The Democratic advocate., 1909-03-05
WRANGLINGOVER ROADS
MEETING LAST FRIDAY WAS A KNOCK
ERS' CONVENTION, ALL RIGHT
A Few Bottles Of Soothing Syrup Dis
irlbuted at Thursdays Session


/ The Goods Roads Commission had
the time OF their lives last Friday.
| when they assembled at their rooms
In the Union Trust Building to hear
protests against the routes announce
ed for the counties in Western Mary
land After about one thousand had
been lifted to the sky parlors OF the
commission, with another thousand
waiting on the floor below, the ele-
yator boys threatened to 90 on strike,
and to avoid this dire calamity. il was
decided to take the advice frequently
given to a prolific talker, and hire
hall"
One was found near at hand. end
the commission, with It's visitors to
the number of 2000 repaired thereto
and proceeded to build roads--on
paper There were delegations from
Baltimore. Howard Hartford Carroll.
Frederick Washington ard Mont
| gomery counties Baltimore city did
not send any, because. for once in its
history, II was satisfied with what II
got It has been bowling for years
that II never got what was coming
to II, and we are right glad to be able
20 chronicle its satisfaction in this
| instance
The session lasted from Q in the
morning until In the afternoon, and
| Il was not what you might call a
quiet hour" service. The delegates
ell had their voices with them, and
they were not at all backward In stat
ing their grievances. What effect was
produced on the members OF the COM
mission viii be known later
One thing. however, was decided
upon. There will be no tearing up OF
pixies. The sentiment was almost
unanimous against this. Wherever
turnpikes are purchased and turned
over to the commission. they are to
be improved and not destroyed. II
would require years of labor and
thousands OF dollars to put new roads
In as good condition as these we'll
packed highways. Another sentiment
clearly manifested was that farmers
do not share in the commissions hos
tility to turnpikes They realize that
these arteries Of travel were built
at great cost to meet an urgent public
demand. and that they cannot be kept
up without money. While they would
like 10 see the toll gates done away
with they would much rather pay toll
than drive through the mud. They
look upon turnpike owners as bene-
factors rather than robbers, except
In cases where the pixies have been
permitted 10 so down.
The proportion to pay $500 a mile
for turnpikes was not discussed. the
owners OF these highways regarding
this price so insignificant as not to
justify consideration, and none OF
them were present. Turnpike stock
holders say these roads cost from ten
10 twenty times as much as the sum
offered by the commission. Take the
Baltimore and Reisterstown pike, for
example. This road, including cul-
yerts and bridges. cost $4,000 a mile
TO build, and that, too, at a time when
labor was so cents day and material
was correspondlngly low. This pike
has been kept up, and today farmers
can haul load Of six tons over II.
II is paying reasonable dividends.
Turnpike stockholders say they
have no fear of condemnation pro-
ceedings, nor OF the building OF par
alleI roads, because the construction
OF the latter would cost many times
the figure named by the commission,
and II would be years before they
would acquire the solidity OF the pres
ent roadbed. Furthermore. there is
no demand for any such proceeding.
or course, the toll roads must 90.
sooner or later, but they should be
bought at a fair price, either by the
commission or the counties through
which they pass. Citizens OF these
counties now furnish The money
which goes to pay for betterments
and dividends on these pixies, and
II would cost them no more to
own the pixies and pay the interest on
the bonds Issued for their purchase.
In one case II Is direct tax: I'm the
other II is Indirect and the latter IL
always the more popular and causes
less complaint
Speaking OF the actual work of
road building, Governor Crothers
said that before giving out contracts,
ne thought the commission itself
should build one mile of road out OF
each OF the different materials which
are to be used.
My plan" said the Governor, lis
that the commission should build up
ON the routes selected a mile of road
OF stone and another mile somewhere
else OF gravel and another mile some
where else OF some other road mater
lal, and that we should not give the
job Of building these miles OF road cut
by contract but should do it our
selves under the supervision of the
commission and by our own engineer
Ing department. In this way, and in
this way only believe, can we get
the knowledge which as laymen and
not engineers we ought to have as to
the actual cost of construction.
What we want to know Is what
each mile of road OF each material is
going to cost. We want to know what
ls the actual cost and why IL costs
that much. We want to know wheth-
er II Is the material or the hauling or
the transportation or something else
that is the most expensive. IL we
build q mile Of road ourselves out OF
each material we are to use then we
can know exactly what mile of road
actually costs, and when we come TO
let out the contracts we will be In a
position to consider bids intelligently
and In way to build the roads as
economically as possible am strong
ly In favor OF this plan of building
experimental roads ourselves so as to
get the knowledge which we need.
viii propose this plan to the COM
mission"