The Brinkley argus., 1914-08-28
Fol Read Tax and Against
 Saloon License
Continued from Page Two)

(COntlnued from rage lWO)
 this statement. 1 do not say
 that permanent good roads can
 be built by or with the direct
 three mill road tax. but l do in-
 sist that it will be worse than foolish at this time, without
 something better in it's stead, for the voters to fail to vote the
 tax again, when it can be made
 so useful and beneficial if only
 honesty. and wisely expended.
 Remember, if you please, that
 nearly fifty percent of the road
 tax is paid by the railroads and
 non residents.
 The road tax law is practically
 a new thing, and even with strictly honest and competent
 men to direct, and supervise the
 handling of it, years will be
 required to perfect the system,
 After years, and years. of our
 public school system, it is far from perfect, but as time goes on it is being improved upon,
 and made nearer perfect, and free from graft and waste; the same will doubtless prove true of the road tax, if the news papers and others will. be wide awake while the money is on hand and not Wait until the horse has been stolen to lock the door"
 Coming to present conditions. what is being done and should be done? it must be borne in mind that Judge Trice on assuming the duties of the office, found the road fund depleted, not a dollar in the treasury, but to the contrary several thousand dol lars in debt. He did not have one dollar until the Collector settled the current years taxes a short time since. and then only few thousand dollars; so it cannot be expected that he will be able to have but a small portion of the roads of the coun- ty worked from that source, but the old road law has not been repealed; it is still the law that every able bodied man between the ages of 21 and 45 is required to work the road four days each year, or pay in lieu thereof. the sum of S1.00 per day. The road overseers should be directed to 'get busy" over the county, and if they refuse to do so, they should be displaced and others that will do their duty should be appointed; they should warn out the free labor, and with what money there is on hand, and with what will be collected in lieu of work, a great deal of repair work can be done on the roads, the smaller bridges and culverts can be rebuilt. ditches opened, the holes and bad places in the levees and roads generally can be filled and made passable so the people can move their crops this fall. Our Judge tells me that he is going to do this. and he certainly should do it NOW, thirty days from now will be too late, the overseers with the free labor should be at work over the county right now.
 Judge Trice has bought with the funds at his command. several hundred feet of, corru- gated iron culvert. that he is having put on the roads of the county. Who is it that will say that is waste of money, or that they are not lasting and should not be used? It is true also that he has bought a road and that it is at present being used on one of the princi- pal roads of the county, while 1 agree that could he have done this work last spring it would l have been better, for it would have had the travel over it dur ing the summer months; 1 am told by competent parties that the machine is doing fine work 1 and that it will be of lasting benefit. The greatest objection