The Republican., 1925-07-30

New Mexico, Arizona, California, Ne
braska, Wymoing, Idaho, Oregon anC
Washington.
Inception of Plan
When the United States Congress
first met after independence had beer
declared and the adoption of the Fed
eral Constitution agreed upon, the
lack of good roads as means of busi.
ness and social communication was
much discussed and the Government
building of the old National or Cum
berland road (for the names were
then and continue, now, interchange.
, able), was conceived, about 1856, by
Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the
Treasury, from 1901 to 1913, under
the administration of jefferson and
Madison.
The Hon. Andrew Stewart,i in anad-
dress before Congress, January 9th
1929, stated emphatically that "Mr
Gallatin was the very first man that
ever suggested the plan for making
the Cumberland road"
In the official documents pertaining
to the building of the road, it is called
the Cumberland road and the National
road, interchangeably-for the start
ing of the road was at Cumberland
The project, as then considered, was
to begin the road building at Cumber-
land and to build a road westward to
St. Louis, Mo-, which was then the
western outpost.
Maryland Commissioners
Henry Clay was the most ardent
champion of this western Appian
Way, its ablest and most conspicuous
champion, and said himself that he
had to "beg, entreat and supplicate
Congress, session after session, to
grant necessary appropriations to
complete the road" He said he had
'toiled for the building of the road
until his powers were exhausted and
PROSTATE"
The nation is also indepted to
Thomas jefferson who, as president
of the United States, signed the birth
certificate of the National road in
1906, and in April, 1911, the first con-
tract was given out to build ten miles
of road west of Cumberland.
1t eventually extended to 800 miles
in length and Congress prior to 1882
appropriated between seven and ten
million dollars for its construction. 1t
traversed Maryland, Pennsylvania,
West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois.
President Jefferson appointed
Thomas Moore and Eli Williams, of
Maryland, and Joseph Kerr, of Ohio,
as the first commissioners of the Ma
tional road; and they made their first
report upon preliminary work Decem-
Der 80, 1906.
Older Roads Included.
The old National Pike, by which
name 1t was sometimes known, the
only highway of its kind ever wholly
constructed by the United States Gov
ernment, was antedated at its Mary
land terminal and linked with Balti-
more by road which was eventually
part of the National road.
Under the date of 1909 the follow
ing interesting fact is chronicled by
Scharf:
"The charter Of the Bank of the
United States expiring without a
prospect of being renewed, pecuniary
difficulties were experienced or antic-
ipated, and the several banks, named
the Commercial and Farmers the
Farmers and Merchants the Frank
lin and the Marine banks were or
ganized and chartered.
The capital of these four banks
was $1,709,100 actually paid, includ-
ing SS3,150 by the State; and two
years after the City Bank with S39,-
4O5, all rivate stock.
'This institution, got up without
the States sanction, as some others
of the kind had been, produced an
alarm in the Legislature which was
injurious to them all and was a pre-
sage of its destiny
"On granting it the State rendered
the banks an extension of their char
ter until 1885, provided they made a
turnpike road to Cumberland with the
profits of the tolls, ETC., which was ac-
cepted.
"Next year they were required to
pay 100000, or be subjected to a tax
of twenty cents per hundred of the
capital, which they also accepted
even those banks whose capitals were
reduced"
Thomas B. Searight, in his chroni-
Gle, "The Old Pike Road" says:
"The connecting link between Cum
berland and the city of Baltimore is a
road much older than the Cumberland
road constructed and owned by an as
sociation of individuals and the two
together constitute the National
road"
By 1888 the turnpikes leading out
Of Baltimore were eight in number.
There was one to Washington city: