The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1910-04-29
Friday, April 70, 1910
SOUTHERN MARYLAND ATTRAC-
TONS AND ADVANTAGES.


TONS AND ADVANTAGES.
No section of the State of
Maryland has been more favored
by nature than that portion
which lies south Of Baltimore,
between the Chesapeake Bay
and the Potomac river, says the
Baltimore Sun. No portion of
the State has been more neglect
ed by man. 1t was the scene Of
the original settlements, first on
the St. Mary's river and extend
ing from that original settlement
along the bay, the rivers and the
smaller navigable streams. It
was more than a century after
the landing of the Ark and Dove
that the settlements had gone
beyond cay reach of tidewater.
That part of the State usually
known as Southern Maryland"
comprises the five counties of
Anne Arundel, Calvert, St.
Mary's, Charles and Prince
Georges. Except for the
northern districts of Prince
Georges and Anne Arundel, all
of Southern Maryland has been
away from the through lines of
travel. 1t has been segregated
and few strangers have found
their way into it. The popula-
ton is composed almost exclusive
ly of the descendants of the
original English settlers and
those of their negro slaves. Per-
haps not in England itself would
it be possible in this day and
generation to find a population
of such unmixed English blood
as the white people Of the south
ern counties, These counties
have been the nursery from
which have come men of affairs
in every other country of the
State and in many of the States
Of the West. The constant
emigration has weakened the
population and caused in many
communities a preponderance of
negroes. But Of both whites
and blacks the population is too
sparse to properly cultivate the
soil.
The redemption of this country
consists in the introduction of an
additional white population to
buy up and cultivate the surplus
lands. This also would solve
the race question, which has al
ways been acute since the eman-
cipation. The reason why i'm
migration has not poured into
Southern Maryland is because
it's splendid possibilities of wealth
have escaped notice. Men from
Maryland have been emigrating
to the West for a century, while
right at home in the midst of
civilization there were more at
tractive places. A few years
ago land along the Severn river
could be bought for ten or
twenty dollars an acre. Some
one discovered that the banks of
the Severn had beautiful sites for
homes, and now the same lands
command several hundred dollars
an acre. There are through
these counties rivers far more
beautiful than the Severn. There
is not perhaps in the whole land
a more beautiful river than the
Patuxent, or the St. Mary's I'M
less it be the Wicomico, or St.
Georges, or St, Clemets bay, or
st. Leonard's creek. Within ten
miles of the capital of the United
States rich and improved lands
may be bought cheaper than the
lands of the prairies were of the
Mississippi river.
There is need of quicker COM
munication and better transporta-
ton facilities. The construction
of good roads should have a
great effect in developing the
country. But above all things
it is necessary that the attention
of the people outside should be
directed to the advantages of
Southern Maryland.