The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1919-01-17
MAJORITY OF CITIZENS PRESENT,
MANIFEST DlsAPPRoVAL
OF NEW ACT.
NO DEFINITE ACTION TAKEN
Minority Report Submitted by Mem
bers of Joint Committee Favored
BY Majority Opposed 10 Proposed
Measure.
tMonday's Daily Herald.)

ASSOCIATION, OutnumDereu us support
ers at an open meeting of the associa-
ton Saturday afternoon at the court
house. but no constructiv eaction look
ing toward a revision of the county
road system was taken either for bet
ter or worse. Following a motion to
table a motion to adopt a minority re
port, Chairman j. 7. Petty called for
a standing vote on the motion to table
and the secretary announced As in
favor Of tabling. There was some con
fusion following this vote. Then the
chairman called for standing vote
of all who favored the minority re.l
port, without calling for vote
against tabling. The secretary an
nounced that 70 had voted for the
minority report. The assemblage then
began to break up and no vote was
taken against the minority report, the
body having thus voted on only one side
each of two motions. But the result
was the same. 1t indicated that d
majority of those present opposed the
proposed law.
The meeting was well attended by
private citizens as we'll as road Off
Gals and indicated a widespread in
terest on the part of the people OF
Maury county in the question of good
roads, but it also indicated that no
unity of opinion has been arrived at
as to what is best to be done. s
A number of speeches were made
for and against the proposed law and
several others were made. for and
against the present system. In the
arguments against the, proposed law
much was said about the requirement
| for the employment of an engineer.
Supporters Of the measure declared
that there was no such provision ex-
| cept when construction work was
being done, at all other times practi-
cal road man beingsemploged as super
/ visor.
Following the reading of the pro,
posed law by Hugh Lee. Webster,
there was a motion for it's adoption
but before vote was taken minor
ity report signed by John M. Davis,
]. T. Petty, j. A Grove and Humph-
reg Hardison was read by the acting
secretary H. H. Hill. This report pro
tested against the endorsement Of the
| proposed measure and set out defects
and criticisms of it. A motion was
made to adopt the minority report,
The reading of this report precipitated
a lively discussion which was led by
| C. S. Jackson, of Mt. Pleasant, who
/ spoke for the new law.
Mr.. Jackson said the proposed
measure. had been endorsed by State
Highway engineer Nelson and other
experts. He insisted that the county
needed better roads and to get them
some other system than the present
one had to be adopted He denied
that the proposed system would cost
as much as was alleged in the minor
ity report
S. w. Warfield then spoke against
the new measure saying that he had
| for Is years advocated better roads
for Maury county. He declared that
an engineer was not needed and cited
an instance in Mississippi where the
work of an engineer had failed, as
he claimed. He sal dthere are many
men in the county as capable of main
tanning the roads as an engineer is.
w. T. Galloway, secretary of the
county highway commission, spoke
against the new measure but said that
there were some parts of it that he
could endorse. He went into a de-
tailed discussion of the present sys
tenn showing how it was impossible
to do more with the roads with the
money available. He doubted the
constitutionality of the proposed law.
Hugh Lee Webster followed with
an argument in favor of the proposed
measure and referred to a report by
an engineer of the U. S. highway de-
partment, which condemned in
mea sure the present system and said
that it was unreasonable to expect bet
ter results from an organization so
loosely jointed. He questioned the
worth of the work of 400 road over
seers and commissioners.
The excitement was heightened
when j. A. Sloan began an argument
in favor of the proposed measure
with the question, do you want the
old toll gates strung across your pixies
again? Stand up if you do"
This question was answered by
large number standing amid
roar of approval. TO an innocent by
stander it was impossible to tell
whether this roar was compliment
IN tha nrasont evafan, sor mi Mr.