Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1922-03-29
State Department Competent And
Worthy To Handle Amy
Amount, Says Engineer

| That Georgia has state highway
department equal to any in the Unit
ed States; that it is competent and
i worthy to handle the proposed $751;
100000 state highway bond money,
or any other amount it may be trust
ed with as long as w. R. Neel is at
its head as state highway engineer
and the highway law stands; and
that the people Should see to it that
| the department is not permitted to
be disturbed under the influences
| that are likely to follow the voting
of such an amount OF money, was
the message brought to the people
| of Sumter county by w. A. Cross
J land, of Atlanta, federal highway
| engineer for Georgia, in a splendid
| address last night at the joint meet
ing of the members of the three civic
| clubs, held at the Windsor hotel. His
emphatic endorsement of the high
way department, he said, was the
first he had made publicly in such
/ terms because it was the first oecas-
ion at which Mr.. Neel had been alb
sent when he was speaking and he
felt he could praise him with bet
ter grace in his absence than in his
presence.
"The state department." said he
in the course of his talk, (which
Georgia has would be an honor to
any state. l want to say now in
answer to many inquiries, that it il
competent to handle the $75,000,-
600 of money, or $150,000,000, or
any amount you want to put in its
hands. The State of Georgia owes
monumental debt of gratitude to
W. r. Neel, your state highway engi-
! neer. He has studied your problems
by day and night, energetieally and
intelligently, and he will continue to
do so. But | want to tell you that
he needs your support. The depart
ment is properly organized and pro-
tected now, but it is up to the people
to see that no changes are made in
the organization and that the high
| way department be given full power
| to act and that its hands not be tied
| by politics. If you permit it to be
/ tampered with, it will go on the
| rocks, for where there is so much
| money to handle there are bound to
| be influences at work from the out
side. See that the highway depart
ment keeps its present powers in the
future and you can safely count on
this money being properly handled" :"
! The remarks concerning Mr. Neel
were vigorously applauded
| Would Decrease Taxes.
Mr. Grassland made the opening
address on good roads, and T. G..
Farmer, Jr., of Newman and Atlanta,
head of the Georgia Good Roads as
| sociation, went into the details of
the proposed state bond issue. Mr..
Farmers address was illuminative ia
the extreme and simplified the en-
tire proposal. He demonstrated to
the entire satisfaction of his hear
ers that the proposed bond issue not
only will not increase taxes, but that
| it will actually reduce taxes by re
ducing the road mileage in each coun-
ty which must be maintained local
| ly, thus requiring less county gen
eral road tax money.
Such a splendid impression did he
made that Sumter county's two rep
resentatives in the Georgia assemb-
ly-Messrs. Riley and Hines-stood
with the others present when r. S.
Oliver, of Plains, county commission
er, asked for an expression Of those
present on whether they could be
counted upon to support the bond is
sue. The first step in the bond is
sue will be the passage of a bill in
the assembly at the coming session
calling for constitutional amend
ment election this fall.
Mr.. Grassland outlined the de-
velopment of the good roads move
ment over the country, from its be-
ginning to the present, showing its
tremendous growth. he showed that
| Georgia now leads the nation in fed
eral aid money expended, although
other Southern states, except Ala
bama, which has recently passed a
$25, 100000 bond issue by an over
wheming vote, are far in the rear
of other states. He said Georgia
had the best state highway depart
ment law in the union at the time
it was enacted, but that since then
several other states had followed
with first class laws and organiza-
tions, none of them better, however,
than Georgia's.
Georgia Must Change.
He declared that there was no
doubt now that the federal govern
ment was permanently embarked
upon road building and would con-
tinue to vote money for federal aid
to the extent of the ability of the
states to use it He outlined the
past history of federal aid in Geor-
| gia, how the state had been securing
federal funds by using county mon
ey in the past. He quoted from the
recently enacted national highway
law, however, to show that this could
not continue, the government here
after requiring that states which
have no method of raising funds for
highway purposes being denied fed
erai funds after three years, period
of time granted through the inter-
cession Of State Engineer Neel, work
ing through Senator Watson, to en-
able Georgia to amend her constitu-
ton and make it possible to comply
with the federal regulations. He
said that had Mr.. Neel not been
wide awake and on the job every