The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-06-27
STATE POLICY FOR ROADS
AND OYSTER PLANTING.

| In his speech at the meeting of the Deer
| Creek Farmers Club of Hartford County
on Saturday, Mr.. B. Howard Hannah, of
| Baltimore, gave convincing reasons why
the farmers of Maryland should identify
| themselves with the movement to secure
| better roads through liberal and ade-
quate system of oyster culture. Mr.
| Humans speech, which was printed in
| Tie SIN today, is a forcibie and impress
| i've presentation of facts. The cause of
good roads and the cause of oyster cul-
| ture, as 1le we'll says, are united. BY
| leasing the barren bottoms of the Chesa-
peake bay and its tributaries to oyster
planters the State can derive in time
sufficient revenue to build good roads in
every county in Maryland. All that
is needed is the enactment of proper laws
by the Legislature. Every farmer in
Maryland who realizes the Importance of
road improvements should exert his in
f1uence to secure the enactment of legis
lation which will establish State policy
of oyster culture. This, in brief, is Mr..
Humans recommendation to the agricul-
tural interests The oyster bottoms be-
long to the whole State, and should he
utilized for the benefit of all the people
Mary and.
At the last session of the legislature bills
were introduced to promote oyster Gull
ture ana 10 advance the cause of good
roads. If they had been passed, the farm
ers of Maryland would have been
enabled ultimately to improve their high
ways without increasing their taxes. The
funds for road building would have been
obtained from the rentals of oyster lands
which, under present conditions, are of
no value to anyone. These bills, which
would have brought almost incalculable
benefits to the farmers of this State,
were defeated-largely by the votes of
representatives of the oyster counties.
The proposed legislation would not have
hurt the oyster industry of these counties,
but it was bitterly opposed by the oys-
termen. AS Mr.. Haman pertinently OBJ
served in his speech: Their prejudice
against anything like oyster culture has
for years been used to advance the for
tunes of certain politicians. These poll
ticians did not want to give up good
thing" So they opposed the bills, al.
though the advocates of oyster planting
and better roads made strong fight in
both branches Of the Legislature.
Mr.. Hannah pointed out in his speech
that the most determined opposition to
the bills came from Worcester county,
which has an oyster planting law far more
radical than that which was rejected by
the Legislature at its last session. "The
Sinepuxent bay syndicate he charges, sis
making great deal of money out of
oyster planting in Worcester county, and
naturally is opposed to system which
would bring into cultivation body of
land many times and infinitely more val
liable than that Of Sinepu1ent bay. "Of
course, as Mr.. Hannah pointedly suggests,
eff oyster planting is wrong in the Chesa-
peake it is wrong in the SinepuXcnt, and
must be stopped" Hence, he states, "a
bill will be offered carly in the next
session to wipe out the Sinepuxent bay
syndicate by repeating the Worcester
county law" Then I'VE will see," he
adds, whether few men in one county
can interfere with the welfare and pros
perity Of the entire State"
The welfare and prosperity of the farm
ers of Maryland and of the oyster indus
try of the State depend in very large
measure upon the enactment of legisla-
ton similar to that defeated at the last
session. The question involved is an
economic, not political, one. 1t is not
local issue, but one of State Importance.
The farmers must have better roads
without additional taxation. They can,
if they choose, have road Improvement
on liberal scale, the cast of the i'm
provement being paid out of the rev.
enues derived by the State fir IN the
lease of oyster bottoms.
These oyster bottoms are as much the
property of the farmers as of the oyster
men. They belong to all the counties of
Maryland, and are not the private pre-
serve of any geographical division of
the State or any syndicate. Mr.. Hannah
urges the farmers of the State to unite to
advance the cause of good roads and
oyster culture. 1t is difficult to see how
they can refrain from combining to pro-
mote movement which will be of substar-
tial benefit to them.-Butimore Sun