The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1919-02-18

! the city government as we uHuer'
stand, the rates are five times those
charged by the street railway? Has
anybody gotten rich in Columbia al
the business even at the prices charg'
ed? If passengers may not be haul
ed in Columbia on the, paved streets
of that city by motor driven vehicles
as cheaply as by rail, how may we
expect that it can be done in the
country districts where the travel is
so much less?
And though the roads in this Sec
tion are bad enough as compared
with the amount of money which we
annually expend for their mainte-
nance, we think we are safe in say
ing that except for day or two at
a time the roads in this section are
in fair condition for hauling loads
by motor driven vehicles for about
nine months in the year. There is
a comparatively level stretch of
country from Greenwood to Green
vile, the road following the ridge for
most of the way. The cotton mills
between Greenville and Greenwood
buy large quantities of cotton at
Greenwood and nearby points, which
is delivered to Greenwood for trans
portation to these mills. All these
mills have motor driven vehicles for
conveying heavy freight, and the
roads are in condition for them to
travel for more than half the year,
yet we dare say that there has never
been a load of cotton hauled from
Greenwood to any of these mills by
motor driven vehicles, simply be-
cause the expense of so doing as
compared with freight rates would
be 80 great as to forbid it.
The State seems to think that the
price Of cotton will be increased by
the building of these roads because
they will bring the farmers nearer
to a market and make it in some way
cheaper for them to get their cotton
to the spinners, just how is not ex-
planned. Ninety per cent of the far
mers of Abbeville County would be
no nearer markets than they now
are if fifty miles of these roads were
built in Abbeville county, as The
State suggests will be done, and of
those who would be near enough
these roads to use them, only a few
we imagine would be foolish enough
to invest large sums of money in mo-
tor driven trucks for the purpose Of
hauling when they already have
horsepower, which they are feeding
for the purpose of doing this work.
It is not denied by anyone so far
as we know that those people who
live on we'll worked-and we'll main
tanned roads reap an advantage, nor
is it denied that roads which would
make it easier for the farmers of
Abbeville County to reach their mar
ket, which is Abbevills. would be of
advantage to them, If we do not con-
slider the expense Of obtaining these
roads; but when we come to consid
er the expense Of building along
with the advantages to be obtained,
even when the roads are primarily
for the Ibeneft of the farmers inl
order to enable them to get their
products to market, a serious ques-
ton arises as to whether or not the
enormous expenses do not in every
s..: 1t';::s. outweigh the. a@i7 a@.7satsFgs to bsII
obtained. We cann5t have these
rosds without paying the price, Are
thcy IN the Price? II they are it is
only when they are constructed for
the purposes statsd--that is, to enable
the farmers on the farms to get their
products to the nearest market,
which is the nearest railway station,
Now we imagine that The StatA
and those who are advocating the
building of these county-seat to
county-seat roads will argue a long
time before they will convince any,
body that these proposed roads are
to be built for this purpose. Mani