The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-29
PEOPLES FORUM
A well Timed Editorial

To the Editor of The ge-HeraId:
 In recent issue of The Age Herald an editorial captioned "To the Legislature" appeared. the timely suggestions of which I wish to heartily indorse. You begin right. The hope of good govern ment rests almost entirely in the hands of our legislators, and when legislatures fail to make laws that will promote public in terest the country suffers the con sequences, whatever that may be. The legislature of 1919 made mistake in creating the cumber- some machine with which to oper- ate our state highway system. In the first place, it is an unwieIdly body, and in order to get anything done, it would have to make too many compromises with itself to do 1t. In the next place, the man ner of choosing it, going into each political division of the state for a member and perhaps one or two from the state at large, makes it look more like political than a business machine. In the next place, it Is an unsalaried body and no one can expect men to de- vote their best service to the pub lie without pay and the people suffer as a result. There are other reasons. in fact every potent req son that could be suggested is against the selection of a com mission for the supervision of a job of the magnitude of our state highway system whose chief qual- ifications depend upon the political divisions of the state, and their personal and political standing with the appointive power. There fore, I heartily agree with the edl- torial in its indorsement of the pill reducing the commission to three to be selected without reference to locality for their peculiar fit ness for the job, and put on a salary compensative dignity and efficiency becoming it, and in making the appointments on that commission overlook every politi- cal ana personal favorite. giving preference to men with character and ability; then if we don't get the desired results we had as well throw up the job, stop the manu- facture of the modern vehicle and revert to the old ox-wagon.
 Now. MT. Editor, before we can have anything like a modern and an efficient road system for the state, it is necessary to have some road legislation your editorial does not mention, in fact, no one so far has mentioned. That is q general state law that will make proper provisions for the con- struction and maintenance of the roads leading into and through every neighborhood in the coun- ties not touched by the state high ways The state highway system is not a general system. It spe- cializes on a set of highways mapped out by law to connect county seat to county seat of the several counties, and in border counties connect with some inn portant place in the adjoining states, and here the state highway program ends. The law will have to be changed before that program is changed: but. it will never be necessary to extend the super vision of the state highway com mission to these lateral roads. be- cause it has already mapped off much more than it has funds to accomplish unless there is another bond issue. Then, in order to have a system of highways that will accommodate the entire coun- try, 1t is necessary to have proper legislation establishing general system by which the counties in the state may provide modern highways for the accommodation of every neighborhood within their boundaries. One citizen. unless he is a bootlegger or some other species of outlaw, is as good as another and should share equally in public favors.
 The law the counties are trying to operate their road work under is as old as our statee and if public road improvement had
 Kept pace with our other institu-