The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1892-03-18
A Styeian Lake of Mud.

CHURCHvILLE, March TO- 1892. &
Mr.. EDITOR: / have Just accomplished q
most toisome journey from Bel Air to Church.
ville and as my horse plunged and plodded
through that sea of mud that stretches from
here TO Bel Air, | was fOrcibly reminded of the
Stygian lake of mud and mire that Dante pic
lures as the fifth circle of the internal regions.
1 could not but think he might have made his
description of that place more realistic and i'm
pressive to good many people in Hartford if
he had said simply that it was like the Church
vile and Bel Air road in March. Bel Air has
been the county seat of Hartford for more than
IA hundred years, for in ,17s6 Havre de Grace
tried to have the court house and Jail trans
ferred to that city, which was once expected to
rival Baltimore in growth and Importance.
Some years ago the Churchville Presbyterian
Church celebrated its one hundred and fiftieth
anniversary. So it is reasonable to suppose
that this road has been the one direct road be-
tween the two largest towns in the county for
a century and a quarter, and yeti periodically
becomes almost impossible.
There are at present good many farms for
sale near this road. May not the loss and
waste occasioned by bad roads have something
to do with producing this condition of affairs ?
Imagine any one starting out to show a
monied stranger one of these farms with a
view to selling it. He meets him at the depot
and with a carriage and horse already covered
with mud starts to drive to see this desirable
property. As they drag their weary way
along the muddy ditch that from force of
habit we call road, with its deep ruts and
mud-puddles, that we all know too well to
need description, imagine with how much en-
thusasm the proud owner will dilate upon the
advantages of his property. As matter of
fact we know that the price of property sur
rounded by such advantages must be ruinous-
ly low to attract outside purchasers.
Now, do not think am calling attention to
these disagreeable facts for the purpose of
finding fault with the Commissioners. On the
contrary, the fault, if fault there is, lies chiefly
with our people themselves. L do say that [
think it is just ground for the suggestion that
our people are lacking in the spirit of enter
prise and push that they should be content to
have this most important road remain in this
condition all these years.
When we reflect that Mr.. Woosey's bounty
has provided fund of $4,000, to be paid to
the county some day when they have made a
good road of this fifteen miles between Bel
Air and Havre de Grace, why, l ask, can it
not be adopted as the fixed policy and purpose
of the county to macadamize portion, say
two miles, of this road each year? If this were
the recognized policy of the county with re-
gard to this and other important roads, there
would be sufficient inducement to justify in
dividuals investing in stone crushers, and the
county could get the best work at a cheaper
rate. Some excellent work has been done on
this road during the last two years, and when
one is driving over it it is great relief to
strike piece of pike now and then, but they
are very far apart.
Respectfully,
w. BEATTY HARLAN.