The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-01-11
vox PoPULI
: . . = = = = = &c = &c A%N
THE PRESENT SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED BY THE PEOPLE

Editor Pensacola Journal.
There has been a great deal of talk
about good roads putting Pensacola
and Escambia county on the Old
Spanish Trail, etc.
1t is a good thing to attend conven-
tions and shout loudly about what
ought to be done, what we are going
to do and all that but what particu-
larly interests the public is what we
are actually doing now to accomplish
the building of better roads.
We are spending plenty of money
just as we have been doing for years
past.
The question is, are we getting
value received or anywhere near it ?
To find the answer, take round trip
over the "hard road" from Pensa-
cola to Flomaton and do it today.
I endured this experience this week
and thought I had struck the Old
Spanish Trail sure enough-as it
might have been two hundred years
or so ago.
After arriving home and removing
enough mud from the car to make in
spection possible I was delighted to
find two broken springs the only dam
age. The wonder was that human
ingenuity and invention had contrived
to build car that could pillow its way
through such a mess, even on low
gear, and hold any two parts to-
gether.
The next question is, how much
longer is the public going to stand for
existing conditions?
How and when are we going to get
away from this Anticipated system of
convict labor on our roads?
There Is no use going into details.
We are all familiar with them. Why
not get busy and do something? Get
down to the root of the evil, dig it up
and plant brand new "Burbank"
root-one that is up to the minute.
There is no use bowling about what
the commissioners are doing.
Succeeding board will continue to
do the same old things in the same
old way until there is a complete
change in the system.
Here is chance for the Chamber
of Commerce, the Old Spanish Trail
Association or some one of the sew
eral organizations to actually accom-
plish something worth while.
There must be way TO get out of
the old rut and on to smooth high
way. Let somebody who understands
the law and the working of political
machinery come forward and en-
Tighten us.
We want the convicts taken off the
roads and put to work on good farm
where they cannot only become self
sustaining but earn surplus to help
pay for competent free labor to keep
up our highways and make them a
pride to every citizen and a pleasure
to every one who rides over them.
We want the road work under the
head of thoroughly competent SUI
perintendent who should be, not a
politician, but an engineer.
When we have done these things
and shown results we will have dem
'onstrated some ability to do bigger
things and the time will be ripened
for that bond issue and it will carry,
DQI nODOOy SASCPk a SUNNI VI q
CRATER would vote for it under pres
emit conditions.
We have talked and clustered
about what we were going to do for
long time. Meanwhile the same old
wasteful methods are working under
the same old obsolete system.
A few days ago valuable horse
belonging to Mr.. A. w. Ranney of
Century, and driven by his wife, went
through bridge on this boasted
"hard road" broke his leg and had
to be destroyed. He was going at
walk at the time and the condition
of this bridge was not a circumstance
to some of them.
Who is responsible?
Why not get busy and go after
what we want which is nothing more
than is coming to us. Go after it
with the determination TO get it and
do it new; not sometime next summer
or next fall, but right now in Janu-
airy, 1916.
Very truly yours,
n rJTATNFAR