Evening star., 1927-11-01
Prince Georges Pre- blem.


vantages and disadvantages Of com
bining into one municipality the twen
weight communities in nearby Prince
Georges County is the natural out
come OF a condition which is bringing
| forward the same problem in many
sections Of the United States. But it
| is a comparatively new problem, AMI
me which offers no standard formula
for solution. Small communities are
| established, each with its own poiticai
unit and each jealous of its individual
| ity. They grow, and their boundary
| lines. first so plainly marked, vanish
F.! into being what in effect Is one large
city or town, but in reality ii Is
| town that is divided into score and
more OF separate towns. In many
| tunate. There is no co-ordinatcd sys.
tenn of streets. water supply. sewage
disposal. parks, but only n hodge
| podge of communities which share no
|
mon allegiance 10 the county. State
and Federal governments. Sometimes
this almost inevitable result is fore
! stalled by voluntary merger OF the
different communities into one munich
pality. as is now suggested in Prince
Georges County. Sometimes the prob.
lem is solved when a ne.,%y city.
which dominates the outlying sections,
annexes these sections. and sometimes
the separate communities set up for
themselves a planning commission
which co-ordinates their activities
without destroying their political in.
dependence.
The problem in Prince Georges
County has not reached the acute
stage where an immediate solution Is
necessary. But it will be only a short
time before that stage Is reached. 1t
Is fortunate. therefore. that the issue
is already coming up for discussion.
and it will be more fortunate IL these
closely related towns can solve their
problem before 1t grows too big for
them. The communities in Prince
Georges County are fortunate in some
respects. They are not faced with the
bogey of annexation to Washington,
which so frightens some communities
located in proximity to large city.
They do not have to solve the vexin2
problem created when some Of the
communities are located in one county
| and others find themselves In another
county. thus bringing into conflict two
more political entities. Nor are they
bothered with the condition faced
where State lines cut between COM
mum .es which otherw would be
happy to join and share their prob.
lens.
Such conditions present a series of
interesting questions for the future.
One of them concerns the machinery
of county government. and whether
or not this machinery has grown
archaic and outIived it's usefulness in
some sections of the county. Another
| is the possibility that at some future
| time new machinery will be created
by the States. or the joint action of
States, which will supersede he
municipal. county and State govern.
ments In questions relating to the
making and carrying into effect of re-
gional planning. Prince Georges
County communities are tackling
la problem which needs careful
thought and investigation before
the solution is found. But they are
tackling 1t at the right time, which
is before. and not after. the problem
has become unwieldy. Their method
Of solution. whatever it Is, will be
watched with sympathetic interest not
| only in Washington. but throughout
this section of the United States.