The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-01-05
ROAD SYSTEM NEEDS REVISION

ROAD SYSTEM NEEDS REVISION
With the beginning Of the year, the
county commissioners should make a
radical change in the system of build
ing and repairing roads.
The present system has been hand
ed down from the days Of horse-drawn
vehicles, plenty of labor and cheap
materials. The county has two or
three small gangs of men, each with
its boss and camp outfit, doing work
in homeopathic doses.
The reason for this "scatteration"
Of an already small force seems to be
each commissioners constituents ex-
poets him to have some work going
on in his district all the time, regard
less of the fact that splitting the
county's working force into some
times as many as five units reduces
the work done to minimum, and at
the same time doubles or triples the
expense.
The county should have but one
road force, and that should work in
the most needed place until that place
was in good condition; then it should
go to the next most needed place. The
commissioners should decide as a
whole where the road force should
work, and the people of a district
should not expect to obtain a fraction
OF the force to do the work in frac-
tional manner.
What is more than that. the road
overseer system should be abolished.
The county should employ a skilled
engineer and he should supervise the
work, planning it in scientific man.
lner. He should have the entire force
under him. and il would probably be
best to take the most competent of
the present road overseers to direct
the men under the engineers orders.
Such engineer should not be INFER
fered with by either county or pre-.
cinet politicians. He should be respon.
sible only to the commissioners. and
il the commissioners didn't. obtain re-
suits with such system, they should
be voted out and replaced with men
who can obtain them.
t. The present system ia out-of date,
wasteful and inefficient. No matter
how conscientious and Industrious a
road overseer may be, he can't do the
work Of skilled engineer.
| People from all over the county
have complained to the Star Of the
bad condition of the roads. Attic the
county is spending more money than
ever for it's roads, they are steadily
ldeteriorating. It is impossible to keep
SO many miles of road up with such
small force. which under present
conditions costs more to supply than
did q larger one O few years ago.
+ 1t is probable that if, three years
ago, the commissioners had employed
competent engineer and consolidat-
ed its force of roadworkers under him,
and he had been able to show he was
obtaining good results in proportion
to the expense, that the county would
/ have voted for bonds last month.
From what we have heard voters say,
we know they have been afraid thar
work with bond money would be car
ried out in much the same manner
that work has been carried out with
money raised by the regular tax levy
ard they voted accordingly. They
can hardly be blamed for doing so.
We do not think the commissioners
are to blame for the present system
They found it when they took office
It is really the fault of the people. AS
we all know. the principal argument
in electing or defeating candidate
for commissions is what he can dc
or went do IN the way Of roads fo1
his district.
, But this board of commissioners
can depart from this archaic plan
They can secure an engineer, consol.
idate their road force and go about
repairing roads in present day style
We believe the people of the county
would sustain them. IF they didn't
we don't believe any man on the board
would feel very sore if he was retired