The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-03-21
GOOD ROADS, TALK.
Director Dooge on Federal Aid to Road
Builoing"-EDgineer Crosby's
Excellent Address.


At the last meeting of the Deer Creek Farmers
Club D1Tecltor Dodge of the road inquiry depart
menu, nasnlngton, ID. c., made an address on
Federal ala to Road Building" He said the
people 9l tne United States should do more for
the roaTo III 5ns country, and much more could
De accoan PillSneu IL there were more farmers in
Congress. The Government appropriates many
millions OF dollars annually TO improve the
rivers sI . Hiarpors of the country, and he be-
lieyed Tue llme was not far distant when Con-
gress would appropriate certain sums of money
to be expended upon public roads. The states
shouia tS zen, lnelr aid with substantial appropri
ations. ana the counties should also contribute,
and it would only be few years until the public
thoroughiares would be permanently improved.
He tnougnt tne Government should do more,
ana tnS money might be expended through the
AGRICULTURAL colleges and experimental stations
of the dllHerent states He did not see why the
cities should not contribute to the country
roads. as they were Interested in them in MANY
ways. Inc taxable basis would be greatly in
creased IN the enhancing of land values and he
cited instances where land had gone up in price.
KOADs ENGINEER CROSBY SPEAKS.
Mr.. waiter W. Crosby, roads engineer for Bal
timore county, was an invited guest at the meet
ing anu also made an address as follows:
The subject of good roads is one in which
every innabitant is personally interested. I'm
less he produces on his farm every article he
uses, unless ne receives no mail, pays no taxes
and never ventures beyond the bounds of his
own property, he is affected in the spot tender
est to us all-his pocketbook- the condition
OF the country roads. He pays more taxes to
keep up bad roads than he would to maintain
good ROADS. If he receives mail, it costs the
gOvernment-and this means the people-more
to carry IL over bad roads than good roads. If
he travels beyond his own property it takes
more OF MS time, which is money. and more out
of his team over bad roads than good ones. 1t
costs MIN more on account of bad roads to mar
ket produce This extra cost must be added to
the cost OF production, and the man who buys
the article must pay the difference. 1t costs
just as much to grow bushel of wheat or corn
near good road as beside bad one, but if on
the BAD road the producer can only haul two
thirds OF the load with the same team that he
can on the good one his cost of marketing his
wheat or corn is fifty per cent. more than it
otherwise would be and the man who buys the
wheaton corn must pay that much more. And
same le-ag applies. If all the roads are bad, all
the producers labor under the same disadvan-
tage, andthe manufacturer pays the farmer the
extra prize and then charges the farmer a
higher sun in his turn for the manufactured
articles to make up for it.
The problem seems capable of but single So
luton. TOthe average farmer the word bond"
is terrifying, but it need not be. We all ask
credit of our neighbors daily in some form
other, eithel as to our statements, regulations
business of acivilZed world is done on the credit
system" Tie business of barbarism is trans
acted on the cash. plan4 The 500,000,000 PEG
wear and PLACES in which to sleep. The 0,000,
600 who do mo- possess sufficient confidence in
themselves to trust one another never tasted
flour or beef, 70 naked and sleep out of doors:
Activity, prosperity and thrift are the natural
fruits of mutual dependence on one another.
coupled with the legend Il promise to pay"
AS an illustration: A man owns city lot,
WORTH say $1.00; his income. above his family
expenses, is 500 annually. He wishes to i'm
prove the lot so that instead of Its being an ex-
pense to him he can get something out of it.
He is prejudiced against going in debt, so he
builds Just as rapidly as his $500 per year will
permit and at the end of ten years has $1,000
property. which has cost him $1,000, and which
he can rent for $3.50. Now, had he not been so
prejudiced against going in debt, he might have
borrowed the $4,000 at 8 per cent, erected the
building in three months, and by the end of the
ten years not only paid off the loan but had
from 81 500 to $4,000 in hand. Adding to this his
lost rental. interest &C., makes his contribution
ss.5S5S ss'udl'e against gong IN o'o' 'SOOO 70
This illustration applied to building roads
shows the difference in results between goingin
debt for money to build roads and building them
from the annual road taxes Only the man who
put up the building had something to show at
the end of ten years for the money invested,
or nothing at the end of ten years, or at the end
of any other period, to show for their money.
Probably half the farms in Maryland are
owned by persons who went in debt to obtain
them, and even though large share of the in
debtedness now stands on the property yet there
is not one case in ten where the investment was
a bad one or where, under similar circumStan-
ces the farmer would not do the same thing
Road Improvement in Maryland should be
county matter, based on local option. If the
people in one county want to build certain
number of miles of good roads the people of
another county should not be permitted to pre-
vent it. Good roads should be built by the taxes
now paid. The counties should be covered with
a network of durable, permanent roads over
which full loads could be hauled every day in
the year. Without materially increasing the
present road tax this could be done by bond
ISSUE supplemented by State aid. This latter is
fair, as the county proper is not the only 0ene-
fciary. If the cost of getting produce to the
city is cheaper the city consumer is benefited to
that amount. The residents of the State use
the roads of the counties. and this is an equlta-
BILE division. A practical way of raising the
money by our Commonwealth is the Haman bill
for the lease of bottoms for oyster planting, the
excellent features of which were first suggested
provide a revenue which, If not large enough to
be itself divided among the counties would at
least furnish the income under winch the state
ssssaa fpd reafl repdy the Leap f9E Fo9n
operationin more or less modified form in many
states in the Union, and has worked most salts
factoEily wherever tried. Why should we here
in Maryland not profit by the experience of
Others elsewhere
There are many times when the demoralized
condition of the business of this county can be
traced directly to bad roads. Hard times, dull
times, labor unemployed, ductuating prices, re-
duced railroad earnings spasmodic speculation
in stocks. corners in food stuffs, are often the
immediate results of bad roads. X. G. Dunn s.
Co., of New York, not long ago, in a review of
the condition of trade, said that the stringency
in the money markets here and at some other
points is more largely due to slow collections,
which appear to result from severe weather and
impracticabie roads," than to anything else.
So it is that mud rules the land. So great foe
requires the united efforts of the people to de-
throne it. In this struggle every line of bust
ness in the land should be united, and there is
certainly no interest which has more at stake in
the success of this movement and which should
be more determined and active. in urging the
work forward than the farmers of Maryland.
Stull-Carr.-Mis Anna Blanche Carr,
daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. Thomas r. Carr,
II Inv toll
Henry Clayton Stull son of Mr.. Henry Stull,
near Patapsco, Carroll county, were married at
Emory NJ. E. Church, on Wednesday after
noon at o'clock, by the junior pastor, Rev.
c. L. Jones' In evidence of the popularity of
the bride and groom the church was thronged
with their many friends to witness the cere-
mony which was beautiful and impressive.
Numerous shaded lamps illuminated the
church. The strains of Mendelssohn's wedding
march announced the arrival of the bridal
party. The bride wore a costume of castor
silk ealnnes, and carried Bride roses. The
maid of homer, Miss Birdie Carr, sister of the
bride. was attired in white persian lawn with
lace and ivory satin ribbon, and carried pink
carnations Mr.. Jackson Stull, brother of the
groom, was best man. The ushers were
Messrs. Harold Spencer, Roy Carr William
Hull and Walter Taylor, of Westminster. The
organist, Miss Bertha A. Fowbe, rendered Sc
lectons from Wagner Mendelssohn, Schubert
and Handel. Alter the ceremony an elaborate
reception was rendered the intimate friends at
"Maple Hills the residence of the groom's
father. A number of handsome presents
were received Mr.. and Mrs. Stull left Pa
tapsco Station, on the o'clock train, for an
extended tour.
March Term Grand Jury's Report.-The
Grand Jury for the March term of the Circuit
Court adjourned finally on Saturday last. In
its report to the court it is stated that SO cases
had been Investigated, % indictments returned
and cases dismissed. Attached to the report
are the reports of the various committees.
The report of the committee on the Jail states
that it is kept in as good condition as posi-
BILE. ''as some of the cells are in such condi-
ton that i: is impossible to keep them clean,
the floors having rotted and been torn up and
not fit for prisoners to be confined in. We
also found the sanitary condition very poorly
arranged and we recommend the building of
Jail"
Ihs report of the committee on the aims
home highly commends the superintendent,
Mr.. Clinton Z. Tracey. The housing of de-
mened persons at the institution is condemned.
A denented boy it is stated, recently jumped
from third-story window and miraculously
escaled with slight injuries. The sanitary
arrangements of the institution are reported to
be bid. The report further says "On pene-
tratiDg to the cellar of the institution and on
inqiring for the engineer in charge of the
double steam-heating furnace, we found that
he bad been absent for four days and was still
a.