want them, and we will not
, get one cent for them, and even under
, the old law the officers of the court
4 got all that the convicts brought
for insolvent costs.
c AS to his proposition about doing
away with the commissioners and
= putting the disposition of the entire
n finances in the hands of one man, be
o he Ordinary or Commissioner, | hope
never to see that time. The oppor-
q tunity for graft that a system of this
+, kind would offer would simply be
fearful. One man could fill the Ordi-
nary's, Sheriff's, Tax Collectors, Tax
! Receivers, Clerk of Superior Court s
and County Treasurer's office, with
very little help, but who would be
willing to economist and save that
way and give such power to any one
man. 1t would save money to dispose
of the Grand Jury, and all Petit
Jurors, and try all civil and criminal
cases before Judge Patterson (and
while he is a good mani who wants
to do that?
My business calls me over the Coun
ty good deal, and while our roads
are not what they ought to be, they
are certainly in much better condi-
ton than they were before the Com
missiOners took charge of them, and
as to spending as much as SIPS, 900
in any one year, that is not correct
as we only raise for all purposes
about $S7 100000 and the County is
not in debt. Since the Commissioners
have taken charge of the roads, at
least fifty miles of road has been
graded, some of it MacAdamized, and
a lot tOp-soiled; 8 steel and concrete
bridges have been built, in fact, in
my opinion more permanent work
has been done on our roads in the
past four years, than had been done
since the close Of the Civil war up
to that time.
! note what Mr.. Hardeman says
about superintendent Randall gett-
ing $4,000 per month, he is mstak-
en- about this he only gets $125.00
per month, but he really ought to
get $4,000 (as Mr.. Hardeman says
he does. | have no interest in Mr.
Randall or any of the Commissioners,
have nothing to sell any of the
i Commissioners, but | am convinced
that Mr.. Randall is the cheapest man
in the employ of Cobb County, and
that Cobb County could better afford
to pay him double che amount that
Mr.. Hardeman says he is getting
than to accept the services of Mr.
Hardeman, myself or a lot of others
that know how to build roads on pa
per, free. While Randall is not
civil on ginpnr ba 10 epob n prootiool