The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1956-08-17
CoNFIsCATIoN FOR COMFORT
BIZ VICTOR MEEkINS

There are a lot of things done
nowadays that amount to confis-
cation of private property without
just compensation. There is, in the
name of progress much destruction
of private business, the destroying
the livelihood of people and moth
ing is paid them.
Let us look at the business of
building short cuts around the
towns of the state, which nova
days seems the rule, without due
consideration to the damage done
many innocent people. 1t doesn't
seem quite fair, to take the road
away from the town only for the
briefest convenience and comfort
of tourists, at the expense of a
few people whose living has long
depended on businesses built to
serve the needs of this route.
Many of those people who have
been put out of business by the
ruthless moving of highways from
their door, have put their life
savings, and sometimes their life
work into such businesses. sSome
people are in debt for them,-ob-
ligated for many years to come,
and their only hope to discharge
such debt was in the operation of
a business that has been destroyed.
Take an instance at Scranton,
N. C. The State Highway Com
mission wished to 4 straight
en- out road. To do so required
the building of a new bridge. A
cheaper bridge could have been
built to the westward a few yards
from the old one and lot of road
saved. A lot of money could have
been saved on these projects that
would have paid for a job some
other place. No one would have
been hurt.
But one selfish owning COM
pany of logging operation OBJ
jected because it would be of some
inconvenience to them. The high
way officials were more interested
in catering to the big corporation
than in the citizens along the road.
They moved out of the way of the
logging operation, spent thousands
of dollars nee llessly, now, long
before the road job is finished,
the logging operation has long
since ceased operating and has
moved away. 1t doesn't plan to
come back.
But four business houses had to
fold up. Their owners had to go
elsewhere to look for a living.
One of the businesses was an eX-
ceptionally fine place-a credit to
it's locality, newly built in modern
style, of plate glass and masonry.
Many thousands of dollars We're
lost here.
We think roads should be built
to serve the people who live on
them, more than they should be
built to enable tourists to get
some place. The primary object
of road building was to open a
fuller and finer life for our citi-
zens, for those who had so long
been isolated and unable to cope
with communities and citizens in
more favored localities, who had
good roads to take them to mar
ket; who had good roads for Gus
toners to get to their doors.
In many communities, some of
the best features are being de-
stroyed by this ruthless relocation
of roads by people who are un-
familiar with a locality, and its
needs, Engineers who have no in
test, saving the cold-blooded in
stinct of following a slide-rule and
a book to the letter. Actually, we
see very little desire for economy,
but more often the tendency is
toward waste. A common sense
examination of many road prof
ects in our area, reveals tremen-
dous waste; needless waste, just
as in the case at Scranton, where
a road was made to cost many
times more than was necessary
to please a pudpwood company
probably company with q COCO
political lawyer.
Take another instance witnessed
this week. Due to faulty drainage
installed on a highway, under SUI
pervision and plans of state roaC
engineers, homes in some section:
were flooded by the great volum,
of water brought down by the
highway from miles on either side
Any farmer could have done ;
better job on this drainage in.
stalled in sandy soil which has
long since clogged up. The resi-
dents beside the road suffered fl
nancial loss and inconvenience b!
this stupidity. But nobody is go
ing to pay them for it.
son, Anthony, visited in Elizabetl