The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1920-09-08

ty that Mr.. P. W. Maer, before his
untimely death, had given much time
and thought to the county's road prob
lem. On the morning of his death he
was preparing to attend the citizens
road commissioners meeting and pres
ent a plan he had evolved.
He had worked out a plan in con-
ference with only one or two persons
who had assisted him in collating
data on the road situation in the coun-
ty,
One Of the gentlemen wh1 was in
associated with him in this
work for two weeks previous TO the
date of the meeting was Mr.. julius
Marx, t,.f he has prepared an outline
of Mr.. Maer's plan which We produce
herewith, and which we believe will
be read with interest and may be Of
service and value to those who will
assume the leadership in the solution
of the county's road problems.
Mr.. Maer's plan follows:
Mr.. Maer felt that the citizens Of
the county, the Board of Supervisors
and the Road Commissioners were not
taking as much interest in road mat
tiers as they should, that they had
spent over half a million dollars to
build roads in the county and were
letting them 60 to ruin when there
was no excuse, real or apparent, for
It; that a person living on these bond
ID roads who used the road to come to
md from town, hauled his products
over them, showed so little interest in
he preservation of his road that he
,ften would allow holes and ruts to
form right in front of his door when
a load Of gravel and few hours of
work would not only repair the rut
but would save wear and tear on his
wagons, trucks and stock. He
thought that there ought to be more
cooperation and that where man was
living on a road he should take enough
interest in that particular road to see
that it was kept up in first class con-
iition, whether he received remunera-
ion for it or not
That this county was not taking ad-
antage of its natural resources that
We had the finest road material for
he building and surfacing of roads of
ny county in the State and were per-
hitting it to be shipped out of the
,ounty to build the roads Of other
ounties whom We ought to be using
his same material ourselves.
That we had never been fully adj
Used as to Federal Aid in the building
md the maintaining of roads and that
his matter should be gone into with
Jew of getting that kind of help from
he Federal Government.
That this county was not taking
of the offers of the Gov
eminent which had turned over to the
Highway Commissions of the different
States a part of its surplus war ma
terial which includes equipment for
the building and the maintaining of
roads and are begging you to take it
and build and maintain your roads,
shis equipment includes some of the
oest auto trucks trailers, wagons,
harness, tractors, rollers, sprinklcrs,
rails, picks, shovels, scoops, dynamite,
,ngines for loading and unloading, in
act equipment of all kinds and de-
icription and all it takes in money
putlay to get any of this equipment,
$ the payment Of freight and such
little repair charges, that might be
necessary.
With the facts as above stated, the
government furnishing the equipment
and our own county having the finest
road material right at our doors, this
problem revolvcs itself into very
simple question of control and ex-
pense;
LIST. Put the whole proposition UNI
der the supervision of competent
road engineer, pay him good salary
and hold him responsible to the Board
of Supervisors for the upkeep, re-
building and building of the roads OF
the county.
2nd. Do away with all Road Com
missioners,
Srd. Sell the County Farm, which
has never been revenue producer fol
he county.
4th. Put the money derived or sc
much of same as may be necessary
rom the sale of the County Farm II
4 small farm on or near the Southern
or NJ. go. Railroad containing small
acreage, suitable for the raising o
such crops as may be necessary TO
the feeding of the convicts and thos'
others that are on the farm, but thi
farm to have an analized and suffi
cient deposit of the Lowndes Count,