The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1919-02-25
DO GOOD ROADS PAY?
(The State.)

killed in the House, discussion of the
proposal can have, for the moment ne
more than educative value (unless 6
new bill be agreed upon) and, from
the first, it was seen by The State
that no measure, bearing on this sub
ject, of sweeping and radical char
acter, however expedient in it's ma
ture, could be enacted until a veal
or two had been given to its study
The State was unwilling to commit
itself to advocacy of a plan demand
ing a huge flotation of bonds unit
information of the widest and fullest
character could be had in respect o1
it.
Having read perhaps, a single arti
Gle in The State, the Abbeville Pres:
and Banner has failed to interpret
The States position which was out.
lined in half dozen articles, but oul
/ contemporaries editorial is service.
able in that it emphasizes that the
danger of paralleling steam and elec-
trio roads with paved highways
should be avoided. Somewhere in
the files of The State of the last five
or six years it might see the same
point raised that it now brings to at
tention and, we think, with reference
to the two lines, electric and steam,
running north of Greenwood,
Nowhere and at no time has The
State said that the proposed highways
should parallel railroads nor has it
gone so far as to insist that they
should join the county towns. The
State believes that the roads to be
improved should be located with the
object always in view of avoiding the
paralleling of steam and electric
roads so far as possible and with the
aim of providing transportation IA
cilities to the largest number of peo-
pie who are now without them. AS
to that we are in complete accord
with the Press and Banner. If the
selfishness of the people should COM
pei them to build parallel lines of
paved or metal railroads, that would
be their own fault. The State be-
lieves that a system of State high
ways should be constructed with the
commercial advantage of the largest
number of people in view and that
the construction would be desirable
even if the roads did not touch the
city of Abbeville or Columbia.
Our opinion is grounded on ac-
ceptance of the theory that paved
highways would be equally as profit
able to the people as are metal high
ways. To taxation for the building
iof roads primarily for pleasure pur-
poses The State is fatty opposed.
The time has come when the paved
road for the gasoline motor is a pub
lie necessity and the people cannot
be without it without consenting to
be backward people. Good high
ways will be provided by every State
of the Republic and South Carolina
will keep up with the procession or
lag behind it.
We have had sufficient experience
with motors to risk saying that a
seven passenger car can be operated,
allowing for every possible charge
for Is cents mile, provided it is
never driven off a smooth, hard pave.
ment. This being true, the profitable
operation of "jitneys" with a lower
passenger fare for long distances
would be obviously practical on paw.
ed country roads.
Granting that motor trucks can be
used only for short hauls of freight
it will scarcely be disputed that that
kind of haul is an important factor
in the economy of production anG
! distribution. The argument of the
t:.,:i's charge in a city has nothing tt
/ do with the case, but we may say tt
The Press and Banner that the taxi.
in Columbia are used to a far great
er extent on unpaved streets ant
roads than on those that are paved
Any one taking the trouble to OBJ
serve in the street of New York O,