The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1905-11-18
THE ROAD PROBLEM

Most voters in Their ecent election Ell
Their ignored the Good Roads Amend
ment or voted against it on the ground
that it wits superiiuous, in view of the
sustained conSttutionality of the Shoe
maker Act. The subject of good roads,
with citizens who have most need of our
highways, and the problem is pressing
for solution with growing iEssiStence.
Taking general view of the subject, the
Baltimore American pcrtincntly and SEN
sibly says:
1t is perhaps not fair to classify the
country roads in Maryland aq being upon
the average much worse than the country
roads OF other States of the Union. There
are, of course, in many states. special
highways. like the famous Shell road of
New Jersey, that are out of the common
orier of country roads. But upon the
general average the roads of New York
or in Ohio are dependent for the most
part upon the nature of the Soil-clay,
gravel or sand-jlSst as we are here in
Maryland. n some of the states-in New
an energetic movement on foot to effect
eventually system of macadamized
roads: but that is another story
Politics may have played large part
in insuring the mismanagement of the
county roads in Maryland,as Mr.. Hannah
alleged in his speech to the county
editors. The well-known fact, however,
is that the 100000 annually appropriate
cd hy tho Nfn,.,. Lon nj r
continuous repairs. The freezing and
thawing of every winter plays havoc
with the clays and loans that constitute
the usual roadbed. Track r1lts are cut
int" semblance of barge canals, and
deep holes are eXcavated that become
storage reservoirs for water supply
that is not needed The center of these
roads must be filled in at the opening of
each Springtime and the sides must be
sloped, and 80 the 100000 goes. With
Sigh variations the system of road main
tenance that has prevailed in Maryland
IS the system in use in other, states. how
ever.
1t is the system of eXpediency-a costly
system undoubtedly in the long run. In
the course of twenty years the counties,
OF Maryland, spending $1,000 per year
upon repairs, will have expended $14,-
100000 upon the roads, and vet if the
system is continued the roads will appear
twenty years from row in the spingtime
after hard winter practically in the
condition in which they were last spring.
1t is somewhat surprising that the people
of the counties should not have accepted
the Shoemaker law with q greater degree
of enthusiasm than seems to have been
manifesto. A number of counties de-
clined to accept the appropriations al
lctted under the conditions imposed Var
ious explanations have been given of this
apparently lethargic attitude toward the
Inauguration of system of solid road
building, but the chief occasion of dis
satisfaction undoubtedly is that under
the scheme of road building provided
for by the Shoemaker law adequate re-
suits will be arrived mt only after a long
period of years.
The requirement of a large fund for
immediate road building on an extensive
scale in the counties would most likely
meet with more general approval than
the fractional system of construction pro-
vided for under the present state road
law. In New York state it has been
thought best to adopt the funding scheme
to Use S5O,OO0.0O0 in continuous work
of highway construction instead of the
S2,OOO,000 annually that was proposed
under the original law. If future
leaSehold law for oyster bottoms should
yield a large revenue for road cOnStrlc-
tion-and that seems to be the easiest
ard the simplest way for the Maryland
farmers to get good roads without indie
finite DELAY,