The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-02-09

ihto III St'A8V1i Nli@A E'''
old kind.
Kicks and Cash.
Before the good roads came il was
impossible to realize what they act
ually meant. Now that they AVE
come il il difficult to comprehend
Why the Did style was tolerated so
long. That is the way in Lee county,
and it is the way in every county.
Protesting against taxes Is an Ola
habit. The human race has always
kicked against the Y and always
will. But there is this Indifference
When people wanted h old roads
they protested against taxes SO vigor-
ously that enough money could not be
had TO go far with good roads. Now
that good roads are wanted people
protest against taxes, but provide
enough money along with the kicks
to get the roads.
Lee county kept On building roads,
and occasionally a leader from the
country would drop into the commits
sionerS' office and that
while he had been opposed to the
issue of bonds or the increase of taxa
ton TO make ro Is, he had changed
his views and vi ! ready to advocate
more roads. Soi le exceedingly de-
termined oppone, IS Of roads have be-
come ardent missionaries for the road
movement, and SO the roads continue
TO extend out farther in all orner
of the townships.
With the struggles hat have been
made a good road goes out to the
county line down the Coast line. out
to the county line at Broadway on the
east, up to the county line at the river
on the north, almost down to the
Moore county line or the south, and
you would say that in a general way
the COUP " is pretty well equipped
with gJSI roads Now what happens?
Lee county votes a hundred thousand
dollar m issue TO build more good
rods.
Five years ago the most sanguine
man in the county would have said
that if Lee county could get the mile
age of good roads it has now he would
look on ii as a remarkable achieve
ment. Five years ago the opponent
Of good roads would have said that
if Lee county by this time could have
built as many roads as she now has
the county would be bankrupt, and
the people moved out by the tax col.
lector in default of unpaid taxes. An6
what is the result?
A hundred thousand dollars NOR.
voted TO go at the job Of building
roads right.
One OF The Little Fellows.
That is an instructive lesson. Her,
is a little county. Lee is one of tn
small counties Of the State. If tn,
counties if the State were all of tn,
same size they would be just abou
twice the size Lee county is. Yo,
see it is one of the little fellows. l
started out half a dozen years ag,
new. 1t had it's public buildings t,
put UP, and it put up good ones. I
had its county machinery to organize
and 1t took a lot of money to ge
started. But after doing all Of thi
and trying out the experiment Of goo,
roads against the desire of many 0
the leading people the result is s.
satisfactorily that this little new coun
ty. with a lot of new road on it
hands votes a bond issue of a II
dred thousand dollars to build ne
roads.
If every county in the State woul
vote a bond issue of similar amour
it would mean ten million dollars t
put into good roads, and when yO
remember that Lee is only abou
half size as compared with the coun
ties of the State you can see that
every county would do as Lee ha
done in proportion to it's size tn
State would have twenty million do
lars available for good roads.
Lee county has done this thin
after a determined effort to beliey
that money spent for good roads
not wise. Lee county started out O
the opposing side. This advance move
ment is not n advance of a count
inclined from the beginning to goo
roads. II is the remarkable chane
OF public sentiment from the attituC
Of opposition to that Of emphatic SUI
port.
You cannot for a minute think tn;
this charge has come without a mo-
forceful reason, for communities q
not quickly chang sides on any snl
ject. especially one involving a h
outlay Of money without a compellir
reason. Lee county has been invest
eating the matter for half q doze
years n has found the reason, ar
having found the reason has four
the reason why all Of North Carolir
will he doing something similar. L,
county is not different from any 9th,
section OF the State. except perha,
I'm discovering a little mora u,,icE