Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-03-21
MORE ABOUT THE STATE ROAD.

VIII be Topic OF dDSOTDlhS liIIeiSSe
to the voters from this time on-untii
the road is disposed of by sale, lease o"
rental. Realizing this, the Times-Re-
corder will keep the question before
its readers, presenting all sides. The
following editorial is from the Dal-
ton Citizen:
The Citizen has been engaged for
the past two months in presenting
facts and figures in connection With
the present rental of the state road.
The figures already presented prove
positively that this road is a losing
proposition to the state, and this fact
is evidently on the minds Of many
people in the state, judging from the
way the newspapers have printed the
matter prepared by the Citizen.
Gov. Harris, in his speech at Boston,
Ca, Tuesday, declared that his mind
was open as regards the sale or lease
OF the road. Said the governor:
THE state railway has been operat-
ed upon the basis of sentimentality
ever since before the war, and was d
losing proposition until Joseph E.
Brown took charge of it. There is a
propaganda going over the state just
now to sell the road and good argu
ment is being made for that. Advo-
Gates of the sale of the road point out
that it will save the state $256,000 each
year, will clean up the state debt and
will give a good surplus to be invested
in school bonds.
THE legislature of the state of
Georgia has placed the leasing or the
sale OF the railway in the hands of a
commission of which l am a member.
We have probably four years to gather
facts and figures as to cost of operation
ard to determine whether it is better
to sell the roal or to lease it for long
term or to extend it to the sea.
"As for myself, am perfectly open
minded in the matter. l have not de-
cided one way or the other, but am
waiting for expressions of opinion
from the people. believe that you, fell
low citizens, should determine whether
the road is to be sold or leased. We
have already had expressions from one
OF the counties. Since the bill was
passed prohibiting the parallelling of
the road a middle Georgia county has
said We don't want it down our way.
We are progressive and we want to
stay SO. We can't if you run the road
down here and say no one shall par
allel it,"
AS promised few weeks ago, the
Citizen, this week is presenting an
idea of what the state road is getting
i'll the way of tax exemptions from the
counties and municipalities through
which it runs las we'll as state taxes,
the state tax of the Chattanooga and
Brunswick division of the Southern be-
ing $42,0S0,S7. The only way in the
world we can approximate the county
and municipal taxes the state road is
escaping is by making a comparison
with what the Southern railroad pays
from Atlanta to Chattanooga. Mind
you, this is not used as an argument as
to why the state road should be sold,
but more to show the amount of taxes
il lodges through it's lessees. The
force of any argument based on what
tie state road escapes in the way OF
county and municipal taxation would
not prove convincing to a great ma
jority of the people of the state sim
ply because the majority is not affect
Led, the state road traversing only a
few counties in the northern end of
the state. But nevertheless and not.
outstanding, some of the strongest
advocates of the state road are in mid
die and south Georgia, which goes to
slow that there is considerably more
patriotism and loyalty to the state in