The Democratic advocate., 1908-05-22
GOOD ROAD LEAGUE
OF CARROLL, FREDERICK, HOWARD And
MONTGOMERY COUNTIES
Working for the Construction Of I'M
pOftant Highways

The Good Road League of Carroll,
Frederick, Howard and Montgomery
counties, has sent out the following
letter, which should receive prompt at
tention, and the suggestion as to
meetings put into immediate eXecu-
ton:
Mt. Airy, Md, May, 1908.
| Dear Sir:-The State Road Commis-
sion which was authorized by the
last General Assembly to lay out and
construct a system of State Roads or
Pixies, have organized and gotten in
working shape.
| We have made formal application
to this Commission to include in this
| system of state roads, the road run
ming from Olney, in Montgomery coun-
ty, to Westminster, in Carroll county,
via Laytonsville, Etchison, Damascus,
Mt. Airy, Taylorsville and Warfields-
burg, distance of about 3S miles.
| We will cite a few reasons why we
claim that this project would be Of
more public service than any like i'm
provement in this section of the state:
1st. By connecting with the Wash
ington pike at Olney and the Hanover
pike at Westminster 1t would make a
continuous improved road from Wash
ington nearly to the Gettysburg bat
tlefield, running across the state
through those sections of Montgomery
and Carroll counties that are most
remote from the railroads.
2nd By connecting with the Gath
ersburg - Laytonsville Shoemaker
pike at Laytonsville 1t would connect
with an improved road the three most
important shipping points of their
respective sections, viz. Z.:-GaitherS-
burg on the Metropolitan branch; Mt
Airy on the Main line; and West
minister on the Western Maryland r.
R., through a territory that is de-
pending almost wholly upon one or
the other of these points for their
market supplies and over route now
in most general use.
3rd. This road serves the best
needs of the cross state travel, from
the north to Washington; from the
south to Pennsylvania points; from a
remote corner of Carroll county to the
county seat at Westminster; from a
remote corner of Montgomery county
to the county seat at Rockville; as
well as the extremely large tonnage
of farm products that annually find
it's way to or from these shipping
points, connected by this proposed
Improvement; and last, if not least
the large amount of market supplies
from the dairy, poultry yards and
farms of Montgomery, Howard, Car
roll and Frederick counties, that is
hauled weekly over this route to
Washington.
4th. This route has no difficult en-
gineering schemes. The entire road
from Olney to Westminster is high
and dry one, through fertile country
abounding in farm scenery that is
hard to surpass, and escaping the high
waters or marshy stretches of the
Seneca, Benefits Creek and Mono
cacy on the west and of the Patuxent
and Patapsco on the east; in fact there
is no water on this road larger than
an ordinary spring branch.
5th. In summing up the whole sit
uation it is doubtful whether there
will be a road Improvement of the
same cost in the state that will be of
more value to as widely diversified
interests, such as foreign and local
pleasure or business travel and heavy
hauling as this improvement would be.
Immediate action is very necessary
as the State Road Commission has
expressed the intention of improving
those roads that the people want most,
and it is up to those interested to let
the Commission know we want this
improvement.
Do you not think 1t a good plan to
hold meetings at several points along
the route, say: Warfieldsburg, Tay?-
lorsville, Damascus and Laytonsville
in order to crystalize the sentiment
and get together.
We urge an early reply in which
you are requested to give us your
ideas.
Respectfully yours,
| JESSE P. KING,
President Good Road League