Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-05-17

Corespoodencs II The Beacon.
MEcnAMcsvILlE. May IA. 1877.
Nsssvs. Edifers .-The misfortune Of
some Of oar krners at the present day
u owing IN Z measare to the euitivstion
Of too much land. II s.fe Beilsn times,
when labor wss cheap. the system Of
clearing and extending the fields OBJ
tanned. Now, that labor can only be Sc
cured at exorbitant rates, and is fire.
quently beyond our reach at that. the
concentration of our means and ener-
gies on the more fertile portions OF our
farms and the growing OF forest trees
on the poorer parts would seem the bet
ter plan. What little woodland we
have, is in some sections Of the county
barely sufficient for fuel. to say nothing
of timber. Unless portions of our farms
are permitted to grow up. many of US
will have to buy coal in the near future
The timber alone, in this section, on an
acre is frequently worth ten dollars,
while the land itself will not bring three.
Down the line Of the Southern Mary
land Railroad, however, the case is pos
sibly reversed in \ tenfold ratio; that is,
the land one hundred dollars and the
timber thirty cents. Therefore the
farmers in that happy section are well
advised when they are told to clear up
their lands to make room for emigrauts
at the completion of that great work. +"
II occurs to me to be advisable for some
Of our old political hacks to buy the
Southern Maryland Railroad Company
out and complete it themselves, il for
no other purpose than to bring emf
grants here to reinstate them in Office.
They could do it chesp. know of sew
eral railroads that are in running order
and pay expenses, that can be bought
for four or five cents in the dollar. The
Southern Maryland ought not to be
worth more than four or FIVE times that
amount. If they are not disposed to do
this, the taxpayers ought to do It for
them. The county could then issue its
own bonds for a sufficient amount to
complete it. reap the advantages Of the
reduced price of coal and have all the
profits, besides paying the great debt OF
gratitude it owes for past political SER
vices. In the event it does not pay, the
county still could lose nothing, for the
enhanced value Of the property on the
Three-Nctch Road would of itself be
sufficient to pay principal and interest
of the bonds.
But seriously, I cannot see that the
road does progress. If Mr.. H rrah
and the present board Of directors have
the means to complete it, surely there
Is nothing in the way TO prevent them
from dong so. They have the charter
and the right of way, let them put on a
sufficient force to finish it at once. II
they are satisfied that the road will paw
and have not the ready means, let them
issue their bonds and raise the money.
The bonds of reliable parties are nearly
always .alable within the range Of their
reliability at fair discount. If their
bonds are in the market l am not cog
infant of the fact; and certainly the lit
tie they are doing now towards the COM
pletion Of the road justifes no one in
the belief thsg have the means or hav-
ing them intend to use them for that
purpose. IS. ..
The three counties most deeply in
terested in the railroad could have built
il long ago if they had thought proper
to do so. But their property cannot be
enhanced one cent, except in the case
that the road pays, matters not who
builds it, because no one win run II and
incur the expense. II the road is 10 be
a paving one and the counties. through
which it passes are to be greatly bene-
flied thereby, il will be a much better
and safer plan to buy its present amount
of stock and complete it themselves,
than to indorse the bonds OF any one
else, especially those Of the Southern
Maryland Railroad Company.
The new president and directors
greatly fear are but fresh hens trying to
hatch out that same old egg: and very
greatly fear that if the taxpayers are
not on the qui rire it will be Matched.