The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1912-06-22

| TO permanent roads, until the whole
history of the Road Commissions work
had become an open book, and the s,Yeo
of value from the last appropriation be-
Zero he would consent to another dppro-
| priation. At his first meeting WIN tne
Road Commission in January, he secur-
| ed an order for the appointment of an
auditing company which should thor
oughly examine the office and MAKE ITS
PORT SUBMITTED TO THE LEGISLA-
TURE OF MARYLAND BEFORE THE
LEGISLATURE SHOULD BE CALLED
UPON TO PASS ON THE QUESTION OF
ANOTHER APPROPRIATION. Such re-
port was not completed in time to re-
ceive the consideration of the Legisla-
ture. 1t has not been completed yet; at
least has not been made public. When
| complaint was made as to the delay,
the reply was that the affairs of the
Road Commissions Office were IN sucn
| hopeless confusion that the auditing
| company had been delayed beyond all
| expectation because of their inability to
| find the data which should have been in
the Office and was not there. This is
the statement made to the writer Of this
article, in the office of the f,oac com-
mission by Chairman Weller himself.
Now Governor Goldsborough knows all
th.s-and much more which we cannot
handle in newspaper editorial-and yet
in the light of it he says:-"I have no
CT iticism to make of the previous Road
Commission. If mistakes were made,
they were unavoidable and inevitable,
etc, ETC." What can he mean? What
does he expect us to think of such an
utterance?
2. Or again, Governor Goldsborough
knows that the Crotners-1ucKer Road
Commission got away with nearly mil
lion and half more than the amount of
its legislative appropriation, without
every canon of good business. This mil
ion and half is left as a legacy of debt
to the new administration. Add II 10 tho
original appropriation and you find that
the Crothers Tucker commission used
up about seven and half millions of
dollars in their road building day-and
what has the State to show for such an
enormous expenditure? Goldsborough
has just travelled over this State He
knows that no such vast amount of
money is properly represented in the ac-
tual mileage of road building He knows
that people, who have considered the
subject, are boiling witch Indignation that
so many millions of the peoples money
should have been sunk in such pitifully
inadequate results. He knows all this
and he knows, beside, specific charges
that are said to account for the disap-
pearance Of much of this money without
quid pro quo to the public benefit. And
yet he says:-'I have no criticism to
make of the previous Road Commission,
etc, etc"
What can he mean? What does he ex-
pect us to think of such an utterance?
3. Let another illustration suffice for
the present
Cecil's share of the original appro-
priation for permanent roads was s156,-
100000. Chairman Weller tells us that
this appropriation has been exceeded in
this county by about $4,000 In other
words in their work in Cecil county the
Crothers- Tucker Commission succeeded in
getting away with over two hundred
thousand dollars; and they built on
liberal estimate about . 1-2 miles Of
road. That is to say, the roads must be
reckoned at $4,000 per mile, as the cost
price. Ridiculous, you think? 1t does
sound so One may recall that shortly
before the last election, William T. War
more American as saying that roads in
Cecil county were costing $4,000 per
nile Folks who know things without
learng them, laughed at his statement.
Was he wrong? We are not prepared to
say whether or not the roads cost $22,-
600 per mile to BUILD. But we must
say that $4,000 per mile is what the
COST HAS BEEN TO THE TAX-PAY-
Frs. Ridiculous? No, there is nothing
RIDICULOUS about it. 1t is shameful,
outrageous, exasperating. No words can
be found strong enough to express ones
indignation at such shameless squan-
derng of the peoples money.
Now, Governor Goldsborough knows all
this, and yet in the face of it he says
Il have no criticism to make of the pre-
v!ous Road Commission"
WE HAVE. And we have criticism to