The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1921-06-15
DIAL WANTS ARMY
PROPERTY FOR S. C.
Senator Working to Secure Surplus
Road Equipment for Highway
Commission.

COMMISSION.
Washington, June 11.-Senator Dial
for some months past has been en-
deavoring to secure as much of the
surplus army property as possible in
the way of automobiles and road
equipment for the highway commits
sion of South Carolina.
III can see no good reason" he said
"for the army keeping it's trucks and
letting them rust out in the weather.
AS / stated a while ago, last Saturday
| saw hundreds of trucks perhaps at
Camp Hollabird out there in the wea-
ther, and my information is they were
put there before the Armistice. Ihave
telephoned the bureau of roads, but
they told me they had no trucks what
ever at Camp Hollabird. They further
told me that they could use all the
trucks they could get. The trucks l
saw are absolutely new and have never
been used. | cannot see any differ
encc between the war department, the
post office department, or the good
roads bureau, or any other depart
ment. The property is bought from
the money collected from the taxes of
the people and is paid for out of the
same pocket book. do not want to
be unfriendly to the war department,
but do not want to arrogate to
itself the belief that it can take this
property and keep it there and let
it rust out / can see no better use
for these trucks than for building
goood roads. If the post office de-
partmcnt needs some, let the post Of
flee department have them. There
should be no antagonism whatever be-
tween the war department and any
other department of this government.
To my mind the war department does
not need these trucks, otherwise they
would have used them long before
this.
~ think it would be very we'll to let
half of them go, but if we sell the
other half, we will get very little for
them; we will throw them away. The
point am trying to bring to the at
tcntion of the Senate is that the prop
erty of the United States ought to be
used. 1t ought not be allowed to rust
out. We should do everything we can
to build up the roads in this country.
have no ill-will against the war
department. / have great many
friends in that department, but the
people Of this country arc little bit
impatient over their extravaganza"
In a word, Senator Dia's position is
that it makes no difference what de-
partmcnt has these trucks; that it is
absolutely wrong to allow them to de-
terioratc when all the state highway
commissions are begging for them.
Whatever friction may exist between
the war department and any other de-
partmcnt, he believes, should cease and
the best use made for the various
equipment in the interest of the people
generally. he said he would continue
his efforts and follow up every pos
sible avenue to secure them for high
ways projects instead of seeing them
rust in many places throughout the
country.
"The people," Senator Dial continu-
ued, "are little bit impatient over
the extravaganza Of the war depart
ment Down in my part of the coun-
try last year and year before last that
department allowed the lintcrs to stay
out in the weather and the weather
and absolutely rot. Thousands and
hundreds of thousands Of bales Of lin
ters of some value simply dccaycd and
went to waste and were hauled out
and thrown in the cutters and then
around in the fields. Several hundred
bales in my own town were hauled out
and disposed of in that way. I am
trying to get that department to real :
ize that the people of this country
are tired of paying taxes and not have
a dollar bring hundred cents in re-
turn. We want to stop appropriating
money it is not necessary to appro-
pirate. ! want the war department to
have all that is necessary to keep it
up in proper shape, but the people of
this country will not stand for any
such reckless extravaganza and any
such Incidence and wilful waste any
longer. We bought bonds and paid
for them; they have gone down below
par, and at the same time we look out
of every window and see property go
ing to waste every day. We want that