Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1916-01-21
GOVERNOR STUART TALKS
ON NEED OF GOOD ROADS
Relieves Too Much Money Is An.
nually Spent For Inexperienc-
ed Road Engineers-6OO 3
Delegates at Road Meeting
Richmond. January. "a

er and permanent maintenance of her
roads.
Too much of the road revenue of
the State is absorbed in engineering
expenses. This State needs re
duction in office work in the building
of roads and an increase of the out
door work.
The law is too strenuous in some
respects in regard to road building
especially when it does not allow
community to improve u road unless
it makes improvements, which fire.
quently are not within the means of
the residents of that omunity-Goy-
ernor Stuart
With the three above points as out
standing features of his recommends
tions, Governor Henry Garter Stuart
delivered an address to about GOO
delegates to the annual convention of
the Virginia ad Builders Associa
ton Tuesday morning at Murphy's
hotel, according to the Richmond Ev-
ening Journal. The delegates were
plainly in sympathy with the senti-
ments voiced by the States chief cx
ecutive.
Coed Roads Biggest Issue.
Governor Stuart was introduced to
the audience by State Highway Com
missioner Coleman. He said that the
good roads was the paramount issue
in the State today. He urged that
every delegate to the good roads con-
vention now in session here seek out
his representative in the Legislature
and exact promise from him to vote
for n law for the proper maintenance
Of the roads of the state. He advised
against any community making any
improvements in roads until it was
prepared to maintain that improve
ment. He said that he had known
communities to make improvements to
roads which improvements had van
ished before the bonds had been paid.
improvements that could not be main
tained were liabilities instead of as.
sets.
Disclaiming in emphatic terms any
desire to minimize the Importance
of engineering skill in road building
or to pass criticism on the State high
way commission he said that he felt
it his duty to say he believed that
too much Of the work of road build
ing in counties was done by young en-
gineers who were Frequently not very
experienced, and that much of the
work of carrying out the details of
plans, which were properly drawn by
engineers could be done by the people
in communities in which the roads
were to be built.
"This work should be delegated to
those in the communities in which it
is to be done who are capable of car
rying it out. There are few communi-
ties which do not have people who
are competent to work out the prac-
tical end of tn plans after they are
made by experienced engineers. There
is too much loading down of small
enterprise with professionalism"
Need Less Engineers.
He said that after the aid of en-
gineers had been secured in drawing
plans for road improvement there
should be some dead line where the
community itself should be allowed
to go ahead with the work of making
improvement fact.
"After we get the engineers, we
want to stop paying for them," he
said amid stormy applause.
He said he saw that by the great
number of delegates present that in
terest in road building has increased
four times in this State. The time
was gone, he said, when the value of
good roads was not appreciated.
Hence it would be needless to point
out the advantages of road improve
ment. Roads were the means by
which people were permitted ito as
semble for religious, economic and
educational purposes, and as such
were thoroughfares for civilizations
He extened warm welcome to all of
the delegates. He said that any cit
izen Of the State was always well
come at the capitol city.
The Opening Meeting.
The opening meeting was held at
10 o'clock with several hundred dele
gates from all parts Of the State in
attendance. The delegates were given
warm welcome by Mayor George
Ainslie on behalf of the city. The
meeting was opened with prayer by
the Rev. T. Clagett Skinner, pastor of
the Second Baptist church. George
P. Coleman, State Highway Commits
y cinnar nrncidod