Carthage Courier

MORE GOOD MEN ARE LEAVING SMITH COUNTY

R. A. Culbreath of Beasley's Bend, near Dixon Springs, was in Carthage one day last week transacting business. While here, Mr. Culbreath announced that he was preparing to move his family to their new home near Gallatin this week. Mr. Culbreath is numbered among our good citizens and, while we regret to see him and his good family removing from our midst, we wish them all the happiness in their new home.

This reminds us that there are too many of our good citizens moving away to other counties. Walter Freed and Samson Duke, who reside in the same neighborhood as Mr. Culbreath, have also sold their property in Smith county and will shortly move their families to farms they have purchased in Sumner county. W. D. Wright and two sons, Ernest and Joe, all of whom are numbered among Smith county's best citizens and most progressive farmers, have sold their farms near Defeated and have moved to their property bought in Sumner county. Hugh Moss of Hickman, one of our very best farmers and stock men, has sold his property in Smith county and will move to his farm purchased in Sumner about March 1st. L. D. West of Defeated and R. R. and Stanton Robinson of the 14th district have sold their lands in Smith county to go to Davidson and Williamson counties. These also are among our good citizens and farmers, and our county can ill afford to lose such valuable citizens.

But, in every instance, you may ask these and the many others who have or who are planning to move away why they are leaving and their answer will invariably be, "We are going where we can find good roads and free pikes to travel on." This is a very serious matter and the people of the county, with the members of the county court in the lead, should take some notice of the fact and set about to correct the evil. In the matter of natural resources, Smith is just as well off as Sumner or any other county and is just as amply able to offer inducements to attract citizenship as Sumner or any of the other counties. But the trouble is, we sit idly by and don't do it. Now that the war is over and the state legislature will meet the first of the year, would it not be a pretty good idea for the people of Smith county to rise up and demand that some action be taken to secure good roads. Let it be direct taxation, bonds or what not, the thing Smith county needs and must have is good roads. Let this matter begin now to work and by the time the county court meets in January let some plan fully develop to build good roads.

Had you ever stopped to think, that not in a single instance where our good farmers have sold out and left have they sold to some one coming from other sections. Always they sell to some one living here in the county, thereby both our population and wealth is suffering a leakage. Think about this. Look around you and realize the fact, and then wake up and get busy. At one lunge, Smith county bought over three hundred and seventy thousand dollars worth of savings stamps. They have also bought hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of liberty bonds and have given away thousands of dollars to the Red Cross and Y. M. C. A. And they have done all this without feeling it. There are over a million dollars on deposit in the banks of Smith county now. Of course we can build just as good roads as any other county and have just as good place to live in as any other county if we will only do it. Now will we do it? Let the answer be yes. Our soldier boys when they return will expect it.