Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1954-04-15
Your County S Greatest Needs Are:

l. Sufficient money to meet the fast increasing
costs of operating and building the school system for
Montgomery Countys ever increasing crop OF children
The money must be produced to give Montgomery
Countys children the best of educaons. The countys
public finances have been unwsely represented in
years that Montgomery county has just lost the
last $600,000.00 year that the county formerly
ceived from the State Equalization Fund for the sup
port of the county school system. program must be
put into effect that will raise large additional amounts
for school needs without continuing the constant in
in taxes against homes FARMS stores and land
continuation of the recent rate of increase in real
tate assessments and taxes will in the near future make
it Improbable even impossible to own, rent
Montgomery County property.
2. The constantly increasing need to relieve traffic
congestion in the suburban county. Each year it takes
each motoris little longer each day to drive from any
point in suburban Montgomery County to any point in
Washington. The country road facilities
more inadequate This increasing traffic congestion
includes unnecessary waste OF citizens time each
day, is unnecessarily wearing on the nerves of each
driver and each each day. and the constant
starting and stopping in congested traffic is
sary wasteful of motor fuel and unnecessarily dam
aging to brakes, tires and other equipment The hui
and material cost of traffic congestion to the
people of suburban Montgomery County is now
tremely large and increases daily.
Traffic congestion is also beginning to blight sub
urban business centers and to lower the value which
is coupled with the convenient accessibility of residen
tlal properties.
These are the two greatest needs of
your local government
Only Dr. Harry G. Byrd, candidate for
the Democratic nomination for Governor,
has had the vision and the courage to state
our county's need and to promise accept
able plans to meet our needs
Speaking to $50 county residents at meeting of
the Young Democrats in the Silver Spring Armory Sat-
urday, March 20, 1854 Dr. Byrd said: 1.-TWO of the
most pressing problems that face Montgomery and
Prince Georges counties result from the rapidly in
creaslng populations of these counties and from result
ant changes in their economic and social life. These
problems out of difficulties of transportation and
In financing the ever-growing needs of education.
"In these two great Maryland communities we have
seen within the last few years both of them develop
from essentially rural counties into heavily populated
urban is evident that the transportation ia
cties have not kept pace with this growth and today
inadequate to meet the needs of the people Stand
on street corner in any of the Maryland suburbs of
Washington and wait for bus if you will, get in
your automobile and see how inadequate the
roads to handle the traffic. and then note the congestion
that results
with reference to this, it is my intention to bend
every effort to create under the State Roads system
adequate, modern highways that will meet the normal
everyday traffic requirements of Prince Georges and
Montgomery counties 1t is not only in these two
ties that the traffic congestion but also in Bal
tmore County and in Anne Arundel County. Baltimore
and Anne Arundel have the problems: large pop
ulations moving without adequate roads to handle the
demands placed on them.
"The other problem which has almost become des-
perate and which in the beginning antici-
pated, is the necessity for providing plan under
which the large counties may larger proportion of
their tax receipts for the development of their ed
ucatiOna needs. This should be worked out of course
without taking anything away from the less wealthy
counties. The necessity exists also for counties
like Allegheny and Baltimore City.
AT this moment, it is not my purpose to propose
definite plan to meet this need, but you may be
sured that this objective in one way another will be
accomplished. Nothing is important in this State
in other State than adequate transportation
system and education" End of DR.. Byrds Speech
Silver Spring A1mory.
Residents of Montgomery County have been able
at close range to observe the successful and economical
manner in which Dr. Byrd has taken the lead through
out the last 40 years in planning developing and adj
minsterng the University of Maryland in the center
of the neghboring community of College Park. At Col
ege Park Dr. Byrd has planned and led the creation of
creditable State University at total cost of $685.
100000 of which half secured from Federal gifts
private gifts and students fees The State of Mary
land only invested soc in each dollar in this most con-
stctve creation of the great University which belongs
entirely to state.