The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1884-01-19
THE PROPOSED ROAD LAW.

ENoI ooEb ANS0N ASs
The proposed new road law has, as
does every attempted innovation in ex-
isting laws or customs, met with both
friends and foes among the people OF
the county, The feature Of the law
most strongly opposed appears to be
that which provides that a limit shall be
put upon the amount of money eN-
pended by the Board of County Com
missioners in any one year upon roads,
which, in our judgment, is one OF the
wisest provisions in the new law.
A few years ago much less than this
amount was expended in this direction
yearly than of late years, but the sum
began to grow and grow each year,
without any corresponding increase of
work upon the roads, and unless some
check is put upon it, it will continue to
increase as the years roll along.
Whether or not the sum named IN
the bill is sufficient is the question. We
think it is. If dollars worth of work
is given in return for each dollar paid,
we venture to say that this sum, and
perhaps less, will prove sufficient.
Here is the whole thing in a nut shell,
to secure Just return for the money
paid out, or, in other words, strict
and honest enforcement of the law, and
until this is secured S2o,o 900 or any other
amount can be swallowed up annually.
Upon the subject of county roads"
the Baltimore Sun of Thursday, speaks
as follows:
THE difficulty is not in making laws
for the improvement of the public roads
in Nary land, for every county has some
such a law on the subject, but in en-
forcing their observance. Our whole
system, moreover, of making roads and
keeping them in repair is SO crude and
primitive that until some change is
made in it no amount of supervision can
prevent many of them from becoming
slougbs and pitfalls at certain seasons of
the year. The chief defect in the new
road law proposed for Cecil county is the
small sum it appropriates annually for
repairs. A road is not improved by
shoveling dirt on it to be washed off
again by the next hard rain, and yet
nothing more than this can be done
when twenty thousand dollars is to be
spread over all the roads of a county, 1t
is an economy that defeats itself, and
every farmer and every landowner who
objects to be taxed for permanent road
beds loses much more yearly than what
such tax ought to be in the wear and
tear of wagons and horses and in the
lesser value of their farms. Still, even
for such change as is proposed in the
road system of Cecil county there will
be reason for thankfulness if it be, as
the Cecil Wing says, "a great improve
ment upon the present system
We differ with the Sun in regard to
the amount of money necessary, but if
$4,000 is not sufficient, appropriate
more but see to it that the work paid
for is done, else, as we said before, there
will be constantly increasing outlay
without any improvement in the condi-
ton of the roads.
We quote the following from an edi-
torial that appeared in the Baltimore
Sun just after the Levy of 1885:
GAS the census of 1880 gives Baltimore
county 1886 inhabitants, it is evident
that the road and bridge tax calls for a
sum that is within fraction of one dol
lar per capita for every man, woman and
child of the population. 1t would not be
just to say that all this money is inten-
tionally wasted. 1t is simply misused
through neglect of the first principles of
road making"
Evidently the Sun thought the amount
levied at that time in Baltimore county
excessive vet, as we will show by the
figures, it is about the same rate per
cent. that the proposed new law for
Cecil puts it (taking the ratio of inhab-
itants as basis) and which amount the
Sun seems to think totally insufficient.
In 1883 (the past Year, Baltimore
county on taxable basis of $4,000 900
levied sSI 900 for road purposes, or at
the rate of IS cts. on the one hundred
dollars. If the same year Cecil county
had, on taxable basis of SI4, 900,
raised $4,000 for the same purpose,
it would have been at about the same
rate of per cent.
The population of Baltimore county
is S3,3s6. Cecil county has in round
numbers $1,000. So on the levy OF
last year the rate per capita in the two
counties was nearly equal.
The number of miles of road in Bal
timore county is in comparison to that
of Cecil about as seven is to two. We
say about, for it may be little more OF
less, and taking it as you please the
levies in both counties have been about
equal.
We feel perfectly cohdent that if this
bill is made law and the law is strictly
impartially, honestly and intelligently
enforced Ca contamination deYOutly t