Year: 1878

1t seems a work of supereroga.


tion to say anything to the wide.


awake, progressive people of Giles


county in regard to her material in.


terests; and yet they are negleeting


one thing that would do more to


drive hard times from our borders


than anything else that could be


done. OF course the improvement


l speak of per Sc would not effect


this. 1t would be the ultimate re-


suit accruing therefrom. Good


roads are essential to the well being


of any county, L care not how fa-


vorable all things else may be; and


yet it is a lamentable TACT that there


is not single mile of first-class


road in our county. Giles is noted


for her beautiful, accompli shed and


lovely daughters; her intelligent,


wide-awake, perseverIng sons; her


magnificent, fertile valleys and pro-


ductive hills, and her rough, rocky,
quilted, miserable and almost i'm


passable roads. This should not


be. There ought to be good mac


adamized road leading from Pulaski
to every corner of the county, con
Meeting every village, hamlet and
crossroads store with it's neighbor,
and especially with the county seat.


If such were the case, emigrants
would pour into our county, bring
more or less money, vim and enter
prise to help develop our resources.
Then would Giles (the garden spot
of Tennessee) bloom as the rose,
and hard times take their flight for
ever. Several years ago the want
of seven miles of good road lost us
one of the most fertile districts of
the county. Now, wisdom does not
consist in not making mistake,
but in not making the same one
twice. Let US take warning.


1t is useless to mention the thou
sands of dollars that are lost to Pu-
laski annually by produce seeking
other more accessible markets, but
not better ones. Cause, bad roads.
| saw a gentleman recently from
Ohio with $4,000 to invest in Ten
nessee lands. He said he liked
Giles better than any county he had
seen, and but for her lack of good
roads he would surely invest here,
but as it was he would look further.


Now our road laws are defective,
and as we are soon to elect new
members to the Legislature, per-
haps we can have this matter RENE
died there. The workhouse system
has not helped the matter, as every
foot of road built costs the county
more than it could be built for by
contract (or L have been so in
formed }, and, besides, we will soon
be in the condition of the farmer on
the "Sewanee river" as to our work
house force-have "two everseers
and one poor niger" Under the
present road law every able bodied
man within the prescribed age has
to work the road ten days during
the year. This at 80 cents per day
is road tax of So per annum (and
any Iaborer can get so cents per day
for work on the farm by the single
days work.. With such a tax as
this we are still without roads. |
Now my plan is this: Put a poll tax
of one or two dollars upon every
tax payer in the county for road |
and as more benefit will |
accrue to the land owners than to |
the poll tax payer from good roads,
put a moderate property tax for
roads. Draw up specifications and
let the contract out to the lowest
bidder at so much per
mile, no road to be paid for until re
by competent committee.
Then, if it is deemed advisable by
the next Legislature to continue
the present workhouse force, hire
the prisoners out to the highest bid
der for working roads, and let him
furnish guards, &c.


By this plan we can have half
dozen roads in course of construc-
ton at one time. Have the princi-
pic roads improved first, and those
Of less Importance at a later date.
In this way we can soon have good
roads at half the present cost of no
roads at all. 1t may, and probably
will, require an act of the Legisla-
,ure to accomplish this, but let our
next Representatives be instructed
10 have some such law enacted, if
not for the entire State, at least for
our county.


Now, Mr.. Editor, these ideas are
very crude, and if they can be i'm
proved upon by a more fertile pen
han mine, then my aim will have
been accomplished, as our great
need is good roads. OBSERVER.


Pulaski, Aug. 18th.