Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1914-05-15
New Road Legislation.
Mr.. Minor ExplainS Changes and Shows FGtrDeSS and RsOsOn
for Them.

There has been, it seems, s
: much misapprehension, misinfor
nation and misunderstanding
(this is putting it mildly and eu
phemistically)-abOut the goo'
road legislation passed at the las
session of the Legislature, | hav
Il been asked to state and explain
what really was done. 1t is witt
great pleasure that | comply witt
these requests.
E Six road laws affecting Noxube
county passed the Legislature las
winter, ell of which were intro
duced by me and passed thu
House on my motion. BY invita-
ton, | appeared before the Senate
when they were there under pas
sage, and did what | could to Sc
sure their passage. While | Cal
not justly claim sole honor to theil
authorship or their successful pas.
sage, ! do claim, with justice
believe, that it was largely due tC
my work and effort and my in.
huence with the members of the
Legislature that these laws were
passed. Certainly | assume the
fullest responsibility for them.
1t would take up too much
space to discuss all of these laws.
One was for the S~huqualak dis.
trict and is satisfactory to the dis
trict. Another is about the loaning
out of the sinking funds, another
authorizing the supervisors to re.
quirc adjoining good road dis.
tricts to connect their good roads;
another authorizing the turning
over of good roads, under certain
conditions, to the county, and one
authorizing counties and road dis.
Crict to purchase and hold ebert
or gravel bed lands. These will
De discussed any time any crit.
cism is made of them.
T We will deal now with what is
called the 1910 Good Roads
Law" the one Macon district is
operating under, the amendments
to which have been the subject of
50 much ignorant criticism.
The differences between the
laws as it was and is now, are as
follows: Formerly the road dis.
trict must be a supervisors dis.
trict; now it may be made up of
one or more Or parts of one or
more supervisors districts. This
does not affect NOxubee. The
doubtful question about paying
attorneys fees was settled, as
Noxubee had already settled it
10y allowing them. The possible
expenses of commissioners was
raised from $50 to 800 a wear:
this because they might have much
more work to do.
The main change was this: Tn.
der the old law the roads we're to
be built and maintained by con.
tract; now the road commission.
ers, with the consent of the SUI
pervisors, may purchase teams
and implements and keep up the
roads themselves. Three sections,
Nos. Is, II and IS, were added to
the law and provide for this, and
it is these sections, or one proviso
in them, that has been so objected
to. Section Is provides that when
the construction of the roads has
been finished the commissioners,
with the consent of the supervi-
sors, may purchase teams and i'm.
plements and employ a road force
and thus maintain the good roads.
Section II reads as follows:
Section II. 1t shall be the duty
of the Board of Supervisors to
assign to said roads all persons,
teams and implements liable to
road duty under the laws of the
State of Mississippi, who live on
or near the roads. and not assign.
ed to some other road nearer to
said hands, which said hands and
teams and implements shall be liza.
BILE to work of said roads, as is
provided for roads generally; pro
vided that each person liable to
work on said roads, may pay a
communication tax of three dollars
5000 for himself and two dol.
lars (S2.0O) for each head of stock
liable to work on said roads on or
before the first day of February,
each year, which said sum when
paid shall be placed to the credit
of the road wherein said person
and team were liable to work.
This section does not increase
anybody's road tax or anybody's
road duty, or the road duty of
stock. 1t leaves all that Just as
it was before, with this excep,
tion-a man living on or near a
good road can get his stock of
from road duty when it is sum.
. L. mn