Carthage courier. (Carthage, Tenn.) 1913-current, 1921-07-28
About The Road Labor

Mr. Editor:
see in your last weeks paper an
article from Judge Hodges regarding
the mistake the County Court made
at its last session in making the price
of labor done by the citizens of the
county. In the letter he addressed
the entire county court and the citi-
zenship of the county, and admitted
he opened an avenue to criticism.
/ don't want to criticise any man,
but if a man makes mistake it ought
! to be corrected. !. AS to prices of la
Dor he said it could be had for less
money. That is true, but is it right to
press down the poor laborer and hold
up the man with the rod to more than
double the price of his fellow man who
is doing the labor; and in some in
stances knows more about the work
than the man standing around issuing
orders.
The road fund paid the commission
ers on the first years work So
day and expenses, in all over SO.
Paid the surveyor as much for the
actual time put in, then set aside
1OI VI Ills WOIh-1OSI II lie
overseers have made mistakes in con-
nection with a part of the commission.
Had lot of work done and later aban-
doned it and re-opened other roads
alongside-labor and material lost.
l feel that we as citizens of Smith
County should be on an equal basis
in road building. 1t is a common in
terest, alike to ALL Jackson County
built roads and all were paid the same
money, all neighbors and co-laborers.
say pay a man for his services rem
dered. If one man does more labor
pay him for the entire time rendered.
But it is not right to ask man
to furnish a team and wagon and go
and work and pull the very life out of
his team and get $3.50 for it, and
neighbor stand around all days and
gets SIS to SO and expenses paid. l
stand ready to lower the wages so
far as is just but want it in proper
ton all the way round.
Best carpenters and bricklayers get
81 to So per day and common labor
$3.50 per day. This means solid time.
The road work is different. The la
borers only get to work day or so
and layed eff longer than they get
to work. A poor man that earns his
daily bread is bound to have steady
employment, or better wages.
And our people complain that a
few pets get work all the time, others
part, and some none. tits a fact
that the commission has many OBJ
stacles to encounter, and the poor labor
ing man who is fighting the wolf of
starvation from entering his door has
some troubles, too. Our neighboring
counties have built roads and the COM
missioners were paid the same as the
laborers. j. T. Draper, an old man,
even worked as much as any hired
hand and only asked or received 81
a day, as we are informed.
But times are not the same today
as when Jackson andPutnam counties
built roads. Now let's get down to
business principles. Judge Hodges
wants the remainder of this money
used to the best advantage.
None of US working men can make
in our regular avocations more than
So per day, solid time. Let's make
the wages of wagons and teams 81
and pay hands $1.75, and the commits
sioners So per day of 10 hours, and
if any of the commissioners work
over time pay him time and a half
fer the over time.
/ feel like this is nearer justice to
all The commissioners are not re-
sponsible for the salary they have
been receiving. This court has made
the prices. This is, as said before,
strictly business proposition, one in
which all are interested and have to
pay. 1t is argued by some that the
commissioners should be paid a large
price because they are under bond. All
county officials are under bond. And
J. P. serves the county year in and
year out and attend courts, and what
does he get? And he bears his own
expenses, besides during the interim
how much time does he lose entirely
in suppressing difficulties of his neigh
bors and the good of his country. This
road fund was made to better the con-
dition of the entire county, not to be
paid out to just a few individuals.
And one thing we people would like
to see done is to push the work on.
1t has been here that only 10 to Is
men at work and 2 overseers, or one
of them commissioner. The price
paid for them makes it cost the people
too much to get a little labor put out
on the road And working on those !
lines when will the roads be COM
pleted? And then what will the fig /
ures show as to how much of this fund
was paid to get the other part put on
the road
Let's get this matter settled more
to the satisfaction of the people who |
will toward any one, but feel that we
should make changes in the work and
prices. If any want to criticise, you
have my permission.
G. F. M. RUSSELL, J. P.