Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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\ w* / THE LEDGER. Tuesday and Friday, DeCamp, Editor and Publisher, W. Griffith. Local Editor. MECKLENBURG'S GOOD ROADS The following concerning the good road? of Mecklenburg, which were vis ited last Wednesday by a delegation from this county, is taken from the sixth edition of “Sketches of C\iar lotie,” edited and compiled by Mr Wade R. Harris, editor of the Char lotte Evening Chronicle: “Mecklenburg county was the orig inator of the good roads movement in North Carolina, and the system adopt ed and prosecuted by tl\is county is in recognized as the one that has come nearest to the satisfactory solution of the good roads problem. A number of visits have been made to Char lotte by investigating committees for State legislatures and from various counties, and these committees have not only traveled over these good roads, but have seen the operation of good road building in all its .stages. A road builders’ congress was held in Charlotte on July 11th, 12th, 13th and lltlh, 1900, at which addresses were made by Gen. Roy Slone and M. O. Eldredge, of the road inquiry bu reau of the agricultural department at Washington. Prof. J. A. Holmes, the State geologist of North Carolina, was the leading spirit of the congress. The Observer’s report says: ‘Every section of North Carolina which is now doing any good road building, as well as many sections of South Caroli na, had representatives at this con gress, thus manifesting that a pro gressive and determined spirit is abroad. Especially will this appear more fully when it is remembered that Chester, Newberry, Greenville, York. Edgefield, Anderson and othe 1 * South Carolina counties, as well as such representative North Carolina communities as Cabarrus, Asheville, Morganton, Gillford, Statesville, Wil mington, Burlington, Fayetteville, Wadesboro. Tarboro, Forsyth, Greens boro, Salisbury Orange. Haywood Rowan, Buncombe, Iredell, were rep resented in the congress. These com munities practically include all the section of the Carolinas which are now giving attention to the construct ion of modern public roads. Road en gineers, county commissioners, road supervisors, street superintendents, cotton mill men and many others, deeply interested in the material wel fare of this section, composed the per sonnel of this road builders’ institute. All these saw modern scientific roan building in actual progress, and were surprised to learn that the people of this community were so absolutely a unit in favor of the system now in on- 'jniiT- : ' “ - '"' a . as well as a unit in favor of the tax which supports and furthers such road construction.’ Along with the advent of good roads, the farmers have caught the spirit of the times, and have improved their dwellings, and made their surround ings home-like an 1 nt'Motive. Instead of cattle pastures long iae waysides, there are shaded lawns of luxuriant blue grass; yards, formerly barren, are now carpeted with grass and adorned with flowers. One farmer to the easi of town, in appreciation of a good road through his plantation, set out [ trees along both sides of the road, j turfed the emba ikment with grass and lined the road between the trees with roses-and other flowers, and that par- tb ihir stretch'o:' ro..' a ,• a summer day. is as nretty as a picSTTtv By long odds the best description of tk', go roads movement in Mock- lenburu < unity—its inception and its progr. ss by stages from a crude be ginning o its .present state of per fection—is given in an illustrated pamphlet, which was issued last year by Mr. IV \. Tompkins, who lias taken groat inter* st in this ubject, and who is the best posted man on good road! : hings building in the country. Mr. Tomp kins’ pamphlet, which is copywrighted, lias created a great deal of interest, and the information which follows is given by his permission. Alter giv ing the history of the origin of the good roads movement in Mecklenburg Mr. Tou pkias goes Into the details of construction and cost. It may he stated in a general way, that the cost of a road outfit is about $3,000, and consists ot a steam roller, crusher, bins, j irtn> lo engine road machine, and a screen made of boiler elate, perforated t> separate the crushgil Btone in to three sizes. The city of Charlotte owns a road outfit, Charlotte township c vn one, and the county commissioners own two. The stone is broken or crushed, and senarated by the screen into three sizes, the largest being about 1 1-2 inches square In practice the coarser stone the greatest distance to and from work is about two miles. The aver age distance is about one mile. At present it is regarded as more econom ical to have fifty to sixty convicts in a camp, as that number is all that is needed to manage one road-making outfit. The macadam roads that were built in Mecklenburg fifteen years ago cost between $2,700 and $4,000 per mile, according to the amount and kind of grading required. The roads now_cost from $1,600 to $2,500 per mile, exclus ive of bridges. The present count*/ road tax in Mecklenburg is 18 cents on the $100 taxable property. This raises nearly $20,000 each year. This fund is ex pended in building macadam roads working convicts, as explained above. In addition to this tax, each township levies a special road tax, usually 7 cents on the $100 worth of property. But some of the townships levy more than this, notably Steel Creek, Berry- hill and Providence, which levy 15 cents, and Paw Creek, which levies 121-2 cents. All the road funds of the townships are expended under the direction of the township trustees in improving the roads within their sev eral territories. In addition to the $20,000 road fund raised last year by the 18 cents tax, the county commis sioners of Mecklenburg supplemented the fund to the extent of about $13,- 000. This enabled the county com missioners to spend nearly $34,000 in building macadam roads alone. “Mecklenburg county now has about 140 miles of macadam roads. Forty miles of this 140 miles are in Char lotte township, but all the roads lead- from the city of Charlotte are be- which goes to show that there were greater possibilities to operate blind tigers under the dispensary law than there are under the prohibition law. ing rapidly macadamized and improv ed. The making of good roads does not depend on the possession of any special material, such as the so-called granite in Mecklenburg county. In every locality in the Fnited States there may be found good material of various kinds for making roads. The principal point Is the proper separa tion and application of these mate rials. Good roads may be built of clay, limestone, gravel, shells, sand stone, or any other stone available. The first requisite is drainage. This is usually by ditches on each side of the road, but a vast improvement is the addition of a drain under the cen ter of the road. This should be made of a porous tiling. The next requisite is the assorting of the material, the largest pieces being put at the bot tom, the smallest at top; being finally dressed with the road roller. There are fifteen townships in Mecklenburg county. These townships build no macadam roads, but keep in repair those built by the county, and also keep the dirt roads in repair. Only free labor Is employed by the town ships. In Mecklenburg qounty it Is considered important to avoid small wooden bridges, and to use terra-cotta drains instead. It is also believed that a depth of five inches of macadam would give as good service as the nine inches now used, if broad-tired vehicles were insisted upon, and need ed repairs were made upon the first appearance of a break. A high au thority estimates the value of good roads at $1.25 per year per acre of urrounding land, and that this amount per acre would pay for all the roads in one year.” Message from Mountain Top. (Waynesville Courier.) Dr. A. M. Simms, of Gaffney, S. C., occupied his brother’s pulpit last Sun day at the Baptist church. Dr. Simms always preaches well. His sermon on this occasion was a message of great practicality and Intensely interesting, drawn from nature. The message came to him, he said, recently while on top of Sugar Loaf Mountain. Dr. Simms made graphic the difficulties over muddy, rough roads, through gloom and mist, in getting to the top of the mountain. Then he described in his inimitable way, the beauty and charm of the landscape, all around, from that, lofty height. Three lessons. Dr* Simms drew from that landscape: First, the road he came over did not look like it did when he came over it. Thus it was when we looked back over life: second, he noticed shadows moving out there on the landscape, like men and women in this world, some fast and some sloj^. Sorrows and shadows come in and over our lives, but they will pa,ss and be lifted by and by, and sunshine and gladness will come into our hearts. Third, the higher we ascend a moun tain the broader our vision. So it is in life. We want to be lifted above the low grounds of selfishness and sin into spiritual heights. Life is a climb. Lastly, that the question ran through Iris mind: "Which way is home?” This was the great question with all of us, “Which way is home, our final, eternal home?” It was a most helpful sermon and made a deep impression on the con gregation. Stationery. CO A Worthy Compliment. (Blacksburg Chronicle.) Cherokee appreciates the honor con ferred upon her in the selection of Hon. R. C. Sarratt as one of the vice- presidents of the farmers’ congress. Mr. Sarratt will serve with credit to himself and his county. He is enthu siastic in his work for the farmer and is doing a great deal for bettering the condition of the farmer. MILLINERY OPENING Wednesday and Thursday, September 27th and 28th. You are cordially invited to attend. We will have on display a nice se lection of Pattern Hats, which we shall be glad to show you. No cards will be sent. Miss Mary Alice Piek will have! charge of this department this sea son. She was trimmer for Mrs. A. S. Osborne, of Spartanburg, the past two seasons. She comes highly recom mended by the best trade of the Spartan city. W. J. WILKINS & CO.. Gaffney, S. C. Now is the time to come to us for Chil dren’s school requis ites, Tablets, Pens, Pencils, and Eras ers, and Combina- t i o n boxes and everything the boy or girl needs to com plete the school bag. We have also a com plete line of dainty note paper in boxes or by the pound with envel- opes to match for ladies’ use, all tints, plain or hemstitch ed. The mainstay of social correspon dence. Come in and look through our line. It’s only a pleasure to show what we have. co CO CO Buggies and Wagons. GAFFNEY HARDWARE GO., R.. O. Sams, Manager, Gaffney t South Carolina^ Tom Clarkson, who lias had experi ence with Wagons, Buggies, etc., is with us and will be glad to see his friends and show them through our stock. : : (TQ Paints and Oils. D. C. ROSS, President. J. A. CARROLL, Vice-Prest. MAYNARD SMYMH,’.Cashier. CHAS. W. HAMES, Ass’t. Cash. i The 4 Gaffney Drug Compy. R. C. GARLAND, Mgr. Opposite Hotels and Depot. The National Bank of Gaffney I Caraffney, £-5. O. State, City and County Depository. = We shall endeavor to make it both agreeable and I profitable for you to do business.with^us. William Jefferies, R. M. Wilkins, Henry M. McAden, DIRECTORS: J. A. Carroll, B. L. Hames, Maynard smyth, D. C. Ross. T. M. Littlejohn, W. C. Carpenter, C. W. Whisonant, NOTES AND CuMME 4X8. Welcome, young ladies, to Lime* ,iont‘. You have no more sincere well- wisher than The Ledger that the pres ent session may prove the most enjoy able and profitable in your life and the life of Limestone. • « * Senator Tillman announced at Uatesburg Saturday that he would fight out the dispensary question on the slump next summer. One of two are certain, and that is if Sen ator Tillman insists on clinging to the dispensary and the people remain in their present state of mind in regard to that institution lie will be nihms a sea) in the United States senate. Bet ter drop the dispensary. Senator, or else you might get your fingers burned. • • • For Sale NOTICE OF FINAL DISCHARGE. Notice is hereby given that I will apply to Hon. J. E. Webster, Probate Judge of sai.l county, at his office at the court house in Gaffney, S. 0., on Thursday, October 26, 19(»5, at Id o'clock A. M., for final settlement and discharge as Administrator of the es-j -rate of Giles Thompson, deceased. All persons bolding claims v against! iia jiere r.irm, m w 7 room house, a i -aid estate, must present them on or I • 1 s,<,r y* < 1,: irii. poultry vanl. ctN; price ! miles I i i,.,,, ,,,. ,hr.v will 1,0 for r ,ll,,,| . II s Heri' farm ('»oacres in (me from i cloie that (lau oi tm } w.ll oe lor j tinilter. f-ll.oOper iicnr J (infy as.> acre farm. f.’u.<lO per acre. lit acre farm in Yorkvllles'.’7.50 per acre. gr.! acre farm sLM.nn per acre a [.ot ?d\100. :i miles from l’ houses. I hloek fllOO. ( Gaffney. I tja acre farm. sg.’.OO per acre J farm >14 per acre ^ ti miles from 1 Gaffney, lilt acre farm, FARMERS MUTUAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION, OF CHEROKEE COUNTY, S. C. - i act . At the end of the third year the insurance in force aggregated 5190,780 00 Increase from March 2nd, 1901, to August ist, 1905 127.154 00 Total Insurance in force August ist, 1905 ever barred. ‘administrator September 2 Sept. 20: Oct. R. S. Lipscomb, of Estate of Giles Thompson, deceased. 3, 1905. 10. 17, 24. it “i 10.00 I: acres fl00.no pi r acre. I.’‘i acri simproved good bouse et in Gaffney. , acre farm miles from Henrietta and j CTiffsIde, ““ aeiesof it in tember. >1(1.M per | acre. Total amount of receipts for the whole period Total amount paid out for losses Total amount paid out for expenses, etc . Amount cash on hand August 1st, *905 . .... Total 5317.934 00 54,353 46 a ml LOTS. old Hotel property. S room house jhlfHelNI. Lot HUx'.’nO; lar, fg-CCMK). Fine t; room house, newly finished. >1,sen. Lot ?jxi:c>, I900IKI down. TH-acre farm. fl.iiaO; 2 yeni s to pay for It 4 acres :i blocks from depot $:i,:tee.en. Lot SdxL’eO, west end. f Go.oo. Lot 'i'/t acres 4 room housefte5e no. 52,366 25 1,166 74 820 47 54,353 46 This Company is purely assessment, therefore purely co-operative and mutual, | and insures against loss of property by fire, lightning, cyclones, tornadoes or wind Itlacksburg ' storms. It gives protection at .actual cost, It complies strictly with its contracts. - All losses are p;#d promptly. It’s policies are backed by over 5500,000 worth of property. Now is the time to insure. J. EB JEFFERIES, Secty. and Treas. Wo do not presume fhai the press 1 of South Carolina means to even haw the appearance of dictating to Govern or Heyward in the matter of the mur der of Allen Pendleton near Honea Path, on the 17th inst.., but we be Hove it is offering some mighty good 1 advice. Rowdy white men should bo undo to respect a peaceful negro just j Lot 1H5 feet by :.’nn, :t blocks from depot,FigO Lot 200x200, 4 blocks fr< m depot, $7n0 00. , Fine (5 room house, newly finished near graded school. | 4 tine houses and lots near depot. Prices reasonable. R. M. GAFFNEY, President. R. Parish. loss bv tweidenf. sick ness, tiro, storms, and leave your fa in ; I v comfort a b! v ‘ * fi xed’ ’ „ s much as a rowdy negro is made to is laid on the bottom to a dept a of j A, four Inches: the second size is laid! r0 ^ ect * w ‘* iu * n,an Thv ' " thick, and the fim- a top dressing of Each layer is next, thre * inches BUtff is used for about two incites roll- | as laid. ‘Originally the county roads were constructed by rounding tip the road bed, cutting drain ditches on either side, * .w.v.cing the centre to a width of twelve feet, nine inches in depth, and then filling in the excavated por tion with done, broken by hand on the road bed. The system has now been developed until not only is the stone broken by steam power, but the roads are often re-located ami graded, becoming practically new roads. The stone used In macadamizing is mostly furnished by the farmers after 1 hey have finished cultivating their crops. The price paid to them is 40 cents p ercubic yard. The stone is delivered by them and stacked up at convenient points on the road. As ha.--, alr ' tdy been said, the working of the convicts on the roads Is regarded with great favor. The reports of the road authorities show that, the cost or feed In tr, clothing and guarding con victs am tints to something like 25 cents per cubic yard. The stone is been found that, i»y buying provisions at wholesale the convicts may be fed and guarded while at work on the roads at less cost than the county pays for their board with the county jailer. The convict camp is moved three or four times a year. In summer canvas tents are used. In winter the sides of the barracks are boarded up, leaving onlv the cover of 0:. <s. A camp is located about midway la a stretch of four miles of road to be built. Thus is only onq excuse for such disregard of the law anil that is that the law lets been so imlilf< retPjy administered that men have ceased to regard tie .aw, and commit crime with imjmnity, knowing that if any punishment at all 1 was administered it would be so slight as to hardly be considered a repri mand. We sincerely trust the gang of outlaws who murdered this inof fensive negro will bo made to suffer \ tho full penalty for their evil deed. • • * • It may seem to some to be a start ling admission for this newspaper to make, but the fact remains that no former dispenser or dispensary em ployee of this county has ever been suspected of violating the prohibition law*. We are positive that neither Mr. Balh nger nor Mr. Alexander would lx* guilty of such a thing. On the other hand we are reliably informed that those white men who have been arrest ed ami fined for violating the law voted against the dispensary, and in this re spect the contention of Lie dispensary- iles that the blind tigers voted the pro hibition ticket Is not without founda tion. It may he ni.L l, however, that if those who desired to operate biiml tigers voted with the prohibitionists with the hope that their pathway would be smooth, they have found a rather stony road to travel. All of w hen you (Ih-, tiv mvestim an INSniANCK POUCY. I represent th> fi, st ompani -s. • • • C. ROSS. The Builders Supply Co. Successors to L. Baker, Will furnish your Building Material of the best that the markets afford and U the lowest living prices. No. 1 mart pine Shingles and Laths, Ouar- inteed Pure White Lead and Zinc, and Pure Linseed-Oil. Nothing better to paint your house with and costs less than mixed paints. When In need of anything in the building lino, call ind see 'is; we’ll treat you cour ’eously and make your estimates for tothlng. I ✓. Baker*, MANAGER. I Souvenir Post Cants ,-^1 embracing local scenes of in terest, now ready. Send your friends a card to show* some of the views of your home town. You can be sure they w ill be appreciated. The price enables you to distribute them as freely as you desire: 2 for 5c; 5 for ioc or 13 for 25c. : : : I lit] I I10 ^ 'liipBiro "I'vpewri 1 er, ^ v ^r>. is a candidate for your of fice. Elect it!! at an Honest Price. (Read this from "The House hold.” Heston. July H*00:- ) “We have been using “Til K CHICAGO” Typewriter and certainly (ind many Hue points in this machine which are far In advance of the old styles. It lias every acvan tage of the old typ writers and several esstntlal points which cannot be found In any other." ^ VISIBLE WRITING Gobi Medal Paris Itxposi- :: tion. :: CHAS. H. CARLISLE, Agt., $65.00 Saved In Price!!! Whew !! SI’AUTANBITUO, - - F. C. l or Information* and to see the tua- chinecallnn - CHAS. L. WALKER, National Hank of Gaffney. Ualfney, S. C. Aug. 22 :i mo. June H. Carr, '’Phone 176—625 Limestone St. FOR Building and Plastering Lime, Coal, and Plaster Hair, Plaster Paris, Shingles, Portland Cement, Dynamite, Blasting Powder, Fuse, and Dynamite Capa, call on LIMESTONE SPRINGS LIME WORKS. CARROLL A CO., L—el. Telephone 6 T \decieiA Chet kern Medicine Co., Wlnstou-Stlem, N. C. ■■■■■ —such a wonderful medicine. A few doses will put new life and strength into the system of the weak and infirm suf ferer. Mammoth f l. 00 bottles at the drug stores or sample bottle free. Write today. THE ROGERS HOME PLACE on the corner of Rut ledge and Pine streets. Seven-room house on lot 1(30x200 feet to 20 foot alley in the rear; good well on back oorch; wood shed, chicken house, barn with six stalls, crib and hay loft. Fruit trees, grape vines, shade trees in front and back yard. Premises fenced. In other words, a complete home. Price $2,500. You can easily sell off an 80 foot lot, and have left a very cheap home. For furtL ther particulars address J. W. ALEXANDER, Spartanburg, S. G.