The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1910-01-21
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, JAN. p, 1910.
STATE ROAD LOAN.

roads Saturday prevented large at
tendance at the mass meeting, held
ia Odd Fellows Hall, yet, those pres
emit were representative men, and the
result Of their two hours Of delibera-
ton is satisfactory, for they in IN
mistakable terms approved OF the
county taking steps to secure the ex-
penditureI Of our share of the State
Roads Loan. The meeting also ap-
proved of the idea Of bonding the
county to build roads, other than those
included in the State system, but did
not commit itself to the time when,
or manner, how this should be done,
suggesting that full discussion be CIV
en- to the matter all over the county
before any action il taken. This is
undoubtedly the only safe course to
pursue i'm dealing with such serious
matter. -s,.--- 90.
As there are always some who OPP
pose any plan, no matter what it may
be, there will be found In our county
people who doubt the wisdom of the
County Commissioners activity, we
might say, as an agent for the State,
and improving under the supervision
of it's Commission, the roads it has
selected i'm Carroll county, but pos
sibly they, have not given the project
the benefit of their best thought, and
when they do may change their minds.
If no one opposed 1T, we would ques-
ton the ACCESSIBILITY of advocating it;
our suspicious would be aroused and
we would have to look into it further.
The proposition to bond the county
must be taken up and considered in a
careful and serious manner. Its sue
cess or failure may depend upon the
consideration given it now, for from
present deliberations will result the
law which will govern all future ac-
tions. There can be no doubt of the
savings of good roads, a saving in
wear and tear, of time, of horseflesh,
and then you would not have to keep
SO many horses to do your hauling, as
you do now. This saving, roughly.
speaking, will amount, iii has been eS-
timated, on an average of IS cents
per acre, to those wno use the i'm
proved roads, so you can judge about
how much you can afford to tax your
self for them. And then you must
consider how. much money you are
willing to spend, and how many miles
of roads should be improved. 1t was
suggested that the county be bonded
for 100000, but that is not enough.
Taking out of our road milage the
turnpikes and the state system, we
will still have about 700 miles of dirt
roads. OF course all Of them need not
be improved, but it is no use to spot
the county with pieces Of good roads
with mud holes lying between them.
Do iyou think the work could BE done
properly all over by improving less
than 500 miles3 Think about it a lit
H. and decide how many miles you
must prepare to take care OF, and then
how much win it cost a mile? No
one would dream of building roads
like The State, we. couldn' tif we de-
sired, but on the average, won't
those you do build cost $4,000 a mile?
To do the work intelHgently the roads
must be constructed with reference
to the amount of travel they have to
bear, and some can be built for less
money, and others will cost more.
And then i'm whose hands il this
money to be placed, and who will have
the duty Of selecting the roads to be
improved? How much - should be
spent a year and when shall the work
begin? Most Of US think road build
ing Is digging ditch, breaking stones
and running steam roller over them.
Road building is a science, and Of such
Importance do the French consider it,
that they maintain university where.
their young men are trained i'm this
art as we train our army and navy
officers at West Point and Annapolis.
Our self-satisfed ignorance Of the
question il really pitiable, but W. need
not be ashamed, as it is no more
monumental than that of the rest of
the State Of Maryland. =
III the County Commissioners do
the work Of improving the State roads
for the Road Commission the educa-
ton and-experience- they gain
thereby will BE- OF incalculable
value to Us, and if we had the benefit
of their experience now, We could
deal intelligently with the questions
that confront u. But We haven't.
and with our limited knowledge are
we prepared To say what kind of q
law we want passed bonding the
county? we feel that it will b. u
good investment if properly handled,
but what safe guards must We throw
around the expenditure of this large
sum OF money In the law authorizing
it? Can you answer this question?
We have said nothing about the
question being submitted to the peO-
pie at an election for approval or re
lection before any bill passed by the
Legislature should become effective.
This we consider unnecessary, as it
must be apparent to- everyone that IL
would be improper for any other |