The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1920-03-09
Communication.

Do the people of Dorchester Coun-
ty realize that it costs the average
farmer, living on unimproyed roads,
more to haul his wheat from his
farm to the railroad than ii does to
ship it 5000 miles from New York
to Liverpool? Perhaps they don't
care, or if they do eyice any inter-
est in the subject of roads, all they
will do is to say Yes our roads are
very bad something will have to be
done" 1 hear SO and so. Now L am
living on a farm, near town and on
a road that once upon time was
shell road. Today it is a loblolly of
mud. The land bordering on this
road, pays with not over one or two
exceptions, possibly not any, as much
in taxes as any in Dorchester Coun-
ty. To my knowledge repairs cost
ing over $3.50 have not been put Oh
this road for four years, and be-
lieve for at least six years. YET
County Commissioners OF the past
and present and others tell you,
shells are no good they don't last,
of course they don't last (foreverJ
they have yet to find a road that will
On State stone roads We spend moi
less than $500 per mile every year
Now on my road of two miles for slA
years, there has been spent per milk
about $3.50. Can you expect shells
to last at this rate! l contend I
shell road properly built, drained
and kept up Will last, and to bac4
I'D my statement, l site the State
road built of shells eight or ninI
years ago from Mt. Holly to within
one mile of New Market.
The only way to make roads mort
permanent is if possible get then
out of politics first, then use shells
on a medal with binder or oil
Necessary drains and bitches com.
petent civil engineer and above al!
things the one that from our re
suits right now from one end OF Dor
cester County to the other is missing.
"a little common sense) 1 said
get roads out of politics. You know
what l mean by that, a road put
here some unnecessary and thinly
settled place to please some politician
and the roads fixed here to improve
some district leaders land and in
competent Supervisor appointed for
enough to get appointed and pull
enough to stay without giving any
results. The only road leading di-
rectly to Cambridge over which our
County Commissioners have author
ity as to upkeep is what is known as
the Neck road, and its monument
masterpiece, but of carelessness and
neglect or don't care, one or the
other look at it if you have an OK cart
handy to get you there.
No automobile built can go over
it at this time. Take the traffic this
road is supposed to take care of,
and consider there is no district Oh
Dorchester County don't care where
it is or who disputes this statement
that pays, the taxes the land alons
the road and connecting what it does
Now what do we get for our money?
Our schools closed, because teachers
cannot travel, children idle, and all
traffic at a standstill except mules
and oxen We have no way of get
ting to stone road, no way of get
ting to town as all people don't keep
saddle horses.
Unless nnonIa b axe tried 70 traYel
this road they have 10 idea what 4
is like, last fall we had q road meet
ing at Cornersyille, and appointed
q delegation of twelve men who
waited on the Commissioners talked
a lot and finally thew scraped,
the mud that vas on the sides of
the road, up in the middle, and the
Commissioners 1 believe heaved a
sigh of well they will have to be sat
isfied.
Among other things the delega-
tion found out l believe that there
were twenty three drains across the
road between Lloyds and Hudson,
and each and every single drain was
broken through and stopped up.
They had been put in of vitrified
pipe or terra Gotta and the frost had
done the rest. I'll bet an engineer
didn't put them in. Now let's go
to the present Commissioners and
seek some kind of relief Il almost
said remedy they receive you kindly
(may be- and say Eyes gentlemen its
awful, the roads are bad, we intend
fixing them as soon as we can, (Which
means nothing at all.)
You know We hayn't any money
well why havn't they any money
If the same thought was applied tC
the Office they hold as is applied by
business men to their business, they
would have money. But no the of
flee doesn't pay much and they can't
afford to give it much time or con
sideration. Right for once, and
everything the Office handles from
business standpoint shows it. l