The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-30


 on these highways all water companies, l gas companies, and other companies likely to have use of making excavations | in said streets or highways be required | to make them before the paving is laid, running said pipe lines, gas mains and other necessary mains, out two feet be- yond the curb line or the property line for each fifty feet of road.
 We have investigated numerous con
 tracts, and find that miles and miles of | roads have been let to contractors who | did not do the work of grading of said roads, but sublet it, the original contrac- tor thereby making considerable profit, without being responsible in any other
 way than by the bond, never less than | 10 per cent, and, on each contract sub let, the contractor having done the Work | and having made substantial profit. | In one instance, one contract was let where the contractor sublet at: dirt, oo l cents per cubic yard, and rock, at siS l per cubic yard. This work was done | on the subcontract for 40 cents per cubic yard of dirt, and $1.50 per cubic yard or | rock. We are of the opinion that this lis extravaganza on the part of the en- gineer and the board of revenue, and that in letting contracts, these contracts were let for the purpose of making money l out of them rather than for the pur- pose of getting the work done, ana that | the county is paying too much TOT what work if gets done on the county hlgh- ways. We do not see why it is that the board of revenue cannot get work done on the roads of the county as cheapiy
 as private individuals can get the same work done There must be reason. Is it not that those in charge or lettlns the contracts are in coliusion With the | first-hand bidders to bid it in so that an l F,t hn performance of the work contracted TOT 1 "In this connection we deem it proper to mention the expenditure Of puplic funds and the use of convlcts and county eot1pment on other than pubic property From the evidence adduced lron Soiio willing and some unwilling witnesses we find that the county conVlcts' loIe- men and guards, paid by the county, and the county equipment, were useu | ;n the building and repairing or prlVate | roads for few individuals, one pelns on the properties of Paschal Shook' O,' this road nineteen convicts, one suaru one foreman, and three trucks were useu | for one and one-half days on aho'iioi road leading to the Brown minlng pIop l critics one bridge was reconstruc.eu /, and the road graded for several i'iiles We condemn these acts, as pins ooiie far political prestige and unjust ia l voritisu and not the use or the count cous ? fnnds for the best interests or the peopie | The evidence shows that Jere VIZ dered these private roads worKeo' VIZ. | thersfore recommend the enac'hihs1 Jl
 a law that will make It an l offense for the board of revenue or a'S l oo,,rty official connected with the coh- 1 ,tr,,ct;on of roads or the working or con- l victs to do any work on any ptNNS' ~, V | road in this county. except wneie .n l nuhJic road fills are so high ana the cut | ;s SD deep that it is necessary 'o e l struct a proper and convenient approach to the public highway from any Wivatn 'it,, l hiehway Said law should carry wl.'' :! dollars nor more than five hundred uoI- llars for every person connected Wlth ! road construction for the county wno 1 does work on private roads. IL snouiu he made an ofSense for said OFFICIALS the road engineer. the foreman or assis- l tant foreman in charge Of any ~orh' 'o
 do work on private roads
 eve have spent much time and iapor in investigating the LOCK Y roao' anu W. find that this road extends TOT many 1 mi,es through one of the most sparsely l settIed communities in the county NC one who appeared before us has been i able to give any good reason TOT this road being built, especially when It IS | shown that in many other parts or ,ne county. much more densely popuiateu' l further find that. on this road, sum yariously estimated at 5000 and up. 1 wards. was expended on portion oi inc road extending entirely across the county line and into Tuscaloosa county, | Reyardng this matter no expianatiot has been given. other than that II was not known just where the county inc was.
 ..rbe evidence shows that consider l 4N.o o6lanant this road is owned by few indlvlouais' 1 ;nch,dinr Jere Gwin, chairman of the hoard of revenue and some of his rei- atives and we can see no reason othei than this for the construction or LOCK II road as it does not connect With any other county's highway We further flna that there has been road built erro- neously designed as the Taylor gerry Road leaving s<id Taylor's Ferry Road at a point about four miles from the | river and intersecting the river about
 three-o,iarters of mile below the old Taylor's Ferry but which does not con meet any road leading across the. river,
 which was built at great cost to tht county and which serves only very few people The only apparent reason | that we can find for the construction of this road was to enhance the values oA ! nroperties owned by the Vines family. il a penalty of not less than one hundred
 'swe find at the various convict lcamps quite discrepancy in the inain- ltenance l.i.e as for instance, the camp at Bessemer Sam Wallace, warden, Isixty-two cents per day per capita for Ifeed; camp at the county farm, Sam El- liott, warden, forty-three cents per day per capital for feed; camp at Rose idale c. NJ. Parsons warden. thirty-nine lcents per day per capita for feed; camp at Republic. R. N. Warren warden. |thirty-three cents per day per capita flor feed, and the camp at Morris. J. l.. Hardin warden. twenty-one cents per iday per capita for feed These discrep- Iancies remain unexplained and we can see no reason for such wide discrepan- jcies, but believe they must necessarily grow out of extravaganza or wasteful- mess on the part of some of the war dens. It is shown that at the county farm, which is next to the highest in ratio for feed, numerous vegetables are raised. such as corn. potates, beans land other garden products, and that lthere are several milch cows and that
 some hogs are raised. We think. there fore, that instead of the camp at the county farm being one of the highest