» FINAL WORD
(Continue: from page 2.)
years will be hauled over level
earth roads with ruts and mud
it will cost us, according to Dr.
Pratt's table, SI, 727,290 in
terest and all, over and above
what it would cost to haul it
over good level sand-clay roads.
This is much more than was
figured in my last letter. But
in that letter I figured the dif
ference in the cost of hauling
over good roads and bad ones
away down below what Dr.
Pratt's table of costs will justify
and assumed that a team would
pull only twice as much over
good roads as it could pull over
bad ones. I did this on pur
pose that no one might think
my figures too big. And while
in this calculation I have figured
the difference in the cost of the
hauling much higher, I have
kept my figures within the
limits of Dr. Pratt's table. Here
then is a loss to our people in
the 30 years of §1,727,290, equal
to a yearly loss to our county of
a little over §57,576, or an
average yearly loss to each
township of a little over $7,197.
And remember, reader, that this
loss is on just the one item of
hauling tobacco and that we
have not figured it as being due
to pulling over steep or rising
grades, but to the bad surface
of roads on level grades. For
we have, for the sake of com
parison, assumed that thist 'bac
co would be hauled over level
roads having a surface of mud
and ruts. We have done this,
and figured from the outside
limits of the table of cost bear
ing on the matter, in order to
get the reader's mind fixed on
the part the surface of a road
plays in fixing the cost of haul
ing. Then if bad surface adds
such tremendous cost to the
hauling over level roads and is
a reason why people in tevel
counties should properly surface
their roads, should it not appeal
to us here in the hills with even
greater force ? For here the
teams have to pull not only
against the resistance of a bad
surface, but against heavy or
rising grades as well. So then,
instead of our hills being an
argument against our under
taking road improvement they
argue al' the more strongly that
we should make an effort to
properly surface our roads.
\ Tender Spot.
Reader, do you enjoy reading
the daily mail the rural carriers
are bringing you ? Would it
not hit you in a tender spot if
this pleasure, enjoyment and
source of information shou'd be
snatched away from you ?
Surely it would. Then listen :
Here is a quotation from a bul
letin sent out by the Postal De
partment :
"You are directed to inform
yourself with reference to the
condition of roads and bridges
on the rural routes out of your
office, and if you find that they
require improvement you should
present the matter in the strong
est and most positive way to the
patrons and road officials, in
forming them that improvements
must be made as soon as possible.
If, after a reasonable time has
elapsed, the improvements have
not been made or started, you
will report to this office in order
that action may be taken look
ing to the discontinuance of the
service.
The department is not 1 im
mediately concerned in elaborate
road improvement, but in the
interest of the best service to
the largest number of patrons,
it must insist upon the roads
being kept in good repair."
Bonds As Compared With Direct
Tax
It seems that some think that
instead of issuing bonds for
money to build our roads it
would be better to tax the peo
ple a certain amount to be ap
plied directly to the roads each
year, and thus avoid paying in
terest on bonds for money to do
the work. This seems to be
logic at first thought, and I
would be in favor of this method
if it would give us enough
money to build the roads at once
and do the work in such a way
as to be of lasting benefit. But
our people need good roads now,
and to build them piecemeal or
just a little one year and a little |
j the next and so on, it would be
many years before we would
j have good roads even if they
1 could be built in that way at all.
And it would cost us a great
deal more to keep a competent \
engineer or road expert with us i
from year to year than it would
to have him do all his work at
! once or as soon as possible and
;be done with it. When the
i roads are completed in this way
the people get the benefit of
j them almost at once, and they
| last longer by reason of com
pleted work than they would to
do just a little work on them
now and then. I have already
stated that Governor Sanders j
of Louisiana said that the free |
labor system and this way of
making annual appropriations to
be spent directly on road im
provement had been in use in
that State for 100 years, and
that under these systems they
had, in the last twenty years
wasted enough mqney to build j
permanent highways from one j
end of the State to the other, |
and no roads yet. (This was I
said a few years back.)
Counties do not build court
houses and bridges just a little
at a time. If they have not got
the money to pay down for them
they issue bonds for money to
build them so the people can i
begin to use them, and they pay
for them afterwards. It would
not be the part of wisdom to pay
carpenters to do a little work on
a court house or bridge and then
let them stop till they could get
more money to pay them to do a
little more work. The building
would deteriorate and possibly j
rot down before it would be
finished, and just so with our
roads we should finish them as
we go. And hence the need of (
bonds to enable us to do the j
work properly. ,
I understand that some who
oppose the bond issue have sug- |
gested that a tax of $1.50 be put (
on the poll and 50 cents on each (
*IOO property valuation, and be j
applied to road improvement, i
But it seems to us that this is i
more than our bonds here in ,
Yadkin township will cost us.
We will figure a little along this
line. But we will not put the .
tax on the poll as high as 51.50
as has been suggested, but at 
one dollar, and we will put it at
50 cents on each SIOO property :
valuation. These are the figures
representing the rate of tax an
other good farmer tried who .
seems to be against the proposed
bond issue, says he is willing to .
pay for good roads. Now we i
nave as I understand a little
over SBOO,OOO property valuation
in our township. But we w:l
count it at only SBOO.OOO. And .
we have at least 500 taxable j
polls in the townfhip. So we (
will take these figures and the
suggested tax rate as a basis
from which to make our calcula- j
tion. Our bond issue is for :
550.U00. And while we think i
the bonds could be placed at 5 ,
per cent, we will figure the in- |
terest on them at 6 per cent. ,
Tnis would at the end of the 30 '
years amount to $90,000, mak
ing $140,000 principal and all.
This sum is large and looks
scary to some. Yet, if the tax
on our property and polls is .
levied at the rate some of those t
who are opposing the bonds say c
they are willing to pay for good
roads and is set aside as collect
ed and put at interest as a kind '
of sinking fund, it will, at the >
end of the 30 years, pay pay off I
the bonds interest and all and j
leave us $116,500. Besides, we a
would have the roads the SSO,- .
000 borrowed money would 1
buiid. With this $116,500 we
could pay $20,000 for collecting t
and machinery, §5,000 for an j
engineer, s'2s per mile per year t
for the up keep of 50 miles of
the roads built, and have $54,-
000 left to pay supervisors and t
build more roads. So you see i
reader, that the bond and sink-! f
ing fund plan would enable us' c
to do all tnis work with even 1 .
less tax than some of those who f
are fighting the bond issue say, B
they are willing to pay for good a
roads. I know they claim that i g
too much of the money would go f
out of the county as interest on
the bonds to get a little spent }
on the roads in the county. But •
this so-called waste is more apt
parent than real. What mat- c
tersittousof Yadkin township j.
if we do pay out $90,000 interest
on our $50,000 bond issqe if we
get back $121,500 interest on I
our own money, or $31,500 more i
THE DANttURY REPORTER
I interest than we pay out ? And
this is just what we would get
back, even if our property value
should not increase another dol
lar, and the present valuation be
taxed at the rate some who op
pose the bond measure say they
are willing to pay. But reader,
jdo not understand that I am
I claiming that in case the bonds
are voted, just such a tax rate
will be levied and such sinking
fund provided as I have figured
from in the above calculation.
I have made the calculation
simply to show that the bond
method will give us the roads
sooner, and need not cost us as
much tax as some of our op
posers say they are willing to
pay and that the interest we
would pay on the bonds would
not bo so much a real loss as an
apparent one.
| Hon. Logan Waller Page, Di
rector Office Public Roads U. S.
Dept. Agriculture, after speak
ing of the great financial benefits
resulting from good roads, said :
"But there are other elements
which more urgently recommend
the improvement of our roads.
Advantages which deserve far
more serious consideration than
| any financial advantages which
jwe may gain, and which cannot
!be measured by any monetary
; standard, but must be looked for
in the elevation of citizenship
and the moral and intellectual
advancement of our people. * * *
They live apart from each other
and have no roads such as afford
easy and convenient means of
transacting business, of social
intercourse, and regular attend
ance upon church and school.
To them will flow the maximum
of benefits from improved roads.
Improved roads will bring them
in closer touch with the centers
of progress. It will give them
enlarged ideas and assist them
to adopt the new methods which
are so necessary for them to keep
pace with the march of progress
along other lines, and as they
advance, so will civilization.
As they advance, so will our en
tire country, and in equal ratio.
"Good roads will revolutionize
our country schools. Contrast the
lot of the country child on his
way to school in winter with that
of the child with only a few
blocks of paved streets to walk, j
Our country child, with satchel'
over shoulders and lunch basket
in hand, must leave the cheerful
home from half an hour to an
hour before school opens in order
to be there on time. The roads
are wet and muddy many months
of the year. The country is
open and the cold winds are
unmerciful in their attacks upon
him. So that, by the time he
reaches the school house, which
is often unscientifically ventilat
ed and poorly heated, his feet are
so cold and his body so chilled
that he is unfit for study or
recitation most of the day. and
the exposure and chilling of the
bodv invite pneumonia and other
diseases,
I cannot close this letter with
out giving a short article from
Henry Wallace, Editor of a -
lace's Farmer. Mr. Wallace,
(Uncle Henry as he is called),
was a member of the Commis
sion appointed by President
Roosevelt to investigate or look
into the condition of country life.
And on matters pertaining to
agriculture and rural life he is
considered one of the foremost
authorities in the United States.
The article follows :
Married Land.
"That is a ver beautiful
picture of an ideal rural civiliza
tion that the prophet Isaiah
draws in the 62nd chapter:
"Thou shalt no more be term
ed Forsaken; neither shall thy
land any more be termed Deso
late; but thou shalt be called
Hephzibar (my delight is in her)
and thy land Beulah (married).
For as a young man marrieth a
virgin, so shall thy sons marry
thee: and as the bridegroom re
joiceth over the bride, so shall
thy God rejoice over thee."
Married land : a farm in which
the owner acts : "My delight is
in thee." Is not this a beauti
ful conception of the real, first
class, up-to-date farmer toward
his farm ? That farm is not for
sale. He expects to live there
all his life. He expects it to
grow more beautiful and more
fruitful every year. He is not
thinking of giving it up to go
into a new country, nor to move
to town. He knows every foot
of that farm, what it can raistf
best, and what will give him the
greatest profit. He dresses his
farm as a wise man dresses his
wife, not for display but for
comfort and utility, and to bring
out her best in spirit as well as
looks. His fences are practical
and always kept in repair. His
barn is a model of comfort for
live stock, his house a home and
place of comfort for himself and
his family. The plan of his
house is not for display, nor yet
unlovely. His lawn is always
kept trimmed. He has a well
kept orchard. There is a flower
garden as well as a vegetable
garden. He has an eye to the
artistic and the beautiful as well
as the useful and practical.
"This is a married farm. We
see them now and then; not per
fect but showing that the man
has an ideal which he is striving
to reach from year to year. The
married farms are examples—
preachers of good farming to the
entire neighborhood. It may be
taken for granted that it is not
owned by a speculator nor is it
for sale or for trade. The man
who lives there expects to live
there and die there, and be car
ried out by his children and
friends to God's acre to rest un
til he has an opportunity to take
part in the ideal civilization,
whether in this world or another.
"Perhaps in the same neigh
borhood, and almost certainly in
the same township, you will find
the desolate farm, owned, it may
be, by a man who is not married
to the land. He does not like
farming. He would like to trade
his farm for a dry goods store or
a grocery store or for wild land
out west. He is getting all he
can out of it, selling all he pos
sibly can for all he can get for it.
Possibly this desolate farm is
owned by some speculator, who
has entered into a contract with
a one-year tenant, the main ob
ject of that contract being to
render that land desolate and di
vide the proceeds between them.
That's what a one-year lease
means : a contract to ren'V*
desolate the farm that is leased
You are cordially invited
to attend our
MILLINERY
OPENING
TO BE HELD AT
OUR STORE
SATURDAY and MONDAY
March 29th and 31 st.
Our Milliners have visited the northern
markets and have purchased one of the
handsomest lines of
Millinery, Dress Goods, Trim
mings, etc.,
that it was possible to buy.
We shall look for you and don't forget that
a cordial welcome awaits you.
McGEHEE AND COMPANY,
MADISON, NORTH CAROLINA.
The renter usually gets the blame
for that, and often unjustly; for
if he is to live at all and support
his family he must rob the land
and render it desolate. Look
around you and see how rany
married farms there are in your
neighborhood, a d how many
desolate, or becoming so. Don't
lay all the blame on the renter;
for the poor fellow is doing what
he has a legal right to do, and
doing it to the best of his ability;
and the landlord who consents to
the rape of the land, compelling
the tenant to grow grain and
nothing else is a sharer in ren
dering it desolate."
I trust the reader will excuse
this appa:ent digression from
my subject. I have made it to
lead up to the thought I wish to
impress. Mr. Wallace's idea is
that the married furms are those
the characteristics and surround
ings of which are so attractive
ana enticing the farmers are
loath to part from them, but de
light in and rejoice over them
as the bridegroom rejoiceth over
the bride. Whej e this splendid
relationship exL«ts between the
farmer and his farm, the earth
yields its increase and there is
contentment and plenty; for the
husbandman is married to the
land and bends his energies to
bring forth the fruits thereof.
But can this relationship exist
where the products of our farms
are shut off from market by al
most impassible stretches of
slush and mud ? You may be
married to your farm, reader,
but the time will come when by
reason of age aid decrepitude
you will be divorced from it.
Then you would like for your
children or some good tenants to
be married to it and care for you
and it as you would have it cared
for. But you could not reasona
bly expect this if you have not
the advantages of good roads.
Some time back the Governor
of New Hampshire said : "Since
the construction of a system of
good roads throughout the State
during the last five years, nearly
all of the abandoned farms in
New Hampshire or at least the
majority of th m, are now in a
state of cultivation."
In conclusion, I will say to you
reader, that I have studied these
things seriously and hor.estly,
; and tried to tell you just how I
j see them. And I trust that no
unkind feelings will be engen
i dered by anything I have said.
| And remember that if the pro
-1 posed bonds are voted we will
carry the burden, whether heavy
:or light, for the sake of a noble
cause. All we want is for you
to inform yourself as best you
can on the subject and continue
to study it, and then be governed
by your conscience when you go
to vote. If you feel that you
should vote against the bonds
why then vote against them.
But if you should feel that you
should vote for them, it would
be your duty to go out and vote
for them, and not stay at home,
or not vote at all.
W. A. PETREE.
Mr. A. P. Adams and son,
of Sandy Ridge Route 1, were
here Saturday on their way to
Walnut Cove. On the way
there Mr. Adams in trying to
drive around a bad mud hole in
the road hit a stump and had
considerable trouble in getting
his buggy extricated, narrowly
averting a more serious accident.
Mrs. J. D. Humphreys is visit
ing her parents, Rev. and Mrs.
D. A. Binkle.v, at Lewisville,
Forsyth county.
Mr. Thomas S. Petree, of
Walnut Cove, spent Sunday here
with home folks.
Nice fresh milch cow for sale
at J. Walter Tuttle's, King Route
1. tf.
RATSDEATH-SCIENTIFIC PRE
PARATION TO PLEASE RATS
TASTE AND KILL SLYEST OF
THEM ALL. RATSDEATH IS
THE BEST FRIEND OF POUL
TRY AND GRAIN KEEPERS.
IT CLEARS RATS AND MICE
LIKE MAGIC, DRIVES THEM
OUT TO DIE AND LEAVES NO
SMELL FROM DEAD ONES.
PRICE 10c Address POST BOX
"Y". DANBURY. N. C