462/Maryland Manual

heavily in the defunct Potomac Company, the Susquehanna Canal (chartered by Chapter 29, Acts of 1783
and fallen into disuse by 1812), and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (first begun in 1804, abandoned,
then completed in 1829). Internal improvements brought Maryland to the brink of bankruptcy From
1826 to 1840, the State went an additional fifteen million dollars into debt financing canals and railroads,
always hoping for a return on the investment. In 1840, Maryland was unable to meet interest charges on
its debt. Skillfull juggling, retrenchment in government, and new taxes averted a crisis, and by 1848, the
State resumed payment on its debt, never again to plunge into internal improvements on such a scale.

The last half of the nineteenth century was dominated by the railroads. They spread over the State,
brought obsolescence to canals, and maintained Baltimore's prominence in trade. State involvement in
railroads and canals had waned, but Maryland still owned significant amounts of stock, and the Constitu-
tion of 1867 provided for the Board of Public Works to review tolls, appoint directors for certain railroad
and canal companies, and vote the State's stock in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company The
legislature was swamped with requests for railroad legislation, to amend railroad charters, grant rights-of-
way and track extensions, and deal with other operational details. Despite rail dominance, the State
Railroad Administration was not created until 1978.

Meanwhile, the emergence of the automobile posed problems for the State. Not only were existing
roads inadequate for automobile traffic, but also a system of regulation was necessary As of 1904, motor
vehicle owners registered in the office of the Secretary of State in Annapolis (Chapter 518,1904). Upon
payment ufa one dollar fee, owners were issued a certificate and required to place their number on the
vehicle in a conspicuous spot. Required safety measures included two front lighted lamps, one rear red
light, good brakes, a bell, horn, or other signalling device, and a means of locking the starting mechanism.
The first speed limits were set at ten mites per hour on the open road and six miles per hour on sharp
curves, at intersections, and in town. Chapter 518 also was concerned with automobile etiquette upon
meeting horses or other animals, either ridden or driven. The next motor vehicle law passed in 1906 was
more explicit, requiring drivers to stop their vehicles upon request of women and children riding or driving
horses or other draft animals and assist them in getting by the automobile. The 1906 law made it illegal
for anyone to "hurl stones or other missiles" at automobiles, raised the speed limit to twelve miles an hour,
and increased the registration fee to three dollars, two dollars of which went to the State road fund
(Chapter 449, Acts of 1906). In 1910, the responsibility for registering automobiles was shifted from the
Secretary of State's office to the new Commissioner of Motor Vehicles (Chapter 207, Acts of 1910). Rules
of the road proliferated and the speed limit gradually crept up, but enforcement was limited until 1914,
when the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles began hiring motorcycle deputies to enforce motor vehicle and
traffic laws throughout the State (Chapter 564, Acts of 1914). These motorcycle deputies ultimately
became the Maryland State Police with jurisdiction over both criminal law and traffic law in 1935, although
the operating expenses for the new Department of Maryland State Police continued to be paid out of
revenues from the office of the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles (Chapter 303, Acts of 1935).

Agitation for better roads came from farmers prior to 1900. The legislature heeded their appeal by
authorizing the State Geological and Economic Survey to investigate the condition of roads throughout the
State and estimate the cost of improving them (Chapter 454, Acts of 1898). An 1899 report of the Survey
described the massive effort necessary to upgrade Maryland's highways. The Survey acquired a Division of
Highways in 1904 to assist counties with plans, specifications, and estimates for building or improving their
roads. Such roads were required to have a macadamized or stone surface, and an annual Stare appropriation of
$200,000 was apportioned to the counties according to the proportion of existing public roads in each county
The Survey oversaw construction and the State paid up to half the cost of each project, but the counties were
responsible for their share of construction costs and for maintenance on all roads so built and could lose Scare
funding for additional projects if maintenance failed to meet Survey specifications (Chapter 225, Acts of 1904).
This act was the first step towards State responsibility for roads. The growing number of automobiles intensified
the need for better roads while their registration fees provided new revenue to apply cowards roads. The General
Assembly in 1908 created the State Roads Commission with broad powers to construct, improve, and maintain
a State system of improved State roads and highways and borrowed five million dollars for a seven-year
construction program (Chapter 141, Acts of 1908). The State Roads Commission began first by paving roads,
then widening them and removing railroad crossings. Encouraged by federal aid for highway construction,
initiated by the Federal Cooperative Extension Act of 1914, Maryland implemented long-range highway
building projects. In a 1922 executive reorganization, the State Roads Commission became the head of the
Department of Public Works (Chapter 29, Acts of 1922). In 1937, the Commission was authorized to embark
un a bridge and runnel consrrucrion program financed by tolls to be collected on the completed projects
(Chapter 356, Acts of 1937). This led to the Susquehanna and Potomac River Bridges, the Baltimore Harbor
Tunnel, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.