The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1884-10-04
Mr., R0SSELL'S REPLY TOO2SERVER.

| .Wr. E'6iOr :-JuSt what connect ion
the new road law for this county has
with the issues involved in the national
campaign. ! confess that have been uu-
able to discover. But my good friend,
''Observer," in your ISSUE of last week,
proposing to enter iuto any protracted
discunsi"u Of its merits or dement's, |
venture to remark that it should at least
lee given fair trial and some SubStan-
tiai evidence Of its irelii .:eHcy offered
before it is wholly condemned. From
every section Of tie county hear favor
reliable citizens and tax payers have told
me that geucra'ly the roads are in much
better condition thin at any time during
the past ten years. There are, unfortu-
for one reason or another, have not re.
ceived the pre- per attention. These will,
[ am assured. be repaired as soon as
| practicable, and when the law has had a
full test, trust that 1t may, even IN the
| Gpiniou of those who now find fault with
it, prove i'll every respect satisfactory.
| The preparation OF this law was en-
| tirely without design upon my part to
subServe any personal end. \ change
| from the old system was universally de
mandcd, and | endeavored to ascertain
| by correspondence and otherwise what
would best suit the tax payers. For
| he ~
the law my plan was well known to
m..ny prominent citizens, without regard
to party, with whom had discussed the
subject and who had encouraged me TO
attempt some Improvement OF the old
! law Finally, when the original draft of
the new law was submitted To tha Com
missioners, they directed that it be pn5-
| lished in the count, papers aud copies
| forwarded to persons from whom an ex-
preston Of opinion for or against it
might be expected. After ample time
allow ed for publc criticism the Commits
sioners met and approved the proposed
| law with no material changes except in
the section limiting the annual expendi-
| lures for roads and bridges to $50, 900,
which section, strange to say, met with
uncomprCmisiEg opposition.
| The division Of election districts into
convenient road districts and the APPOINT
ment of a road commissioner for each OF
these subdivisions is a feature OF the
new law that anticipated the least OBJ
| lection to, and is one that received most
cordial approval at the time the law was
adopted. The twenty-five commission
ers take the places of the foureten in
spectorS under the old law and, though
their salary is limited to only about
twice the aggregate amount paid to their
predecessors, the duties devolving upon
| them are fully four times as great. 1t
was believed that purely non partisan
commission, as the road commissioners
really are. (the law requiring that they
be selected from both political parties)
would more ei1ectually enforce the law
and introduce strict business methods in
its administration. In one of the many
letters received by melville the proposed
law was under consideration, | find the
following pertinent remarks upon this
point, which, coming as they do from one
of the leading business men of the
county, is entitled to much greater
weight than the fault findings of those
who speak more from prejudice or mis-
apprehension than honest conviction or
full information on the subject He
says: the great trouble has hereto
fore been that we have not had an in
spection that was effective in keeping
contractors up to their work. 1t seems
to me that tie ne,o la,c proridcs a betr
chance for this Moroughness, and in this
respect accords with the views | have
held and expressed-that we need hardly
expect one inspector III a district to as
sumo the responsibility of requiring con-
tractors to fully discharge their duty.
This, Ihinh, is ,reN met IN tie nsp lar."
But to return, Mr.. Editor, to the qnes-
ton of limiting the expenditures under