The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-02-19
MUNICIPALITIES WANT
FAIR PLAY FROM STATE

/ "A ItIltoflouS measure w IllCl
/ Should Receive The Support Fren
Every Senator And Representative
/ From All Counties of The State.
! The Municipal Congress of Mary.
/ land held their meeting at the Hote
I Rennert, Baltimore, on Wednesday
evening, Feb. 6, and on Thursday, by
arrangement, went to Annapolis and
! appeared before the Senate Finance
Committee for hearing on bill
, which the Congress had drawn uI
and was presented by Senator L. At
wood Bennett, of Wicomico county
The bill in substance asks for the
appropriation of 100000 for the
construction of uncompleted gaps in
the State road system, through the
Incorporated towns. This bill also
provides that the State take over
such portions of the streets in the
various towns that are now con-
Structed of a hard material without
cost to the State except to maintaip
them, and also to maintain the I'M
connected gaps after being construc-
ted.
The committee at the Hotel Rem
merit meeting the previous night ap-
pointed as spokesmen before the FL
nance Committee the following: w.
J. Arthur, of Havre de Grace; B. A.
Johnson, attorney to the Mayor and
City Council of Salisbury, and Ma
yor Jones, President of the Munici-
pal Congress.
About 40 representatives of the
various towns on the eastern and
western shores were present at the
hearing before the Finance Cons
mittee and Mayor Jones received d
number of kilograms and letters
from others who could not be therE
for various reasons, stating that thet
were in full sympathy with the bill
1t was the consensus of opinior
that the Finance Committee was fa-
vorably impressed with the justice oil
the bill. After the hearing thf
whole body called on the GovernoS
and presented to him also the imS
portance of this bill.
The building of State roads was
inaugurated in 1908 when the late
Austin L. Crothers was Governor
The Legislature in 1908 arranged By
bond issue $5,000,000 for that pur-
pOSS- HS dLIOuul VI % Il ,UUU,UUe
has been spent from then up till the
present time for the construction OF
good roads through bond issues and
otherwise,
1t was, no doubt, the purpose in
the beginning to construct the main
arterial lines from the limits of
Western Maryland to the limits Of
Eastern Maryland, connecting Balti-
more with the counties and one
county seat with another. The main
artery as first planned has been con-
structed with the exception of thru
incorporated towns.
The benefit derived by the people
from the construction of good roads
was so great that the demand fbr
other roads branching from the
main artery delayed the construc-
ton through incorporated towns, but
it is thought that time has naaw
come when the main arteriaj sxs
as no doubt planned III tire -
place, should be completed; that Us,
construction through the ineorpofa-
ted towns connecting the main dr.
teries that have only been construc-
ted up to the town limits.
1t is thought that it was the in
tention of the previous Legislature
to arrange to connect these towns
up with the State system and not to
require the various towns to do this
work for the reason that the laws
that have been made regulating au-
tomobileS have been apparently
made covering the whole State, in
Guiding the towns through which
the State road had not been con-
Structed; for instance, the autoom-
bile license; none of the towns get
any proportion of them. The For
Hire motor car license fees go to the
maintenance of the State roads, the
towns receiving no revenue from
them as they are not allowed to Ii
cense any motor vehicle that is Ii
censed by the State, although a
number of these vehicles are used in
the towns almost exclusively, not on
ly on the main arteries, but on all
other streets. The fines for speed
ing of automobiles within the corpo-
rate limits of the towns go to the
State for the maintenance of good
roads. So it would seem it has ever
been in the mind of the Legislature
to connect these towns up for the
reason of allowing none of the towns
any proportion of the revenue re-
ferred TO.
Inasmuch as it has been 10 years
since the beginning of the building
of the good roads system, it looks
no more than fair that the next mo-
ney appropriated should be for the
purpose of completing the main ar
teries.
The bill should be passed by this
Legislature and let the work be
done after times become normal,
which may be before another Legis-
lature meetS.-Wicomico News.