The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-01-26


asyou possibly can, making special effort 70
MI the petition If you possibly can do so. II
! yen are unable to find the time to do this work
| Yourself, we wish you would sign the petition
| yourself and then turn it over to someone who
will undertake the work of getting other
when properly signed by as many signers
as You are able to get the petition can either be
returned to this Office or sent directly to the
Highways Commission, at Towson."
MR.. LINDSAY Has SOMETHING TO SAY.
Discussing the matter above referred to ex-
Senator James J. Lindsay, of the Towson bar,
said
mo doubt every farmer, taxpayer and resi-
dent Of Baltimore county is in favor of better
roads, but the great question is whether at
least nineteen twentieths of them can afford
to have the levy increased. and it is doubtful
whether all of the remaining one twentieth
are willing to pay this increase in order to give
the Automobiles Protective League of Mary
land an arbitrary. monopoly OF our high ways:
1T is a we'll known fact that for the last
three or four years the roads in our county
have been Of little use TO the people that own
them and pay the taxes to keep them IN repair
on account of the reckless use made Of the
roads by a1toists, few of whom are residents
of the county and still fewer taxpayers IN the
county.
Farmers. residents and taxpayers through
out this greatcounty, their wives and children
are, and have been, afraid to use their horses
and vehicles Tor business or pleasure. on &C
count of the reckless running of automobiles
by people whS as a rule, have no interest in
any shape insthe county, pay no taxes, but
take possession, Of our high ways, not for busi-
ness, but for pleasure.
MANY automobiles pass over our roads with
speed equal to The fastest trains OF any rail-
road that traveises our county, and ]. our
residents or theif families when forced as
matter of besiness to go upon the highways
for very few of our people take the risks now
on account of the running of automobiles to
drive for pleasure--and they are run down,
killed, manned orNcrippled for life, then they
have the Automobiles Protective League of
Maryland to fight in any and all the courts
they may have to goto for redress.
"From my experience as lawyer, the poor
people that are so unfortunate as to meet with
accidents to their persons and property, in q
great majority of cases through no fault of
their own, but through the negligence of au-
tomobile chaufeurs or owners, or railway con-
ductors, engineers and motormen, are rarely
ever properly compensated by juries for what
they have suffered and will suffer as the result
of injuries.
PASSED q law regulating the speed of automo-
biles to IL miles an hour. Is it adhered to as
ruler No. To my own personal knowledge |
dhave noticed that 1t has been openly violated
by automobiles in and around Towson and
other parts of the county frequently, and in
order that the County Commissioners could
force a compliance with the law they had, at
great expense to the taxpayers of the county,
to place extra policemen on duty in the neigh
borhood of Park Heights avenue and Airing
ton and to place telephone service that they
might be able to arrest the owners and chauf-
feurs of automobiles that were reckessly vlo-
lating the law and jeopardizing human life
and property. / think our County Commits
sioners had better go slow before they levy an
extra tax on the already overburdened farmer
and taxpayer of our county who now have to
sell their potatoes at go cents bushel and their
wheat at 65 or 20 cents bushel and their
other products at equally low prices, simply to
crafty the Automobiles Protective League
of Maryland. If the league desires better roads
for its pleasure in the county, let 1t put up the
money to do the work; lett then comply with
the law. especially in regard to speed, and use
good common sense 10 running its automobiles
over our roads, and possibly then our own
people, their wives and children may be ena-
bled to use the roads for walking, riding and
driving their vehicles, pleasure they have
not enjoyed for some time past"
MR. HALLE FAvoRs BETTER ROADS.
Mr.. Elmer R. Halle, also a member of the
Towson bar says:
lThere is diversity of opinion as to how
the problem should be dealt with. Practical
" all of the roads in the upper districts are
what are known as dirt roads, and at this
season of the year are. in many places, we'll
nigh impossible. believe that a majority of
the more conservative taxpayers in the upper
districts would advocate an advanced rate of
taxation for the benefit of the public roads
say from 10 to 25 cent rate-if the matter
were agitated q little more. Others think it
would be good plan to issue bonds in order
to raise necessary funds to macadamize all the
principal thoroughfares in the county.
"Pefsonally, am not in favor of creating a
bonded Indebtedness of this character, and
think the situation can be remedied by an in
creased tax rate and more judicious applica
ton of the funds available for road purposes.
also think the people generally would favor
the acquisition by the county of all toll roads
now owned by private corporations and con-
sentative increase in taxes to put and mains
tain such roads in good condition.
asCertainly, we have reached that stage in
our civilization when more determined efforts
should be made by the people to improve the
condition of our public highways, and be-
lieve our public officials would cheerfully ex-
pend more money in the building and main
tenance of good roads if public sentiment
should crystalline in favor of such additional
expenditures"