Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-02-02
Correspondence of the BeacOn.)

JARBoEsvILLE, JAN, 1882.
Messrs. Editors If rain, inter-
minable rain, constitutes Winter, we
are having it with Q vengeance; and
our roads, well, you know how the
ladies have of expressing themselves;
everything is just grand, splendid, or
perfectly horrible, awful with them.
They have q way Of using the most
extreme (allow the expres:ion) adiec-
tives, you know, and if we say our
roads are 'jnst awful" we couldn't
get any nearer the mark. And en-
PEASANT. this reminds me to offer our
County Fathers a bit of friendly ad-
vice. to wit: That so far as the trav-
cling public are concerned, their conve-
nience would be better subservedi fthey
would pay our small army of road
supervisors to let the roads alone. If
the countys money IS to be spent,
and each supervisor must have, say
$25 or $50 appropriation for road
purposes, tell him he is paid this, with
the understanding that he will let the
roads alone.
It is bad enough for the people of
the county to foot the bills, without
having to suffer the Inconvenience of
worse roads, by reason Of this very
appropriation. We don't think we
overstate the case when we say, in nine
cases out of ten, the worse, most
sticky, miry and impossible places are
where the road supervisor has given
it especial attention. This indiscrim-
mate practice of some of our supervi-
sors, at least Of tearing up the road
bed, just upon the advent of Winter,
cannot be too severely reprimanded.
Every sane man knows that when i;
is necessary that the bed of the road
should be disturbed, sufficient time
should be allowed for the air and sun
to dry and harden it before the rains
and freezing Of Winter set in. Our
County Commissioners, we have no
doubt. make these allowances in good
faith, but it does not always seem that
the supervisors expend this money
where and when it will do the most
good. The rule appears to be with
them to attend to their farm work
first, and after their crops are proper
ly secured and housed, then to pitch
into the roads and expend at least
their allowance, and generally a little
over.
We believe the G ommissionersshould
pass an order positively prohibiting
the tearing up or otherwise mutila-
ting the road-beds, between say, the
months of September and May inclu-
sive. This is written in no captious
or meddling spirit, but purely in the
interest of every human being who
has occasion to use the highways, as |
well as the poor beast of burden.
/ notice that our Senator has OBJ |
tanned leave to report bill looking |
to the revision Of our existing road
law. Any person or persons who may |
be able to lift our roads out of their |
present condition Of muck and mire, |
will not only confer a favor on this |
generation, but will go far towards |
enthroning himself in the hearts of a |
grateful people and this without re-
gard to party.
Nothing especial in the way of |
news. The Mary Washington is run
ming on schedule time, making one |
trip week.
Our neighbor, Mr.. B. B. Quirk, is |
having erected npon his premises a |
large, I may say colossal, mansion. |
1t is very near completion, and the |
work, as far Al your correspondent can |
Judge, is well and neatly, indeed, ele-
gantly done, by skilled Philadelphia
mechanics. 1t does not speak well for
our county that men so faFfrom Us had |
to be brought here to do the work.
The protector spent some time in try
ing to get mechanics here to do the
work, but failed. These men seem to
be perfect masters of their vocation,
and execute their work with neatness
and despatch. Our county stands in
need Of just such men. They are
pleasant, sociable set, and appear to
enjoy themselves in any place their
line Of duty calls them. And this re-
minds me to chronicle little episode
that befel one of the party the other
day. Upon odd occasions, they gen.
orally, for the benefit Of their health
and to learn Of the county, ride out,
taking in postOfice and boat-landing
in their route. Now, it seems. if we |
are TO believe the rather disconnected
and nasty account Of one Of the party |
alluded to, our mode Of locomotion
differs somewhat from the Philadel-
phian. Whether this difference con-
sists in the roads, the teams or style /
Of vehicles, we viii not Just here stop
to say, nor did he succeed in inform
ing your correspondent. but We did
say they in their perigrinations took
in the postofice and landing; and it
was that after leaving the latter
place, to use his own expression,
Things didn't seem as they used to
was. Tn fact, there seemed to be q
mixing M. He looked out