The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1916-01-21
ROAD BOARD MAKES
REPLY TO RAINtY ON
INSPECTION CHARGES
MERELY ACTING AS SERVANTS
or THE COUNTY COURT
AND PEOPLE.
NATTER Of PUBLIC CONCERN
Contend That They Had Right To
Believe From the Facts That Owner
Of Toll Roads Would Not Pay The
Cost Of Inspection.

Replying to the recent statement Of
Horace Rainey, owner of the turn
pixies, to the effect that he had not
refused to pay the cost Of the annual
Inspection, T. G. Hughes, Clay e
Hight and John H. Murphey, superin-
tendents of turnpikes, today issued
the following statement:
In defense of Senator Church, the
| County Court and ourselves as well
as in justice to the people whom we
serve we desire to make a.few state
ments in regard to Mr.. Raineys re-
cent attacks, published in The Herald.
We do this not out Of amy Ill feeling
toward Mr.. Rainey, but that the facts
may be set forth as they are.
I'm the first place, Mr.. Rainey stat
ed in The Herald Of January Is, 1916,
that the resolution offered by Senator
Church authorizing the county attorney
to bring suit against him and the turn
pike companies represented by him to
collect the fees of the turnpike super
intendents, was very unjust and very
uncalled for. In this connection, he
also stated that the County Court had
no right to take the county's money
to defray expenses of suits against the
turnpike companies for the debts Of
others.
We wish to say that we asked the
County Court to take this matter up.
Since we are creatures Of this court,
doing business for the county, we con-
tend that it is the business of the
court to defend our rights and the
county's rights as set out in Sec. 2466,
Shannon's code:
The County Court of any county in
which any part of said turnpike is
located, has a supervision of said part
within its boundary to the extent Of
compelling the company to keep the
same in good repair, and said County
Court may appoint as superintendent,
commissioners, or by any other name,
one or more persons to view said road,
or part of the road within the county,
the bridges and the culverts, and IL
said persons appointed as aforesaid
report that the road is manifestly in
bad condition, the gates shall be
opened until the same is put in good
condition. The cost of this proceed
ing must be paid by the corporation"
"And this provision Of the law is in
corporated in the charter of the turn
pike corporations, which Is written
contract between the parties, and we
arc simply instrumentalities used by
the County Court in effecting the con-
troll and supervision conferred by the
above law and that it is our impera-
tive duty to see that the charters of
the various pike companies are COM
piled with in regard to our super
vision of the pixies and all other mat
tiers. We do not see that it would be
our business, as Mr. Rainey suggests,
to bring suit as individuals, against
Mr.. Rainey for the business OF the
county. We cannot afford to lose our
time in making these inspections, to
pay our own expenses and fhen the
cost Of law suit trying to secure
pay for same
Again, Mr. Rainey states In the
recent article that he recognizes the
fact that the law and his charters
require him to pay the fees of the
superintendent; and he says, he is
ready to settle. He furthermore
states that it is untrue that he has
refused to pay the superintendent for
his pixies, except In one in
stance that was when he informed
Mr. Murphy on the date that he in
spected the Santa Fe pike in October,
that his inspection was unnecessary
and unjust and he would not pay for
that inspection.
mr.. Murphy states that the In
stance Mr.. Rainey mentions was In
August or September and not in Oc-
tober. That it was after an inspection
of the said pike at the request by a .
petition of citizens living thereon.
That also, a little previous to this
time a similar visit was made to the
Maury Central turnpike. The gates
on both Of these pixies were ordered
to be opened. Mr. Rainey told Mr..
Murphy that he neither expected to
pay their fees nor to obey their or
ders. In October at the time of the
annual inspection, these two pixies and
the Pulaski pike were ordered to be
thrown open. Mr.. Rainey again ig-
nored these orders. After our inspec-
ton was over. Mr. whitthorne, at the
request of the superintendent sent