Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1919-02-12
More Interest in the Road
Question.

Question.
I see frcfh your paper that MIR.
Broadw9 has kindly given us per-
missir work our own roads, for
whic ought to be very thankful.
~, it seems to me, that the
ch&ingang and scrapes and all road
machinery as well as the road tax be-
longs to the people of the whole
county and should be used in a way
to benefit the biggest number of peo-
Pile most. We know the chaingang is
only sufficient to repair the roads,
and no one could expect any man to
keep all the roads in good condition
with this force, but is it right to take
this chaingang and machinery to
build a permanent road through one
corner of the county which will bene-
fit not more than ten per cent of the
people and the roads in the whole
western and southern parts of the
county impossible.
The road from Cleora to Edgefeld
is in such condition that it takes
four mules to pull two-horse load,
when, if the bitches had been scraped
out in the fall or summer, with the
mild winter we have had, they
would be passable and even now a
wagon and team with four or five
hands could, in week or ten days,
haul rocks and fill the worst holes,
let the water out where it has collect
ed, make them passable and save the
double expense in hauling.
From what I can hear from other
parts of the county, this is a fair
specimen of the roads south and west
of Edgefeld; and the chaingang at
work building the "Dixie Highway"
to benefit directly, not more than ten
per cent of the people and ninety per
cent quarantined on account of i'm
passable roads and this work to con-
tinue for another year. Is this just?
l have heard of one R. i. D. route
being cut ou5 by the governmsnJ ~
account of the condition Of the roads,
and if the government inspects al
the routes in the county between COW
and April, others will be cut out e.
thetsame reason; while our road tas
and our iroad force is bull ding a is
highway!
One argument in favor of this
highway is it will increase the value
of the property of the county. Then
let those whose property is increased
in value pay the expense or build this
road by contract and lot the whole
county be taxed to pay fer it. like
Aiken and other counties have dore,
and let the chaingang patch the roads
! of the whole county, and at least
make them passablc.
1 heard a friend ask lawyer cf
Edgefield month ago about our
roads and for a remedy, AID he sug-
gested the same plan that Mr.. Broad
water has, almost word for word. It
is strange how "great minds run in
the same channel"
Now, as to the plan suggested by
the supervisor. 1t is noted fact that
there is less labor in the county than
ever before, all the able-bodied men
from 20 to 35, white and colored, in
military service, not enough labor in
the county to gather the crops, some
still in the fields for lack of labor,
iyet they think we ought to drop all
farm, work and work ou- roads, with
tle county gang and machinery work
ing the "Dixie Highway" think he
over estimates our patriotism. Now,
1 don't know who is to blame for this
state of affairs. If this is the law, in
the name of justice, let our repre-
sentatives change it so one man can't
utilize our road working force, as
small a5 it is, for the benefit of a
small per cent of the people without
any restrictions. l don't blame him
fer stopping people from filling holes
and making out big accounts to be
paid, usually two or three times what
it is worth.
Now, we are willing to cooperate
with the supervisor and help him in
any way we can, but under present
labor conditions it is impossible to
get the labor to work them.
On roads where, under the old sys-
tenn, we worked twenty hands, there
isn't more than five or six now avail
able. What could this force do with