Evening star., 1921-01-24
REPORTS
ON BOOSTING TOUR
Fast Motor Service Best Way
to Build Up Trade in South
ern Maryland, He Says.

That the visit of representative
Washington and Baltimore business
Ritchie Ii p1ss Of Mars,and, ny s to southern
MARYLAND points last week will be
productive Of benefit is evidenced in
a report which Gov. Richie has pre-.
pared Of the trip, copy. Of which
ssn 70 sns ana
The development Of transportation
keynote of the future extension OF
made in that territory. in connection
with which the National Capital is
The object of the trip which I
recently made through the counties
Of Prince Georges. Charles and st.
Marys. on which l was accompanied
a representative body Of Baltimore
and Washington business m.n, was
to bring the state government, as
well as our commercial interests, into
closer contact with the needs and
problems Of southern Maryland. par
ticularly with reference to transpor-
tatisn. I feel that as a result Of this
trip a considerable amount Of in
formation has been obtained which
may be useful in working out plans
for future development through trans
portation.
Transportation Greatest Need.
'The welfare Of southern Mary
state that includes the five counties
Of Prince Georges. Charles. st. Marys.
Calvert and Anne Arundel, has long
been a matter of first importance to
the state authorities.
THE great tidewater rivers. miles
wide. and beautiful bays and creeks
which empty into them, not only form
natural avenues Of transportation,
but also are sources OF great wealth.
The lower reaches Of the Potomac
river. bordering tho shores of Charles
and St. Marys counties, the Patuxent
and the various inlets Of the Chesa-
peake bay. form one Of the richest
oyster-producing sections in all the
world. Market fish OF the finest quail
ity abound in them
Southern Maryland has been known
for nearly three centuries as . to-
ba Geo. producing section primarily,
but 1 am informed that there are
large areas Of lands especially suited
| to truck gardening and the produc-
| tion Of berries and small fruits 1t
is very evident that such industries
cannot develop on an extensive scale
without fast and reliable TRANSPORTS
! tion to get these perishable products
to market. -.
Il am also informed that nearly all
4
have been found to be suitable for
alfalfa raising. Some Of the very best
| stands Of alfalfa to be found any.
where have been produced on the old
which have been farmed continuously
since the first settlements. It is q well
known fact that wherever this king
OF forage crops can be grown euc-
cessfully stock and dairy industries
can be developed profitably. There.
again. southern Maryland has been at
a great disadvantage in that its trans
portation has not been fast enough to
make dairyinG practicable. It also
is impossible to market dressed meats
weather because Of the lack OF any
practicable method Of refrigeration
while in transit. This is q matter Of
grave concern. when 1t is remembered
that southern Maryland is q large
at the present time no transportation
on the hoof. They must be killed and
marketed in cold weather at times
when the market conditions may not
be good.
from poultry and early lambs, which
this section produces largely, could
Fbe greatly Increased ~ the fntfoauc.i
ton Of refrigerator transportation,
so that they could be marketed
dressed, no matter what the weather
Meter Service Most PrsnS6is1.
1T would seem that thu most sfeGs-
ible way to extend the dement's u fast
transportation to this section prob
ably lies in the extension and i'm
provement Of motor service, both pas
senger and freight. am told ttat
refrigerator trucks with a carrying
capacity Of several tons are now en-
tire]y feasible. Indeed, our expert
ence during the great war made It
certain that the motor truck has now
developed to . point where it can be
depended on for moving practically
all kinds Of commodities rapidly and
economically.
? ut does not seem unreasonable to
suppose that after the country has
been more fully developed by the ex-
tension Of motor transportation a
combination system involving mo-
tors. rail and water may come about
ultimately"