The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1920-06-04
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE
EDENTON- VIRGINIA ROAD
Saunders Explains Wherein Senator Ferebee is
Hoodwinking T he District With
Promises of Federal Aid
By w. o. SAUNDERS

~. Saunders and Miles w. Fere-
bee?, I shall try to answer that
question candidly and dispassion-
ately and in so doing enlighten
the northeastern North Carolina
public on question of great i'm
portance to Pasquotank and its
eighboring counties. It is all
about the so called Ferebee Bis
trict Highway Act.
The Ferebee Act was introduced in
the upper house of the last General As
sembly by Senator Ferebee When it
came over to the lower house 1 sup
ported it and used my influence to gain
support for the measure from the peo-
pie of Pasquotank County.
The Ferebee Act was scheme pro-
posed by W. S. Falls, State Highway
Engineer and Col Benehan Cameron, the.
most active and most talkative member
of the State Highway Commission. They
were practically the whole State High
way Commission at that time and any
scheme they were interested in probab-
/ ly would have had the inside track with
the State Highway Commission.
| Mr.. Falls and Col. Cameron assured
| Ferebee and myself that if we would
| create a road district of the counties of
Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Cam
| den and Currituck and provide for the
construction of road from Edenton
to the Virginia state line, the State
Highway Commission would give us all
the State and Federal Aid necessary
for such a project, to the extent of one
half the total cost of the road.
A Great Scheme
i The thing figured out about like this:
The road would cost at least two million
dollars. We would get State and Fed
eral Aid covering one half the cost, or
, about one million dollars. Property
owners on either side of the road would
pay one fourth of the cost of the entire
construction, or approximately $500, 700.
That left only $500,OO0 for these five
counties to lay out for an Is or 20 foot
concrete road from Albemarle Sound a
Edenton to the Virginia state line near
Northwest, connecting the county seats
n of Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank and
Camden and the villages of Shawboro,
! Snowden and Moyock in Currituck.
Great scheme! I fought for it and vot-
ed for it against the opposition of many
of my friends. But in supporting the
measure I took pains to write into the
bill that the limit of the bond issue to
S be placed upon this road district should
n be $5OO,OO9, guaranteeing that the roai
would not be built without State and
Federal Aid. That is the only guaran-
hat Tbo
l. self says nothing about State and Fede-
Z. raj Aid, but does specifically provide that
e one fourth of the cost of the road shall
u be borne by the property owners along
II the right of way of the road, and three
le fourths by the tax payers of the district.
Where The Props Fell Out
,r Now see what happened! Shortly af-
10 ter the Legislature adjourned the State
IN Highway Commission was reorganized
ID and Mr.. Frank Page was made chair
II man with full authority to say who
Ct should get State and Federal Aid. Mr.
in Falls and Col Cameron ceased to func-
r. ton as dictators. Mr.. Page didn't care
In rap about these five northeastern
.b North Carolina counties and wasn't in
j. terested in the Ferebee Act. And righ
o. Ferebee District Highway bill.
ks Mr.. Page has been condemned for hi
failure to warm up to this project, bu
he has his side of it. To begin with
the idea of giving these five countie
~ a million dollars of Federal Aid fund
II was preposterous at the outset, becaus
all the Federal Aid allowed this stat
is for a period of five years, 1917 to 1872
inclusive. amounted to only $1,715,72S-
so. Not until the last session of tn
General Assembly did North Carolin
mt make any legislative provision to NEE
a this Federal Aid. And so here was les
ua than two million dollars of Federal Al
as for q five year period, with less tina
m two millions of State funds to meet il
nd and with one hundred counties in Mort
lst Carolina scrambling for it and ever
:or county wanting its share. Obviously tn
er money if allotted pro rata would CIV
leo each county in the state about $o5,OO
'rk for the five year period. Ii the NV
m counties in the Northeastern North Cal
lay olina Road District were allowed thel
cry pro rata they would get about $l50,OO
tay to apply on the road from Edenton t
re- Virginia. And in order to get even ths
tes much they would have to build the roa
ire to suit the State Highway Commission
ess which would mean a road costing nes
al $5O, 900 a mile.
of And so the way the thing stands no
1re we could hardly expect to get more tha
By three miles of that District highws
ex- built by State and Federal Aid, and thel
CO. is absolutely no assurance that we cou
xa- get even that. On thing at least is ce
18th tain; nearly year and half has elal
rid and the District has got no State al
ion Federal Aid yet. Senator Ferebee ms
quote all the law he can find. but Il
the facts speak louder than the theories
erl- legislators.
,me Esrahaa,s hais+aka
.ica -.
test NO" 1nese 0.e