The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1916-01-04
TIMELY SUGGESTIONS
ON CARE OF ROADS
GEORGE DOUGLAS SAYS fhor'
ruTt OWNERS sBouID PRO-
TECT INVESTMENT.
Relieves Commissioners Shouid Lew
Heavy Tax 10 Make Permanent
Repairs on Public
Roads.

bonds settled three thousand anu
eight hundred dollars per NILE IL
10 now in order TO note the present
condition of the roads and what
will have 10 be done to save them.
| say save them, for it is potent 10
the most casual observer that trey
are rapidly going TO the bad.
The causes of decay may be
summed up as follows: First. The
road crowns made for the sravei
have been entirely TOO narrow.
Some of the crowns. and thiiih
the widest we're twenty-four feet,
others less. OF course the widest
have stood best, but all are too mar
row. 1t must be remembered tina.
a road is public thoroughfare ana
designed to stand for all time, ana
to accommodate yearly increase
OF travel. 1t is "a safe guess that
the traffic of Ellis county Will be
doubled in the next fifty years.
This ought to be provided for III
the foundation of our roads. Sec
ond The quality of our ROAD
material is largely inferior. This
| inferior material is rapidly decom-
posing and taking on the compost
ton of dirt, which gets very soft III
| wet weather, cuts into ruts, and IS
incapable of sustaining a heavy
| traffic.
Third. Wagons coming onto the
gravel roads from the black lana
bring quantities of black dirt on
i the wheels, which dropping OIL
damages the road. | have noted
| that where black dirt roads inter-
sect and cross the gravel roads, they
are practically ruined for. dis
lance of from fifty to one hundred
yards.
| Also great damage is done from
this cause where private roads en-
ter the pike.
Fourth. Narrow crowns break
off into the ditrhes on each side ull-
til the narrow strip of gravel III
the center is menaced until there IS
decided slope in the road from
| the center to the bottom OF the
ditch on each side, which makes 1t
dangerous for top loaded wagons to
give room for ether vehicles to pass,
with the result, if these vehicles are
autos. and the road wet, they skid
into the ditch.
To overcome these four difficult
| ties will require time, labor and
| money. As regards time we have
plenty Of it, in fact we get fresh
supply every day without labor or
expense. As to labor, the amount
is wholly governed by the supply OF
money at command; and as to the
money-aye, there is the rub. We
are up against this proposition and
4 we will grunt and meet it.
We voted the bonds with our eyes
open. We remember that at Rock
EFT and Red Oak both, your scribe,
in opposition to Judge Hawkins and
others, publicly showed you that il
we voted the bonds, and they run
the limit before redemption, we
would pay one hundred and twenty
five per cent on their face value for
the use OF the dollars they would
bring, (and We Red Oakers are
setting up three thousand and five
hundred dollars per annum in 1.-THE
way OF interest already and I'm
helping pay that interest and DOING
lots of grunting, fully my parD
And now We have spent the money
and got the roads. and now | say
we must keep them up, and to this
end | call upon the county commits
sioners to pop on the tax until the
Job is complete. | mean particu
larry in District No. A.
Let the roads be widened to I
thirty foot crown; put on immedi
ately a surfacing of gravel. grave
all public roads one hundreds yards
back from the main line, and as t,
private roads coming into the gray
ell roads, either gravel them bacl
for fifty yards or compel their own
ers 10 do SO.
Now this win take money and i
logically involved in the vote fol
the bonds, so | say TO the proper
authorities, stiffen up your back
bones. levy and collect the neces
sary taxes for this purpose and pa,
no attention TO our gruntins, o
worse, if We happen 70 do il. w
have white elephant on our hand
and we have 10 take care of him o.