The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-10-09

board of the great danger that they are subjecting the people to by al- lowing these two highways to re- main in their almost untravelable condition.
 IL Is necessary to travel these two highways, and to do so in any ease one must ride In the middle of these streets or suffer abrasions, corns, etc. on one's head and elsewhere, caused by the innumerable holes in these two roads. It Is only natural that driver of car will seek the smoothest part of the road eff there be any that is smooth) to ride, that they may ride In some ease and com fort, and In their efforts to obtain comfort they ride in the middle Of the streets, and as a result thereof there seldom passes a day that head-on collision, in which, invarl- ably, some one is injured, occurs on these roads.
 Can Finance Salaries
 As stated above lack of finances was given as an excuse by the board for not being able to do this work, some member saying that the county could not raise the sum of $Z5'OoV to do this work; yet this same board only a few weeks ago, arranged TOT the negotiation of q loan in the amount of s1O0.o00 with a Birming- ham bank, which money was to DC usedg in the payment of the salaries of county officers and employees. For tunately. because of some of the cor norations paying into the treasury certain taxes, the board did not have to procure this loan. If the county can negotiate to pay salaries then why can they not negotiate loan III ar amount of one half of s10o,0O0 and do the repairing on this road. Al the meeting the board of rev enue was charged by pr. M. D. CIem- ents. A prominent physician or Ems lev. with having worked roads IN Blount county with Jellersoh eouna. convicts. The doctor in making thla charge stated that he witnessed the working of the Bee Line highway ih Blount county and that one of the convict guards, who was former patient of the doctors, told him that inc eonvicts were Jefferson county conyjcts and were doing the work TOT Blount county. This assertion or charge by pr Clements caused an UDTOAT ana PtNS~A board on the defensive. President Ball denied knowledge of the con yjcts working in Blount county and immediately had the doctor to reduce his charge to writing which was promptly done. Since the meeting pr. Clements has, to make certain that he was right in his charges, took the matter mp with several rep resentattye citizens of Blount county:
 ttl. ( nrd tho convicts, whose letter follows
 Morris. Ala. September 2l, 1921. 'Dr. NJ. D Clements,
 'IGnsley, Alabama.
 Dear Sir:
 T am glad to tell you that you were right. We were in Blount coun- ty, but just worked one day and that was on the Bee Line highway.
 q was reading the Ensley News in "The Age Herald" and hope you will get your streets improved q remain, yours s
 Route 2, Morris. Ala" From BIount Springs
 A letter of A. H. Sinclair, a prom inent merchant and farmer of Blount Springs, states
 "Dr. NJ. D. Clements
 "Ensley. Alabama,
 Dear Sir.
 MT. w. E. Haynes and Alr. Cleve Price of Blount Springs were dcwn on road between Blount Springs and Warrior and did see the Jefferson county convicts at work on road In Blount county. 1 am told that Mir. Nick enzie. with Standard Oil company at Warrior and MT. Baldwin, with Collins and company, merchants, at Warrior, worked on road same day, and In case you are passing through | Warrior you might stop and see them and get the information you want. Hoping that you may get these mat 1 ters strengthened out. am, Yours. truly. A. II. SINCLAIR"
 If the charge of Dr. Clements be true, and it appears that it is true, then we have d reason why our | roads are allowed to remain In such ] bad condition, and If our board of 1 revenue cannot or does not know the nature, location and kind of work that our convicts are doing and where the money of the tax payers of Jefferson county Is being spent 1 then we of Jefferson are in sad | plight.
 ! Some days ago convicts were | placed on the road from Birmins ham l to the fairgrounds and from Ensley ! to the fairgrounds, working dis
 tance of approximately two hundred | yards on each side of tho entrance 1 to the fairgrounds, endeavoring to | have the road placed in a condition whereby people could drive to the l fair In their cars. Our money was i spent in repairing this road and now not too weeks after the roads com