The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-08-31
THE SOUTHERN COUN iE>
or MARYLAND -.

Alter spending IA week in the south
.rn counties of This S ate, Mr.. A. F.
Trapp,, secretary OF thu 5 ate Bureau
of Immigration, returns Impressed
with tlc natural advantages and re-
sou .c..s Of that portion IF Maryland,
SAYS the "BalLimore Sun He bt.
lleves that there are ample oppurtun.-
ty tor business enterprises there.
There is u scarcity of mechanics, and
there is little or no manufacturing.
Away from the watcrc)urses the meahs
of communication are deficient. There
ale few railroads ami the county high
WAYS are not what they should be.
The country needs capital and devel'
opnent. 1t is true, as Mr.. frappe
says, that many business enterprises
might be operated with profit in these
counties. yet the tiiiage oI the soil
must continue to he, As it has been
from the first settlement, tue Chief oc-
cupation of the people. 1t seems al
most incredible that, with farm lands
beyond the Missouri and thousand
miles from market, selling at 500 AL
acre, improved lan.t W tain few miles
of the capital ot the United States anc
within days haul Of the markets
New York, Philadelphia and BalLi
more, can he bought al IS and $40 ali
acre. Much Ut this land is poor ano
WORKOUT, but there IS none whish can
not be made fertile al small cost. Tn,
climate is mild, and the soil will pro-
duce aim ,sL any variety OF fruits anu
Vegetables which belong to this lati.
tuie, trsides all the staple crops. An.
vet, with all these advantages, til.
country is not improving As IT SHOULD;
lauds are lying Idle or Cf red for salt
ut less than the COST Of the buildings
Oh them, and no buyers; the popula.
tion is not increasing, nor the wealth.
What is the reason for this! Why
shou ID land within 10 or 10 miles oI
the capital OF the United S ates sell
for one tenth the sum per acre that Is
paid for land no more fertile in Fred.
erick. Carroll or Washin ton couD-
ties? Why should farms in Tabor
and Queen Anne's counties be worth
five or ten times as much per acre a.
farms in Crarie. and S.. Mary's? /,
is said that labor is scarce in the south
ern counties, but farm labor is scarce
IN every part OF Mary land and in 9th
Ell ates.
A prejudice formerly existed aga nst
this section because of the prevalence
of chiis and lever. But with the use
of purer water and screens against
mosquitoes this malady has largely
disappeared. There must be some
reason why the southern counties have
not prospescd like the rest of th'
S ate. 1t may be that the principa
crop of the section-namely, tobacco
is no rs prof able as the crops
inch are raised in the more prosper
ouS c',intlrs. 1t is unquestisnably 3
bad crop where labor IS scarce, because
II requires more con sLanL work thar
an, other ut our staples and affords
less opportunity for til" use of label
saving machinery. 1t is rcmark"
that farmers from the West or tron
Europe who settle in these countics
hearty always prosper, and they -
not RAISE tobacco. Ons cau-t 81 cl.-aT
lands IS that nearly every i<rmer hn'
more l:l.d than he can culLiIae will
the capital and labor within hi. rrnct.
BY bringing purchasers. FIR III. sni
plu, land the Bureau OF lmn,iyrari.
can perform good service 20 H.,
State. And the people shonld do IN.
part in grttin. set ler~ 10y making co :
iii ons attractive. Fw things ar,
regarded a more essential in uno.ler
communities III n 20 st sch. OILS AM
good roads hn'h rhesr particulars
Southern MAryl md ma room for i'm.
provcment. Ia Lnrrr uf h" cuunLir.
nun Il t..er- A:e II, h n s,:!l..pl- ma l.
tainel 10y tn: ~ ! e. and til" grra
boly of tile our III N cam II r. ~
education beyond M ;,.iuarv {"
grammar schual grades. Persons VIII,
have c ul'lren, wnen hey 90 20 buy
fam prefer to 20, he.e he I'll i'dr-l
can b- educated, ev'n though they
have to pa y more i'I land.
Southern Maryland is too sparseI,
settled and lab " con Tito 8 lrL unsat-
isfactory. There ar. rot en- ,ugh pee.
pie to till tho land. But nature has
given this section rich endowment.
The waters provide abundant and de-
licious food; the 80 is easy work
and will produce fruit and ve= etab'
to nerfectiO ;: IN N Is are close a T.