The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1919-05-18
our PUBLIC ROAD SYSTEM

OUR PUBLIC ROAD SYSTEM.
Lowndes county has invested
S3.5OO.OOO in her system of public
roads. These are bonds. the prin-
eipal of which is to be paid and
the interest of which is TO be paid.
It's an annual tax imposed upon the
present and future generations
which must be paid. The only re-
turn the people receive is in the use
of the roads. The Dispatch wants
to talk to the people of the county
this morning about their road sys-
TEN, the folly of investing all this
money and taxing all these people
and then letting the system go to
pieces through neglect to care for 1t.
1t is the deliberate conviction of
this paper. backed by the opinions
of the ablest and best men of the
county, that the commission plan for
maintaining the roads has failed.
Good men volunteered for these
places when new roads were to be
built to locate the roads where they
wanted them. They supervised their
construction and completed the
roads and then their interest in
their maintenance, in large number
of cases, stopped. One prominent
commissioner gave a good reason.
Said he: | am willing to serve and
do all can as commissioners, but
haven't the time. | formerly had
plenty of labor on my place and
could devote some of my time to
outside work, but labor is so scarce
that | devote all my time to my farm
and in planning for the best results
with the reduced force which | have.
simply can't do it-thats ALL"
This is a typical case. Good men
would serve but they can't. There
is no salary to the position save
their actual expenses up to one hun
dred dollars. The result of the pres
ent system under present conditions
Is that the present commission plan
for the preservation of the roads
has failed. For the county not to
change the system; not to plan and
prepare for the upkeep of the roads
already built at a tremendous cost
will be criminal in its neglect.
A unified plan for the upkeep OF
all the highways ought to be adopt
ed There may be some legal diff
iiculties to work out and overcome
but this must be done even il it re-
quires legislative action at the next
session. The work ought to be en-
trusted to practical men who will
devote all of their time to it and
who will be paid therefor The sal
aries now being paid the various
road commissioners would pay the
salary of one good man. The coun-
located on a railroad and from
which gravel could be distributed at
central points all over the county,
to be hauled and used as needed.
The county farm ought to be sold
and the county convicts used in load
ing and unloading cars, with enough
cultivatable land at the gravel pit
to employ and utilize the labor of
the paupers and units. Government
trucks will soon come to the county
free and material could be trans
ported easily and cheaply. BY pool
ing all the road repair funds the
work could be apportioned so that
each district would get its share.
The Dispatch realizes that the
above suggestions involve radical
change in our entire road system.
But radical change is needed. The
Dispatch endeavors at all times to
be constructive and it is committed
to the above plan only until some
better system is offered. What
think the people of the county?