The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1900-06-29
COUNTY IMPROVEMENTS
AND TAXATION.

We give place to the following OK
ccll,,nt editorial from the Baltimore
SIM OF Wednesday. AS was urged in
this column several weeks ago, our pco-
pie shonld appreciate the grand oppor-
tunities this county enjoys, and the
suspicious circumstances Eow existing
that would promote our material adj
vanccment, if the administration OF
local affairs could he made more re-
sponsive to spirit of public good and
less subscrvient to the personal inter
csts of politicians. The Sun says:
The two Maryland counties which
border on the District OF Columbia arc
Mont gcmery and Prince George S.
There has for some years been move
ment among Washington people to
suburban and country homes and both
Prince Georges and Montgomery
counties have profited largely by it,
the latter, however, to far greater
degree than the former Villages have
grown up in Montgomery, public roads
have improved, the population has
grown and the taxable basis and wealth
of the county have greatly increased.
Prince Georges enjoys a number OF
advantages over Montgomery. 1t has
more railroads and better railroad
facilities. 1t has exceedingly fertile
lands and beautiful sites. 1t has the
advantage of lying between Baltimore
and Washington and of being con-
veEient to both these large cities.
And yet while it has grown and i'm
proved, its improvement docs not COM
pare with that of Monte emery. Since
1871 the assessablc basis of Prince
Georges has increased little over a
million dollars, while the increase in
Montgomery has been three and half
millions.
There may be many things to ac-
count for this difference, but the differ
ence in the county government is sufii-
citnt alone to explain it all. The gov
crament of Montgomery county has
always been in the hands If the pru-
dent, taxpaying people, who have the
pubic interests rather than partisan
interests at heart The tax rate in
recent years has been uniformly lower
than in Prince Georges. Roads have
been improved and the Commissioners
are even now engaged in constructing
IA fine graded macadam road through
the heart of the county from Rockville
to WASHINGTON. The colored porula
ton in the county is relatively toe
small to give any trouble at the polls
conditions in Prince Georges seem
TO be entirely different. The contest
at the polls for the county govern.
mcnt seems to be a contest for spoils
The skirts Of neither party are free
from blame. At meeting Of leading
farmers and taxpayers held at the
farm of Dr. Il. S. Hill, near Marlboro
last Saturday. the most serious charges
were made and the present condition
was described as dcplorable. DR.. Hill
declared that with a proper admins
tTation of affairs the tax rate, which is
so cents, should not exceed 20. One
gentleman asserted that in one Of the
districts fully four-ffths of the voters
are for sale on election day. The last
Legislature passed road law fol
Prince Georges which seems to be an
excellent measure. well designed tc
take the public roads out of politics
The road question has long been one Of
the vexed questions of the community
1t is said that the condition CT the
public roads leading into the county
from the District of Columbia has
stood in the way of Improvements
The new law makes special provision
lor making these roads, arpropriatine
a fund from licenses and requiring the
work &c be done under the supervision
OF tic State Highways Commission.
1t is charged that there is studied
effort by the politicians to destroy this
law and do away with the benefits
which should be derived from it, and
there is bitter complaint of the char
acter of some of the trustees appointed
under the law.
The farmers at the meeting referred
to took measures for forming non
partisan organization to protect the
taxpayers and the interests of the poo
pie. 1t is wise measure, and if the
organization contains enough members
of both parties to hold the balance o!
power it can succeed. If it is made
up exclusively Of members of one par
ty it is difficult to see how it can ex-
ercise any influence with the other
party. But be this as it may, public
officials in Prince Georges county.
like public officials nearly everywhere
else, have shown themselves amenable
to public sentiment. After declaring
that the new road law was impossible
and that it could not be put into oper-
alton at this time the County Com
missioners found later OH that it could
be done, and they did it. Their re-
fusal had been denounced by the peO-
pie who are not engaged in politics as
4 trade and q mandamus was threaten
ed Then it was that the Commits
sioncrs discovered that they could do
the impossible Nothing is more whole
sCTpo in rullio flo rc