THOMAS TJ. TAYLOE—ECONOMY OF GOOD KOADS. 
89 
have arrived to abolish the old, abominable system of road working that 
has heretofore prevailed, and which has proven such a splendid failure. 
Instead of working five days, we should assess a poll tax on all men sub¬ 
ject to road service, not to exceed $2, and before they are allowed to de¬ 
posit their ballots require them to show their receipt for their last taxes 
due. 
Our experience has demonstrated to us some needed changes in our 
present law. Convicts are allowed now 50 cents per day, clothing and 
board. We would give them 75 cents per day, charge them for all cloth¬ 
ing and hoard while sick. They would have better health and their 
clothes would last longer. Quite a per cent of our convicts have been in 
our county only a few days. When we turn them loose, penniless and 
among strangers, they are necessarily tramps of the most pronounced 
type. We should allow them, after working out their time, to work five 
days longer at 50 cents per day cash. 
We believe a State superintendent of roads would prove a failure, but 
a county superintendent is a necessity, unless all counties, like Gray¬ 
son, working a road outfit in each commissioners’ district, should raise 
the commissioner’s salary to $75 or $100 per month, and let him devote 
his whole time to his road and bridge work when not engaged in attend¬ 
ing to his other duties. 
William Walton, of Ellis: The superintendent of the poor farm has 
charge of farm and road gang. Each commissioner is entitled to 25 
miles of road work wherever he wants it, each commissioner taking his 
turn. We work our men in gangs, each scraper gang having six con¬ 
victs, four teams, four scrapers and one guard. Our plow gang consists 
of eight mules, three convicts and one guard. We use the road machine 
(grader) for shaping up the road. We can throw up more road with 
machine than with scrapers, but can not get them high enough; besides, 
the machine work is too hard for teams. We grade on an average one- 
half to three-fourths of a mile per day with 20 teams. 
I think the present road law needs changing. Let everyone subject to 
road duty pay a poll tax, with property tax in connection. 
The overseer system is an expense to the county. 
Judge Chenoweth, of Fannin: I am inclined to think that we have ap¬ 
proached the time for a system of general road laws executed under the 
direction of a State superintendent, such as existed many years ago in 
Kentucky. I think it would be advisable to have a State road superin¬ 
tendent, if we could have a good general system of laws. 
We are not willing to entirely dispense with the overseer sj^stem, but 
in addition advocate a supplement thereto a general tax levy. The over- 
