The weekly soliphone., 1917-08-16

improbable provision of the gen. eral road law, to ask permission to convert this theoretical labor into cash on basis of one dollar for each days labor required. If every male in Greene county obeyed the law and worked five days on the road the proposition to enforce the the collection of a five dollar com mutation tax in lieu of the labor would at once become popular. The trouble is, however, the labor pro- vision is not enforced, and if en- forced would amount to little. As long as the citizen subject to road duty escapes the labor provision he very naturally would be opposed to cash contribution. The good roads advocates in Lee county merely took the state at it's word when it said every male between the ages of tWenty-one and forty-five MUST work the public roads at least five days during the year, and having done this they got the permission of the state to convert this labor into cash and with the money built their system of roads.
 "One never hears a complaint that the taxes are excessive, because the service given the public in the form of improved highways is so excellent and such big source of profit to <the farmers that it would be an exhibition of confirmed mental weakness to suggest the plan should be abolished and the country re- turn to the old system.
 GREENE SHOULD WAKE UP
 Just one other feature of the road situation in Lee county that is deserving of mention: Scores of miles of this splendid network of roads were cut through dense thick cts in the mucky bottoms, and nec- essarily at heavy expenditures. There are no gravel deposits or other ma terials close at hand that can be used in the construction of roads. Greene county, with a much small per mile, could construct the finest system of public highways in the state. The unlimited gravel beds located within easy reach of all the roads. the solid subsoil that still further reduces the cost of construction, give Greene county a big advantage over the bottom counties in road work. All that isl needed is a 'loosening up upon the part of the citizenship. Greene isl wonderful county in it's variety of soils, in it's excellent climatic conditions, in it's numerous small farms worked by the owners-a sit uation that makes for the highest form of rural development. The di- versification idea took strong hold here ten years ago and through the various agencies at work for bet ter anu IuOIG pIOllIdplc ioi ihih, methods, the county has made most commendable progress. It's one DIE black spot is it miserable roads. The county is getting much unfavorable publicity because it is so backward in this respect. Tourists spread the story of chuck holes, deep ruts, broken down bridges and dangerous culverts That in itself is bad enough. But by far the greater dam age is to the people who depend upon these miserable makeshift roads to haul their crops to mar ket, and the depressing effect they have on the land values. Some day the people of Greene county are go- ing to wake up to find they have almost criminally neglected the most productive field of local ac- tivity-the construction of a sys- tenn of model highways"
 SCRIP WORTH HUNDRED CENTS.
 Lee county people don't know WHdI IL lS tO hdhulS uSP'S SNA"'NN county scrip Under the terms of the contract with the bank that bids in the county deposits the bank obligates itself to cash all county warrants at one hundred cents on the dollar. Of course, under this arrangement, the interest paid to the county is small, because the bank cannot afford to pay from five to six and a half per cent on daily balances and at the same time cash all warrants at one hundred cents on the dollar. Last year the bank that had the deposits paid two and a half per cent interest to the coun- ty. This year money is so plenti- full in that section that only two per cent was offered. The county judge rejected this bid, and later made arrangements with all six banks in the county to divide the deposits among them, all in turn agreeing to pay two per cent inter est and to cash all warrants at par. The condition of the county's f. nances is no better than that in