Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1868-05-14

THE New RoAp LAw.-Wc have ex-
amincd with some care the New Road
Law, now being published in our paper,
upon which the voters Of this county will
be called upon IL pass sentence on Satur
day, thc 9th of june next, and the judg-
ment We have made up is, that 1t Is, not
only greatly better than any road law we
have ever had before, but is i'll itsclfintin
. sically good law and emincntly prep
or one to be adopted BY our people 1t
must be admitted that the system under
which we have been living for many years
past has brought no adequate returns for
the cost expended. Indeed, We think it
rests on demonstration that it has brought
no returns at all so, far as the permanent
improvement of our roads is concerned. -
The condition of our travel in 1868 is not
whit better than it was twenty years
ago, yet we have probably expended since
1913 sum littlc short Of SO 900 on our
roads. Surely there must be something
radically wrong about a system which has
cost so much and which has ACCOMPLISHED
20 little. Our yearly expenditure now
upon the roads is not much short of
$1,000, and yet, we are afraid, we have
about the worse thorouohfarcs in the
State. and it is certain that for several
months III every year very many sections
OF our roads are almost impossible, and
the travel is extremely heavy as well as
hazardous on nearly all. The present is
nothing better than a patch work system
1t does but skin and film the ulccrous
places in our roads without even pre-
tending TO afford anything III the shape of
permanent relief. And this is enc of the
many distinctive merits of the New Road
System, The Engineer under this sys-
TEN Is required % commence and prose-
cute system OF permanent Improvement
of the roads of the county. bcgnniug first
on the main thoroughtarcs leading to the
county scat, and then on those to the most
public landings, properly raising, grad
ing, dltchins and thoroughly draining the
same" He appoints, in effect, the su-
pervlsors Of tho different road districts and
they are responsible to, and are removal
by, him for "incapacity, misconduct or
neglect of duty" Under this arrange
mcnt, the Engineer is made directly
umcnablc to the County Commissioners
for the character and condition of all pub
lie roads in the county. 4 neglect of
duty on the part of his tuhordinates is
made his neglect, and thus, in addition to
his own special duty of prosecuting a sys-
tenn of permanent road improvement, he
is held accountable for any neglect or de-
reelection Of duty on the part Of the road
district supervisors.
The yearly cost of the New Road Sy.-
tenn to the county will dependssery much,
Of course, upon the management of the
Enginccr and the amount Of permanent
improvement he may annually put upon
the roads. The law docs not allow him
to cxpcnd in any one year for permanent
Improvement more than s., 000, includ-
ing his own salary. The County Com
missioners regulate, in fact, the amount
he is TO expcnd and may hx the yearly
cost for permanent Improvement at any
hgurc under s. 600. The district road
feature of the law, under the compulsory
road service obligation, will be found, VIC
predict, to be more than sclt-supportinc
element in the system. Every male resi-
dent of the county, above twenty-onc
years of age, is required to work uponthe
public roads mot exceeding two days for
each year" Our calculation IS, after
making liberal exceptions for Indulgence
and inSgmity, that at least two thousand
men Will be found liable to road service
in the county. Many, perhaps two-thirds,
Of this number. will relieve themselves of
This liability by money commutaticn-
For two days service at !, ) cents per day.
this would realize $3.50. leaving still
Ave hundred men TO labor for two DAYS
in each year upon the roads If proper
men are selected as district road super
yisors, we have no doubt, uadcr the
guards we have noticed above, that the
roads, even in the ineipioncy of the syS-
tenn, will be better kept than they have
ever been kept before and that something,
after paving all district road expenses,
will be realized to the fund for the per-
n,anent Improvement Of our roads. And
il is 10 permanent Improvement Of our
reads thas we should chiefly direct our at
tcntion. Patching bad roads COSTS more
in the long run than making good ones,
Tbs = 81 experience lbs Sewn IL. /;