The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-02-09
MESCHINE WRITES
ABOUT GOOD ROADS

Editor the Press and Banner:
The General Assembly of South
Carolina being in session, the people
of Abbeville County should endeavor
to have the act of March 9Th, 1920,
concerning the improvement of GER
tain roads of the county, so amended
as to meet better the wants of the
people.
AS anyone knows we have, so to
speak, no roads in Abbeville county.
owing to the numerous rivers, creeks
and branches, flowing everywhere in
the county, its topography is excep-
tionally hilly, and our present roads
an heritage of the past, are nothing
but a succession of ups and downs
which make them unfit for the modes
of travel and transportation of the
day.
Until now the farmers of the coun-
ty have stoically submitted to the
inconvenience of such roads, but the
day of reaction has come and they
cannot see with favor, to say the
least, a plan which does not provide
for the Improvement of all the roads
of the county, without any exception
instead of only few, the execution
of which plan would have for result
to leave nine tenths of the roads of
the county in their actual condition
and deprive nine tenths of the farm
ers of the county of the advantage
Of goods roads, while they would
have to toll hard to pay taxes for the
benefit of only few privileged ones.
However Abbeville county is a part
of the State of South Carolina and
as such it is it's duty to provide for
three roads connecting the Abbeville
county seat with the county seat of
each of our neighboring counties,
Anderson, Greenwood and McCor-
mick.
Having fulfilled our duty. towards
our state, we should then set aside,
for the present, the scheme of the
other improved roads and turn our
undivided attention and our efforts
to the roads of the whole county and
have the said roads regarded and put
on a level, as far as possible, and
when this should have been done,
and not before, we could think of
improving our road system.
This operation should be neither
difficult nor necessarily expensive.
1, therefore, suggest that the act
of the 9Th of March 1920 should be
so amended as to provide for the use
of the bond issue of $450,000,
First for the construction of the
three inter-county seats roads.
And the balance to be employed as
fund for the regarding and the
!eveling of all our county roads, the
said fund to be apportioned to each
of the actual roads or fraction of
roads, pro rata toc'their respective
mileage.
And I think it would be advisable
for the people of Abbeville county to
write or petition their delegation to
work comparatively in the framing of
the necessary amendment tp the act
of the 9th of March, 1920 to secure
the execution of the contemplated
program having in view the regrad'
ing and leveling of all the roads Of
Abbeville county.
From the statement in regard the
hilliness of Abbeville county due tc
it's many streams it must not be in
ferred that its topography is for il
cause of inferiority, far from it; il
places the county among the best
drained and 'healthiest of the coun
try, it multiplies the number of ou,
bottom lands which are our most val
liable ones, it gives to every farm
the advantage of we'll watered pas
lures and grazing lands, it provide:
for wood lots, it put the farmers Of
the county in a proper condition tc
meet the diversified farming which
is the farming of the future, and il