Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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FIRST SAND CLAY ROAD. Supervisor Watson Tells Hon- He Was Indicted for lluilding the First Road in Marion County. I claim the unique honor of being the first man In South Carolina and, I believe, the first man in the world, to build a sand-clay road, for which service I was indicted in the criminal court, tried and convicted. The people whom it served Marion county, S. C., twenty years ago did not think highly of my road and were slow to accept it. Today Marion county has bonded itself for $100,000 to build sand clay roads. The United States government is sending its experts all over the nation, teaching the people how to build cheap sand clay roads. The method is destined to prevail all over the country. It was only ten years ago that the government got on to the advantages of the earth road and at that time the leading road authorities of the country gave it as their opinion that work on earth roads was worthless and was money thrown away. All that is away. All that is changed. But, to my experiences as a pioneer. More than twenty years ago 1 built the first sand-clay road in Marion county, S. C. It was called sand-clay because I dug up the clay and hauled sand to build the first road of this kind in the counw ty. The road was built on a very boggy place which was almost impassable. It was kept just barely passable by digging long ditches, owing to the lay of the land, had to be very long, emptying into a creek a considerable distance away. The road was then corduroyed with rails, poles and puncheons, with turf, mud and whatever could be found packed in between. It was not Pfl no thn uu nui.ii incce oi road in Marion county, hardest to keep up and most unsatisfactory all round. In the campaign before the election I had started on every stump in the county that I could build a good sand-clay road wherever I could get a good quality of sand and clay. I had discovered the method myself and felt sure that it would work anywhere, because it was sound in principle. The election came off and 1 won. This particular bad stretch of road wias selected for the trial and the sand-clay method, and a worse subject for treatment could not have been found in the world. It was considered an "impassable" place and there was much open scoffing and skepticism. I tackled this road, however, confident that I would win out and began by pulling out j all the poles, rails, puncheons and other corduroy material. Then, by throwing up clay from the sides of the road I got the road in shape, properly, and began hauling sand to put over the clay. I worked it in and then hauled still more, thus raising the road high in the mid* die. The foundation, owing to the boggy condition of the locality, was a wet, spring clay. When the first rain came trouble came right 51 lOTlcr ufitl* 1* ? - '' ... i J'- * * * o ".v.. ??., <uiu wunu s oi 1L. My road from one end to the other became a perfect mortar bed. The road had been well nigh impassable before and it was completely so now. Then came the indictment. The citizens who had the misfortune to be compelled to travel that road were up in arms. A mere indignant set of people never appealed to the courts of South Carolina for redress. The grand jury met and returned a true bill against me, charging that by improper methods f of road building that I had destroyed one of the public highways of the county, "against the peace and dignity of the State and the statute therein made and provided." My case came on and everything went against me. The juddment of the court was that I must put the road back like it was before and it was so ordered. In the opinion of the court, it was best to choose the lesser of the two evils. The old road was bad and the new one was much worse. Another feature of the judgment of the court was that I should put the road back as I found it at my own expense. But I never did a thing to that road. Pair weather came and it dried off and was in fine condition. There has been no necessity hi uo Hiiyining to it since and I have a photograph of It now showing it to be in fine condition after twenty years of continuous service. Just before another court came round the people petitioned the court to not have the road 1 had built changed and to allow me to make another demonstration of the j same kind. In their petition they stated that the road was in better shape than it had been before. The judge in granting the petition, said that i was the first man ' to be brought before him for working on the road, though many had been brought before him for not working the road and he said that ^ I chould certainly be allowed to ) -SyV'd other roads of the same kind. Understand, that I did not pitch In and do this road building along such new and radical lines offhand. It had all been carefully planned and worked out and I had experimented carefully for years. I knew what I was about and even when things seemed to be breaking against me, I never lost faith in the method. I first noticed the effects of combining sand and clay in building a mill dam and I followed it up until I was certain that the system would make good in road-building. I had no precedents to guide me and everv road-buildlne author ity in the land was against me, and I had to strike out alone. It may well be believed that the system created a commotion In Marion county. The event will go down in history as one of the livest periods in the country's history. Friends, relative, memberss of the same family, societies and churches ^ were divided on the question. Some thought that I was crazy and said so openly. Others said that I was born fifty years years ahead of my time and a few others thought my system practical and the thing to adopt. The fight was long and harrasslng. I left the county and the report got out that I had been run out of the county because of my heretical road views. Since tnat time, however, the value of the sand-clay road being fully demonstrated, my friends in Marion county have insisted on my coming back to the county about every four years to do other demonstration work, until Marion county now leads the State in road building and a bond issue of $100,000 has been voted to continue the building of sand-clay roads, the roads that 1 wanted to build for them twenty years ago. Since 1 did this pioneer work the | United States government has sent out to every section of civilized world experts to learn the secrets of I road building employed by the old(est and wisest countries in the | world and to find a practical method of road building. Uncle Sam i did not look for information from j "away down South in Dixie," but it was here that he found it after I many years' . search. It has been i but one decade since the discovery was made and the growth of the idea lias been astounding. I have now in my possession bulletins of the road department of Agriculture stating that work on earth roads was work thrown away and was entirely useless. These bulletins go on to tell how to build macadam i vau, v.uiuuruji ruuus wmi raws, i poles and puncheons, the same kind j of road that 1 had ordered thrown I away twenty years before. Now the United States Office of Public I Roads is teaching people everyI where how to build good roads and sand-clay roads are coming in for S the greater part of their atention. In Richland county, S. C., the i county in which is situated Columbia, the capital of the State, the I people caught the sand-clay idea I about ten years ago and they have i done fine work. They had the advantage of a number of other counties in that they had an immense J revenue from eight or ten dispensaries and had the use of convicts on the road as well. They have been doing some really fine work. The adojining counties, Marlboro Darlington and Florence, and Robei son county, N. C., caught on and i went to work. These counties have made wonderful success of it. In this article I have tried tc Stilto tVlo J -I ? . ~...vv V..Q tu\,U) I'lilllllJ ailU OIIIlpO so that the reader might have ai i.lea of how the sand-clay systen got its start and what bitter opposi lion it met with. I want to publish the whole story in a muc*? fullei form after awhile, giving the oil gin of the system, *he storv of m> fight for it, the orders of the court ' i#3titions, etc., that enlivened things j in Marion county twenty years ago The sand-clay road is here t( stay. It is a fact that sand am clay and water are the wors enemies that a good road has t< fight, when they are not mixed ii proportion. When properly mixet and shaped, they make the bes road in the world. It is the onlj j road in the world that will not wea out. The more you use a sand-cla: | road the better it gets. Of th< agencies that go to make it water i' jthe most Important and the mos essential. You can make a roa< j with mud clay and water. In short ! you can leave out any other of th< j ingredients named and make a road >|but you cannot leave out water Moisture you must have, in order t< j properly combine the mass. Fo U this reason put nothing in the roac 1 that will interfere with the work o j the water. It is my opinion tha | the water, where possible, had bes I come from beneath the road fo: [various reasons too numerous t< I mention here. 1 know that this i a feature of road building in whiel i other road builders and I do no agree. The highest authorities, ii fact, disagree with me, but I fee 1 sure that I can prove what 1 say ! and will stick to my assertion tha the most important feature is tin control of the moisture. I venturi the assertion that oiip hnif r>f th? funds used in road building i: thrown away by unnecessary ditch ing along the sides of the roads The special demonstration whicl got me into so much trouble wai done to show this very point ?1< prove that it could be done without expensive draining and side ditches Now, if this same material that hat | been forming a good road for twen ty years over this Marion count: bog had been on a sand hill or in t place, the materials would hav< been dissolved, cut up and turnee to dust long ago because of tin lack of moisture necessary to hole it together. The proportions put it that special stretch of road would make a good road anywhere else It can he readily seen, therefore that the proportion of the various materials that go to make the roac \ must be varied according to the amount of water that may he present. Sometime it is proper and practical to drain, for instance, ol the sand is scarce and drainage easy. The man who Says that he can build *i good road in certain set proportions without knowing the condition of the ground over which the road is to be built and without knowing the proportion of sand clay and water already in the soil simply does not know what he is talking about. Put him down as a j fakir. He must know just what > sort of top service he is dealing with and all about the sub-grade and foundation before he can form ?. wicit uyiuiuii uo IU {.lie HU1UU1II of materials needed to form a good j road. If he builds a good road by any other method he does it by 1 blind luck. AV*TO KII/TS TWO. Miss Bowman, of Humter and B. W*. Hcttis, of Trenton, I>ie In Auto Smash. Hendersonville, N. C., July 13? As the result of a deplorable aci cident, an automobile smash-up, ocJ i curring just after midnight on the Asheville road, about two miles out of Hendesonville, two young people, Miss Lenie Bowman, of Sumter, S. C., and Mr. Ben VV. Bettis, of Trenton, S. C., are dead, and Miss Mabel Bowman, sister of one of the victims, lies seriously injured in Hendersonville. The accident occurred while a party of eight, among which was Mrs. P. G. Bowrman, mother of the dead girl, was returning from a dance at the Lakcview Hotel, in the touring car of Mr. Bettis. The young owner was driving at the time when for some unknown reason, the car swered, skidded on the muddy clay, and went crushing down an eight-foot embankment. c Young Bettis was killed by a f ' blow across the back from the front d seat under which he was pinned. I and Miss Lenie Bowman was crush- ii ; ed under the rolling machine. Her li i sister was also badly injured. Mrs. I r ; Bowman was pinned under the rearji of the car, which had to be raised 1 1 prior to her removal. The remain- | ? ing members of the party escaped I t i with minor cuts and bruises. j / The bodies of the two young 1 t victims were shipped to their re- j a spective homes this morning from i Hendersonville. The wife of Dr. j \ > George Mood, of Charleston, was a 1 sister of young Bettis. ? ' RSKI They last a lifetime. They Inexpensive ? Suitable for all further detailed information ap local dealer or roofing < no. so n. 2 3rd -5t SCHOFIELD 1 i "Have Stood the ( I They have no superior in point of DU' I for Saw Mills, Oil Mills, Cotton G i B required. Write for pri ' [ M?e?Uc"re BOILERS. We can i I Constructed Boilers, ri i Sell SuppoHint Write today f R Sletl Stacks, , l Pu1';0rwosrt"t J- S. SCHOFIEU'S SONS C . t ______ Branch Oiiicc, 307 V S r i ?in i? an?an? ii niai i in > ? 1 A New Insuran i Participating policies at less u f bodied in the guaranteed fifty per r? the PHILADELPHIA LIFE IXSUR A This policy guarantees your n g price. t Guarantees a policy increasing i Guarantees a loan of SO per o front date of issue. e Guarantees the full amount of in case of death. 3 Guai antees paid-up cash surren d j <"ter the third year, f OTHER NOTABLE FEAT I t An individual account with e > Comjtany owned hy its policy I 0 A policy without restrictions. : W. H. L. McLAURIN, Di< 1 7 1 t I Prize Offers from Le P .... s ? Book on patents. "Hints ton | "Why some inventors fail." f i l search of Patent Office records. \ Acting Commissioner of Patenfc j, the U. S. Patent Office. : GREELEY& 1 Wash i ng i I I Are You : What makes you nervous? I womanly constitution, which c I hard work you do. As a resu your entire nervous system. I Cardui, the woman's tonic. ( I vegetable ingredients. It acts g I and helps tbera to do their pi I and restores health, in a natur; I source of the trouble and built TAKE ICardui Mrs. Orace Fortner, of I I This is what she says aboi I nervous, I could not bear to h, I fainting spells, and I lost flesh I of Cardui helped me. Now, I I fainting spells, and 1 cannot sa I know it saved my life." It is t Do you suffer from any of I Take Cardui. h will help you Wrtto to: LkW Advisory Dcot, Chafl | lor foetal lnstnu*om. and M-p?t book."Ho ' There were eight people in th ar taking a ride while returnin rom ljakeview Hotel, after th lance Misses Mabel and Leni Jowmen, with B. \V. Bettis, oceii ?ied the front seat. Those in th >ack seat were: Mrs. P. (J. Bow nan, Miss Mary Pitts, W. Han nond Bowman and Miss Jennett fenry. of Sumter; Miss Kos iharfson, of Allendale. Coming t he steep fill on the newly bui t^hevi lie-Henderson viile liighwa he driver saw a vehicle in froi aid gave room, going to the rigl t is said. The loose dirt cove vith the heavy machine, and befoi le could turn the car turtle latching the occupants under it. p"re Fireproof?Stormproof? I kinds of buildings. For >ply to CoRTWRIGHT MET/ 20MPANY PHI1.FDELPH1 A ?/ 1ES mBOILERS Test oT Timer? RABILITY and are Best AdopUi' Ins; in fact, where Hc-iry Duty is ices on Saw Mills, Shingle Milis,etc. y for immediate shipment the Best anging from 12 H. P. to 150 H. P. 'or our illustrated catalog. 0., Works and Head Office, NACDK, GL 'est Trade Street, Charleltt, K. C. ce Proposition. tian non-uartieinnt inir rates en cent. Mortuary Dividend Policy c iXC'E COMPANY. 18uranee for 15 or 20 years at l?al each year in value as claim, enu of the premium evei*y yea the policy besides paying the loa ler values and extendde insurant URKS OF THIS COMPANY. #ch policy of the comjiaiiy. lolders. itrit Agent, Latta, S.( SitS ading Manufacturers riventors." "inventions needed." Send rough sketch or model for Our .Mr. Greeley was formerly. >, and as such had full charge of liOlNTIRE^ ON, -D. C. Jg Nervous ? * It is the weakness of your annot stand the strain of the It, you break down, and ruin Don't keep this up! Take Tardui is made from purely :ently on the womanly organs, roper work. It relieves pain al manner, by going to the ling up the bodily strength. The Wo mans Tonic ulan, W. Va., took Cardui. it it: "I was so weak and SVf? flnvnm> npar I 1??/t ? - ? -mmmmj W..W ?*VMl ? ??V. A UUU t every day. The first dose I am entirely cured of the I y enough for Cardui, for I I he best tonic for women. H the pains peculiar to women? I . Ask your druggist anooea Metfidne Co.. Chattaaoofa, Tena, I m? Treatment lor Womem." aent ire*. J 90 I ... :| A SQUARE DEAL FOR DILLON COUNTY I e * * !* i- * At least one Life Insurance Company lias kept faith with * e ? its South Carolina policy-holders. * i?l ?*? o ? 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I PRICE 50c AND $1.00 PER BOTTLE BSiSOLD AND GUARANTEED EVANS' PHARMACY NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA RAILROAD NORTH & SOI TH CAROLINA RAILWAY Schedule of Passenger Trains. Effective Jan. 8, 1011. I 148 | 146 | 147 | 140 P.M. A.M. A.M. P.M. 8 30 9 15 Lv Hamlet Ar 7 65 | 6 40 9 08 9 53 Ar Gibscn Lv 7 18 I 6 03 937 1022 " Mcr'Aii 10 02 I 10 *1 " Clio ? ?211 Vn 10 26 | 11 10 Minturn 6 00 4 46 in -c ' J* " kittle Rock " 5 44 4 29 10 56 11 40 ' Dillon ? k ?n a ik 11 20 I 12 06 ? .. ? ?? * *5 i :| j i \i