The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-12-21
A VINDICATION?

mont III II lSSuC VI Ao9e "
evening discusses the Good Roads
situation in the following language
"That was an important meeting
of the Greenville legislative delega-
ton and the Greenville highway
commission yesterday, provided
anything more than talk comes out
of it. This county has put what IS
for it a large sum of money into
road improvements. Where roads
have been Strengthened or grades
reduced or cement culverts put in,
the improvement will last. But,
where topsoil has been put on road
ways, it will take continuing work
to. give any permanence to the i'm
provement. Some of the Greenville
roads that were first topsoiled are
already beginning to show signs OF
wear. They are nothing like as
smooth as when first completed. The
rain running off has cut little ridges
from the crown to the side bitches.
He who rides over those roads is
quickly convinced that unless some
thing practical and effective is done
to conserve them it will not be
long until they are just about such
roads as they were before any top
soil was put upon them.
"They say that a blunder is worse
than a crime. 1t will be a serious
blunder if things are so mismanag-
ed that in two or three years more
there will be nothing to show for
Greenville's good roads bond issue
except the taxes to pay interest
thereon, a few miles of cement road
a Strengthened stretch here and
there, a few reduced grades and an
occasional culvert.
"The members of both the delega-
ton and the highway commission
should put their best thought upon
this problem. They have already de-
layed too long and much harm has
resulted from that delay. Their plan
for. conserving the highway i'm
provements ought long ago to have
been worked out. In fact, the con-
serving of each improvement ought
to have started soon as the improve
ment was made.
"Valuable time has been lost. I'm
provements have deteriorated and
any further delay will be inexcusa-
BILE. There is little use in locking
the stable after the horse has been
stolen and there will be little value
to work to save our improved high
ways delayed until but little is left
of the improvement to be saved"
During the past summer we are
reminded that we had considerable
agitation in this County on the sub
ject of issuing three hundred thou
sand dollars worth of bonds for the
purpose of building the so-called
good roads. While admitting the
crying need for better roads, The
Press and Banner led a movement
in this County to defeat the expen-
diture of this enormous sum OF
money, among other grounds, be.
cause the top-soil roads were mere
experiments and because we were
unable to spend any such sum OF
money upon an experiment.
The article quoted above clearly
shows that the calculations of the
friends of topsoil roads in Green
vile County have gone awry in sc
far at least as the durability Of
these roads are concerned and the
amount necessary to keep them ir
good condition. !:
We predicted, when the so-callec
good roads campaign was on in Alb
beville County, that if the bond:
voted to be issued were issued ii
fact that the money would be ex
pended and within five years there
would be nothing to recall the ex
penditure except an enormous pub
lie debt, annual interest to be paic
thereon, and high taxes to raise the
money with which to pay the inter
est.
AS the days 60 by the people Of