St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1921-02-12

able time, it will pay the owner to
let them go for taxes, as many own
ers are now doing.
The One Way To Success.
But ii we have the saving grace
OF Wlue-aWake energy, the s1luaulv;1
need not De so hopeless. Ii inese
anus are improved, Lney have .Ae
advantage uI location 10 1narhe.s, ~
4 climate IN which valuaDle wu.~:1
,ruduce can De raised, aae4ua,e r,..-
4nu water transportation, OF eat. IT
ordinary auapraDllIty for crop did
livestock raising. THESE auvilItug =.
are worthless without prellmInu4,
improvements OF the land to MAKE
tnem valuable.
Recently the people of this parish
have taken bold step FORWARD,
thinking that the establishment Of
good roads would solve the problem
But the poverty Of the parish, the
lack of taxable property, places a
limit upon road building which, even
If it were solution, can not be
carried so far without absolutely
bankrupting the parish. With as
little public Improvements as we
have here, the taxes of this parish
are much higher on each dollar OF
valuation than in any Northern rural
community or city | am acquainted
with. We must have good roads
However, they are not a first step,
but second step to be taken in tlfe
development of this country. Some
men in this parish are keenly alive
to this fact. Some OF. the Police
Jurors realize the truth that we
must somehow create more land
values here before more roads are
built. And it is re-assuring that the
whole State of Louisiana is waking
up to the fact, as refeced in the
recent statement Of Mr.. Duncan Buie,
State Highway Engineer, that, latter
drainage very properly comes the
systematizing our roads,"
In his article in the Times-Pic-
ayune, he writes: 1T may be ask
ed, why discuss drainage in connec-
ton with roads. In fact, it has been
suggested to us that these subjects
should be discussed separately. It
may be true that separate provisions
in law will be required, yet the fact
remains that we are constantly call
ed upon to provide adequate drain
age on small scale for the protec-
ton of our roads, when a systematic
plan on larger scale, would not
only drain our highways, but would
add incalculable wealth to the state
and obviate the piecemeal patch
work we are compelled to undertake
in order to protect our roads. We
cannot recall single instance in
our operations to which this truth
does not apply.
1--WE, on many occasions, are fore
ed to construct roads on locations
admitted beforehand to be bad, and
with the full knowledge that the
maximum amount of maintenance
will be required in order to make the
highway passable at all times when,
If it were possible, drainage plan,
wel thought out and placed in opera
ton under the provisions of up-t.o-
date laws would not only solve our
perplexing problem, but would adj
to our state numerous acres Of fertile
cultivable lands.''
We need not agree with Mr.. Bu1e
in the matter Of his proposal to set
aside the authority of the Police Jury
and local drainage commissioners
and give full power to a State
Drainage Board to establish districts,
construct drainage systems, let
all contracts and spend all the
money therefor. However, if State
Drainage Board will hasten drain
age all over the state, no matter if
State Board makes that earlier drain
age cost more, it will have justified
Mr.. Buie's recommendation. For
every day of delay is losing money
to the State, to the Parish, and tc
every land owner. But the reali
fact in Mr.. Buie's state
ment, and l find engineers fully i
accord with it in this respect, is tia
drainage should precede road-buiI,l
ing, because drainage is necessary tc
a good road.
And agricultural drainage lese,
the cost of the roads, for it say
the cost Of special road drainae.
st. Tammany parish voted big bor
issue and an additional tax levy &
build a few roads. Had the paris
first voted drainage there would have
been no need to vote road bonds or
to increase the taxes, for the in
crease in land values through in
creased production from the lands
would many times have paid the road
tax. But it is not too late now in
some considerable measure to save
the cost Of these roads to us and re-