The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1915-02-26
AN OBJECT LESSON IN
HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT
Norfolk Virgi'nian-PiloD

Wise county, in extreme Southwes-
tern Virginia, inaugurated under cir
cumStanceS particularly adverse, a
well designed plan OF good roads de-
velopment, which included the con-
struction of modern highways, steel
bridges and concrete culvertS. The
results to date, as described by f. j.
Prescott, chairman of the county's
board of supervisors, in an article
contributed to the current issue of
the Manufacturers Record, consti-
tute an object lesson which should at
once serve as an inspiration to
other counties in the mountainous
sections of the state and shame into
greater activity the larger and veal
thier counties in the Valley, Tide
water and Piedmont where highway
Improvement is not beset by any
such difficulties and expense as have
had to be met by Wise.
Road building in Wise," says Mr..
Prescott, "is, believe, the most diff
ficult in the State of Virginia. The
county is almost entirely mountain
Gus, and the valleys for the most
part narrow, the mountainsides steep
and rocky" furthermore, it is point
ed out that the county had scarcely
any roads to begin with, such as
there were, being extremely rough,
with numerous fordS impossible in
high water, and with heavy grades
on which only a half of fourth Of
a usual load could be hauled" Yet
| IN spite and in the face of these DIFF
ficulties, the road building campaign
| has been carried forward with such
vigor and determination tina, today
the county has 1913 miles of improved
highways of which 10 miles are grad
ed and drained, So miles graded,
drained and macadamized Qimestone)
eight miles graded, drained and mac
adamized (SandStone), and an ad-
ditional mileage ready to be macad-
amized. On these improvements ex-
penditures thus far, including pro-
ccedS from the sale Of bonds, county
appropriations and state aid, aggre-
gate the sum Of $1,100,000
What returns is Wise receiving for
this outlay? Summed up by Mr..
Prescott, they are: Increased and in
creasing value of farm lands and
farm earnings; reduced and reducing
cost Of transporting farm products
to market, cas- well as reduced cost
in all kinds Of hauling;" increase in
population and in the number of
home-owners; increase in the en-
rollment and attendance of public
schools; new era of agriculture, in
dustry and commerce, and a new i'm
petus to civic and social progress.
The farmers, we are told, are build
ing better fences and painting them,
farm buildings are being improved
and the whole county is putting on
new life. Since the Inauguration of
the road-building program enroll
ment in the public schools has III
creased from less than 7,OOP Tn ,ove8
$500, while attendance has gone up
from 40 to 65 per cent. Four years
ago there were only two automobiles
IN the whole county; today there ar.
between 300 and 400, and the num-
Der is growing almost daily. More
important still is the broadening of
the spirit of neighborliness among
the people which has taken place, the
development of a sense of common
needs and common opportunities
which has resulted in the undertak-
ing and successful prosecution of
| public enterprises which would not
have been so much as thought of
few years ago. Especially marked
have been the benefits of the coal
mining industry, which is one of the
county's most important assets. On
this point Mr.. Prescott says:
"Officials can reach the plants in
one-fourth the time it formerly took;
and even more than this, the I'M
provement in the living conditions of
the employees has been of great value
tc the operators. When working
man is so situated that he can own
his home, he is worth two of the class
of men who change about from plant
to plant and never really get settled.
| Hundreds of men working at the
coal mines have purchased small
tracts of land several miles away,
have built their own homes, and find
time to cultivate a small tract of
land in addition to their daily work."
What this little mountain locked
county has done and is doing in the
face of enormous obstacles. every
county in the Tidewatcr section can
do at great deal less expense, in
| proportion to area and population
and in the certainty of reaping ben
! c!its fully as varied and fully as
! great. Not only can each and every
one of them afford to follow the cx-
ample Of Wise, but there is not one
| that can not afford to do so.