The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1913-10-24
Chairman Weller Denies Claim of
Carm0dy

Chairman Weller, of the State Road
Commission, had his attention Gale
last week 10 the report that Francis
, Carmody, who is the Republican can
didate for the State Senate in Prince
Georges county, was claiming that thu
contract for rebuilding Central avenue
in Prince Georges county, had beer
let as a result of his influence with the
commission and was using this as ca,r'
paign material in his fight against Will
liam F. Holmead for the Senate.
Mr.. Weller said he knew nothing OF
any such claim being made, but if such
was the case it was absolutely without
foundation. No contract in Prince
Georges county or anywhere else In
the State had been given out for polit-
ical purposes, he said, and politics had
absolutely nothing to do with the build
ling of any road anywhere in the State;
1t seems that the previous roads
commission laid out three roads across
| the peninsula between the Potomac
river and the Chesapeake Bay, all three
starting at the district line in Prince
&c orge's county. The most northerly
of these roads starts in at Bladensburg
on the Washington Boulevard, and ex-
tends across to Annapolis ; the middle
route starts near Benning and intersects
the projected line from Annapolis south
to Solomon's Island at South river. and
the lower route extends south easterly
from the district line through Upper
M arlboro to a junction with the Solo
mons Island road at or near Mount
Zion.
These roads were to be built 'if the
money ever became available" Nothing
was done on them under the previous
administration and the present commits
sion has no intention of building the
roads. 1t does, however, intend, 1t the
money is available. to build what might
be termed a belt line to skirt the Dis
trict of Columbia on the south, cross
ing all three of these projected routes,
starting in at Bladensburg and ending
ON the road to Upper Marlboro, and to
build out on these projected lines 10
connect with this belt line. The belt
line would enable persons gong over
the Washington Boulevard to reach
Marlboro, the road leading sou b
through La Plata and down to Rock
Point, and that leading down through
St. ,lary's county, without going into
the District of Columbia.
1t was this connecting link from the
Dis riot line to Seat Pleasant, on the
middle of the three projected lines, to
its junction with the proposed belt line,
for which the contract has been award
ed. The present approp, iation will be
sufficient to finish the present trunk
lines under construction IN Prince
Georges. thus leaving practically all
the money from the next appropriation
for Prince Georges available for build
ing this belt line and tor building out
from the District of Columbia from
three to FIVE miles to connect with 1t and
TO serve the large suburban population.
1t is in pursuance. with this policy that
the contract for the road to Seat Pleas
ant was advertised.
MIR. Carmody, as well as many
other prominent men in Prince Georges
Democrats as well as Republicans, have
been working to have these roads
builts." said Mr.. Weller. 1--WE con-
sidered the actual needs of the people
in advertising the contract, not what its
political effect in Prince Georges might
be. and we took up this matter in the
regular order. We sent Mr.. Carmody
a copy of the formal letter which was
printed in the newspapers, announcing
the commissions intention of letting
the contract. But Mr.. Carmody's poll
teal interests had. absolutely nothing
to do with the matter. We are build.
ing roads, not playing politics, and
politics has had absolutely nothing. to
do with the laying out of any road In
this State or the awarding of any con-
tract by the commission since have
been on it and will not have as long as
I am a member of the commission -
Baltimore Sun.