The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1914-05-15
FRIDAY. MAY Is. 1914.
THE ROAD LAW AND THE TWO
NEW COMMISSIONERS.

Governor Goldsborough last week ap-
pointed as the two new Road Commits.
sioners Frank Smith, of Saint Mary $
county, and Thomas Parran, of Calvert
county. These two men, in connection
with the old commissioners have control
of six millions of dollars of the tax
payer S money levied by the last Legis
lature upon the people. This money is
to be spent upon the new State Roads sys-
tenn. As we have heretofore said, the
road system is failure, and its execu-
ton so far has made it more of a failure
by the weakness of its execution. The
road system, bad as it was. could
have been made of some benefit to the
State if it had been well and wisely ex
ecuted. The cardinal mistake from the
beginning, has been the appointment of
incompetent and inefficient commits.
sioners
Any road system to be executed by
the State depends absolutely for its sue
cess upon the character and competency
OF the commissioners who are appointed
to execute the law. The first Road
Commissioners appointed were utterly
unit for the position, and absolute fail
ure resulted. There were men on that
commission who did not have any prac
teal experience or knowledge of public
roads. There were men on it that
would not have known good road if
they had seen it, for they knew nothing
about roads. 1t is true they were
non-partisan and disposed to be fair aud
honest. But from lack of practical
knowledge they were not capable of fill
ing the position.
This resulted in the adoption of
scheme of public roads that was SO
wildly expensive and extravaganza that it
would have bankrupted the State to have
carried it into effect, andgit resulted in
building system of roads for automo
biles, and for them alone, and the great
farming and business interests have not
been benefited one iota. In this
county what has been done has been
distinct damage The farmers and the
great business interests have to keep the
same horse power to market crops and
goods as they did before.
The trouble now is that it seems from
the new appointments that the Gov
ernor has handed the Road Commission
over to politics entirely. The two new
Road Commissioners are life long poll
tlcians, and have never known ANYTHING
else, and have been in politics from
the time of their birth up until now.
and have been chronic Office holders and
Office seekers. They were both born. it
is said, with their faces turned towards
Annapolis, and gazing upon the State
House, and their gaze has never been
diverted.
1t has been said that the road system
was to be kept strictly out of politics and
1t has been up to the present time. But
by the recent appointments the road sys
tenn has taken headlong plunge into
the vortex of politics. 1t is very much
to be regretted, for the six millions
Of dollars might have been so used and
applied 50 as to do the people and the tax.
payers some good, instead Of being spent
for the good of Automobiles as here
tOfore. 1t is to be hoped that these
men may do better than expected.
It is greatly to be deplored that they
were taken one from Saint Marys
county, and the other from Calvert.
These are the two counties that pay the