The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1919-01-14
WHERE is THE MONEY p?

sidered from a common sense business stand
point rather than from a political one as
it appears from the discussion some would
make 1T. 1t is problem too important to
the present needs and future development
of Georgia to become the football of any
faction or organization. 1t is a domestic
improvement in which every man who has
money invested in either farm or business
enterprise, the man who rents the land from
which the crops must be marketed and the
man who spends his weeks wages in the
purchase of the products of the farm upon
which to live, is directly interested Hard
surfaced roads mean to those who produce
them marketing of the crops at less expense
To those who purchase such crops, directly
or indirectly, such roads mean, in time, lower
prices because of the elimination of need
less expense in transportation.
Hard surfaced roads are wanted by all.
Like other domestic improvements the cost
at the beginning seems prohibitive This
is where common sense business judgment
should be applied. The state as whole
spends under the present road construction
system vast sums of money every year 1t
has been doing that for numbers of years
Yet the dirt surface roads are no more
traversable at this time in the winter than
they were last year. Where is the money
spent on road repairing and construction last
year? This comparison may be enlarged
The roads are no better in mid-winter now
than they were five years ago. Where is the
money expended on their repair during these
years. Of if 1
expended annually the dirt roads would be
unusable. The point is that there is no ad-
vancement in the permanency of the high
ways, each expenditure in the end leaving
the condition as it was before the repairs
were made
The advantages of hard surfaced over dirt
roads are too apparent to require elucida-
ton. The cost of upkeep of hard surfaced
roads is inconsequential compared with that
of dirt roads. Therefore, after The hard
roads are constructed the expense of up
keep is reduced almost to elimination. The
money which now goes into the upkeep of
dirt roads, and which is wasted so far as
permanency of results is concerned. could
be applied to the first cost of construction
of hard surfaced roads and in time thew
would be paid for, and the expense of high
way maintenance would become negligible.
Bonding for construction provides the hard
surfaced roads for immediate use. and the
taxes WHICH now go into mudholes would be
utilized to pay these bonds.
There is always certain antagonism be-
tween the cities and the country over pub
lie roads of the best sort The farmer often
believes, and not altogether without rea
son, the people of the city want good roads
Tor pleasure driving. The use, and some
times the abuse of the roads for this Dur
pose lends color to the contention. On the
other hand the business man in the CITY
some tunes develops an unreasonable attitude
IN the matter and asks why he should be
taxed to build roads over which farmers NAV
market their crops at less expense. He
argues that he is taxed for municipal inn
provements, and that is as far as his OBJ
legation extends.
The trouble with both contentious lies in
the fact that there has not been worked ont
any system by which the taxpayers NAV he
required to contribute in proportion to their
advantages. There is an advantage to cities
from good roads leading into them which is
material in results but intangible in determi-
nation Thousands of dollars in trade are
lost to city markets every year especially
at the holiday season, because the roads lead
ing into the cities are in such condition
that people from the rural districts cannot
reach the trading centers without hardships.
They resort to mail order purchases because
the order may be sent from the gate by rural
carrier and the purchase delivered in the
same manner. Until merchants waken up to
the significance of this condition mail order
houses will flourish like the green bay tree.
1t IS well-known fact that every mail order
concern in the country is hostile to hard
surfaced roads, The reason is apparent.
They have analysed the situation. and nm
derstand what such roads mean to their
prosperity. This loss of trade to home mer-
chants because of bad roads is well known
but intangible
When a method is devised by which an
equitable division of the cost of good roads
may be made between city and rural COM
munities which are mutually benefited the
hostility of rural communities to the expense
of hard roads construction will disappear.
and the two interested elements will be
found working hand in hand for a common
good, This is the task of the lawmakers