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Maryland State Archives Jeffersonian, Towson, Maryland mdsa_sc3410_1_63-0223 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
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Maryland State Archives Jeffersonian, Towson, Maryland mdsa_sc3410_1_63-0223 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
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July 31, 1920—Page 2
THE JEFFERSONIAIM, TOWSON, MARYLAND.
JUDGE BURKE ADVANCES MORE
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE
NEW CHARTER FORM OP
GOVERNMENT.
States If Measure Is Adopted "We Would Have A Divided Executive And Administrative Authority Directing The Affairs of Baltimore County: A Board of Commissioners And A County Council.
1 to 5 Tons
Means Transportation Economy
l to 5 Tons
A Size For Every Business
Keeping Trucks on the Job—day in and day out is the only way to keep their on the profit side of the ledger. Idle time waiting for repairs or replacements—costs a lot of money—That's where Federals and our Federal Service become assets in your business. They are designed and constructed for uninterrupted ser^icp
Federal Motor and Sales to.
803-5-7 LOW STREET
BALTIMORE, MD.
All Towson Shares Our Success
q
Not only does our plant afford pleasant and healthful employment for hundreds of Towsonites, but everyone in Towson is benefited by the additional money that is brought to Towson.
This money comes from all over the United States, and from many foreign countries as well. A considerable portion of it is spent in Towson, contributing largely to the general prosperity.
^TT This is money which is brought into Towson from outside, not merely ^J the circulation of money that is already here.
THE BLACK & DECKER MFG. CO.
"The Good Will Plant'1
Makers of Electric Air Compressors, Portable Electric Drills and Electric Valve Grinders
General Offices and Factory TOWSON HEIGHTS, MARYLAND
IHC TRACTORS
EXCLUSIVE AGENTS FOR BALTIMORE AND ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTIES. 8-16 H. P. and 15.30 H. P. 4-Cylinder. 10-20 H. P. Titan, 10-20 Mogul.
McCORMICK Mowers, Rakes, Binders.
IRON AGE Potato Planter and Sprayers.
Full Lines Garden and Field Seeds. Growers of "WISDOM" TOMATO Recognized by the leading truckers as being the best ever grown. For quality and quantity it is unexcelled. We are growers in a large way of all the leading varieties of 'I omato Seed as follows: Kelly's Red, "another one of our origination," Bonny Best, Chalk's Jewel, New Stone, Red Rock, Matchless, Greater Baltimore, etc.
WISEMAN-DOWNS COMPANY, Inc.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, SEEDS, FERTILIZERS, GASOLINE ENGINES
34 E. PRATT STRECT
Near Light Street
Baltimore, Md.
Is?
l^^/SvfrSfiiySYliV^
(Continued from P,:ge 1)
the meetings of the Council," and shall call such meetings as by the terms of the Charter are provided for." In his absence another member, by a majority vote, may be elected to preside. It is then provided that "said presiding officer, and in the event of his disability or absence, the member of the Council elected in his place, may in his discretion call a meeting or meetings of said Council for the purpose of passing, orders of meeting or meetings of said Council for the purpose of passing""bfd"ers or meeting emergencies that may arise."
The Charter provides that the first meeting of the Council, or as soon thereafter as practicable, a County Manager shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the Council. His salary is fixed at $5,000 a year, with power in the Council to inceased it to $6,000 year. In the event of his disability or inability to perform his duties, which fact shall be determined by a majority vote of the members, some one else may be elected to perform his duties. It is further provided that:
"It shall be included in the duties of said County Manager and of any one filling his place, to see that the laws, ordinances, resolutions and all matters relating to the administration and welfare of said Baltimore County are observed and faithfully executed, and he shall, as soon as practicable after the first day of January in each year, submits to the said County Council a report of the general state of the County with an accurate account of the money received and expended during the previous yea". Said report shall be published once in j two newspapers published in said j County for the information of the in- j habitants of said County. He shall ! have general supervision over all departments conducting and responsible for the welfare of the said County and its interests. He shall have power to call for reports from time to time either orally or in writing and all of said departments are required by this Charter promptly and fully to make such reports as said County Manager or said Council may cill for and in the manner called for. It shall further be his duty to see that each of said departments is efficient- i ly conducted and that the duties of' said department are promptly performed.
It is declared that the County Council, for the purpose of enacting legislation, shall not sit more than one month in each year, and that the month during which it shall sit shall be the month of December in each year. It is declared that any meeting, except the one called for enacting laws, shall be "considered a continuous meeting of the original one called adjourning as a recess from time to time until its special purpose is accomplished." The right of 'removal from office of the presiding officer, County Manager, or the heads of the three departments named in the Charter (who can only be appointed with the approval of the Council) is reserved to the County Council. The compensation . to be paid to the members of the Council is stated to be as follows: "for actual and continuous attendance at any meeting during its session, each member shall receive the sum of five dollars ($5) arid traveling; expenses from his residence to the \ place of meeting and return to his residence."
Let us here stop and consider the full meaning and effect of the above provisions of the Charter.
It is to be observed that the provisions of the Charter providing for | the election of the members of the j County Council, which is to be the I supreme governing authority in Bal-1 timore county, are not elected by the i voters of the county. They are elect- j ed by districts. It is thus a denial of | the ancient and time-honored right of the people to select their own public officers. The County Commissioners, the Clerk of the Court, the Register of Wills are elected by the qualified voters of the whole county. But here the basic and underlying principle of the whole Carter is a denial of the | right of representative government j to the people of the county; the withdrawal from them of the right to se- | lect the officials to govern and ad- i minister our affairs. I shall never believe that the people of this county ] are prepared to surrender this right, until they have so declared at the ballot box.
Again, the members of the County j Council need not be taxpayers or reg- j istered voters in the county. The on- j ly qualification as to membership, | prescribed by the Charter, is that they j must live in the district from which ! they are elected. They are not even j required to be citizens of the State. The sole qualification, prescribed by i the Charter, is that he shall be "liv- j ing in the district from which he is elected."
It seems to me that a body of men who are to take complete charge and control of the vast and varied interests of a county like ours, which is invested with the power to enact laws, to spend our money, and to appoint a County Manager, subordinate county officials, and to remove heads of departments and other appointees, should have some other and additional qualifications than mere residence in a district.
ARTICLE III
The first section of this Article declares, " That the said Baltimore county, as incorporated by this Charter, through the medium of said elective legislative body, known as 'the County Council of Baltimore County, State of Maryland,' shall have the following enumerated express powers."
But Baltimore county, upon the adoption of a Charter, does not have the enumerated express powers
"through the medium of said elective legislative body" known as the County Council of Baltimore County.
It derives those powers directly from the Legislature of Maryland under the Act of'1918, Chapter 456. Those powers we.'*e set out in my last letter, and you have seen that they are vast and iar-r,eaching governmental powers relating to a variety of important matters. What is attempted to be done by this Article is to seize all these powers and vest their exercise in the County Council, for the Article proceeds to incorporate bodily all the powers embodied in the Act. This constitutes the whole of Article III. I will hereafter refer to some of these more important powers, and hope to convince you that some of them the Council has no power to exercise, and as to many others it would be an act of imprudence and folly to commit them to the exercise of a County Council constituted as this body- is. ARTICLE IV
This Article contains two sections. The first merely provides for filling a vacancy in the office of the presiding officer of the Council, and the second relates to the duties of the County Manager. That section I have above quoted, and need not be again set out.
ARTICLE V
The only sections of this Article
| which are of any real importance in
this discussion are the first, second
and third sections, which are here
transcribed:
1. Subject to such changes, alterations, rules and ' regulations as may from time to time be deemed expedient and adopted by said Council and in conformity with the laws of the State of Maryland, in such cases made and provided, the "Plan of County Government for Baltimore County" shall be as follows:
A County Manager as hereinbefore provided shall direct the administration of the affairs of the County, which, under the general supervision and direction of said County Manager, shall be committed to three Departments, as follows:
Department . of Public Service, which shall have charge of the following sub-divisions.
1. Highways.
2. Bridges.
3. Sewerage,
4. Lights.
5. Repairs to Public Buildings.
Department of Finance
1. Licenses.
2. Purchasing. \
3. Receipts and Disbursements.
4. Taxes.
5. County Attorney. Department of Public Safety
1. Police.
2. Fire.
3. Constable
4. Health.
5. General Welfare Work.
2. The heads of each one of said Departments shall be nominated by the County Manager, subject to confirmation by the County Council for a term of four years, provided the appointments first so made shall serve for two, three and four years, respectively, to be determined by lot. Any vacancy-in the office of any of the three shall be filled for the unexpired term by election by said Council, nominations having been first made bv the County Manager or any one holding that position.
Said heads of said three departments to receive respectively a salary of $3,500.Of) a year, subject to an increase tg^ ?5,000.00 by vote of the Lmcil, if it shall be deemed advisable.
Manager and such oth-tke said County Council do so, shall give bond money and under such s the County Council may costs of such bonds to n the Councy funds. County Manager and the said three Departments shall devote their entire time to the duties of their office.
3. It fehall be the duty of said Council to elect, as soon as is practicable, the heads of said different departments and to determine, as hereinbefore provided, for what length of time they shall respectively hold office and from time to time to fill vacancies tiat may occur.
It is cpparent that this Article and Article II, which creates the County Council, contain what may be called the iconoclastic provisions of the Charter, the provisions of which embody the means and instrumentalities by which it is intended to tear down and wholly lestroy the present form of government in this county. They also declare the basic principles of the new form of government which is to replace the old.
I warn to call your attention to the provisions of the Charter relating to the County Manager, who is to have the general supervision and direction of all the public activities of the county government as well as other duties prescribed in the Charter. The County Commissioners who now discharge the duties of County Managers are required by law ot "be residents, voters tnd taxpayers of Baltimore county." The law requires that the
Road Engineer shall have "the degree of Civil Engineer,"' and be experienced in bridge and road building." But under this Charter our new County Manager, occupying a position and exercising powers which many would-be political county managers, or political bosses, have dreamed of and sighed for, is not elected by the people or appointed by anyone elected by the people, and he is not required by the Charter to possess any qualifications of any kind. This Charter, u* my humble judgment, is as loose, ill-considered, and illconstructed an in" strument to be adopted as a basis for a municipal government as could well be imagined. I cannot think it will be satisfactory to our people.
In my next letter I will point out some other serious objections to its adoption.
Very faithfully yours,
N. CHARLES BURKE. Towson, July 27
Freedom, Pa., visited Mr. and Mrs'. J. M, Hale Sunday.
M'-s. Frank Peregoy and daughter, Dorothy, visited her mother, Mrs. Lula, Martin, on Tnursday evening of last week.
MT. CARMEL,
FULLERTOiV.
LOCAL CORBESPGNDENCE
WHITE HOUSE.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Armacost and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Boalsom spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Al-ban, of Trenton.
Those who visited at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis E. Morfoot on Sunday were Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Wilhelm. Jr., and son, Denis, of Mt. Zion; Mr. and Mrsl Amos Armacost and family, of White House, and Jacob Leister, of Hampstead.
Mr. and Mrs. Clifton E. Haile and daughter, Virginia; Mr. and Mrs. F. Peregoy and daughter, Dorothy; Mr. and Mrs. Silasi Lloyd and Mr. Clarence S. Parks, Mr. Preston Haile and Mr. H. Martin and Miss Hazel Haile all motored to and spent Sunday in Baltimore.
Mr. and Mrs. Emory Bull and daughter, of Beckleysville, spent Sunday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George E. Haile.
Mr. and Mrs. John T. Haile and three children spent Sunday at the home of the former's parents, Mr. and Mrs. D. Wilhelm,' of Mount Carmel.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Mart:n, of Butler, spent Sunday at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Martin. They also entertained a number of other relatives.
Mrs. John A. Lloyd, of Butler, spent Thursday with Mrs. Silas Lloyd.
Mr. and Mrs. John E. Haile and children spent Sunday with her parentss Mr. and Mrs. Isaac M. Ashe.
Mr. J. Best Wheeler has purchased a player piano. Also Mr. Emory Bulb
Mrs. Harrison Cox and Mrs. Susan Cox sjpent Monday with Mr. and Mrs. John McHare, of Foreston.
Mrs. Joshua T. Haile entertained on Sunday Mr. and Mrs. John E. Lloyd and son, Maurice, and Mr. and Mrs. John Bailey and son, of Glen Rock, Pa. Mr. John Blizzard, John Hess and G. Smith; Misses Ethel Blizzard and E. Henderson, of Finksburg.
Mrs. Lula Martin and friend went to Luray, Va., to visit the Cathedral Caverns last week and returned to their homes Monday evening.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank P. Bossom entertained several friends on Friday evening at their home.
Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Hohf, of New
The farmers are rushing the harvest from day until darkness sets in, and make no claim for extra time. It keeps them busy on the weeds and side stepping the constant showers. There is a good deal of hay cut in the fields. Prospects are for a bumper crop.
On Wednesday the steering gear of a large truck, whilst descending a heavy grade east of Putty Hill, got out of order and crashed into the slide of a bank, breaking off both front wheels. The wreck is still there.
Mr. Bernard Hoffman, formerly of Baltimore, who has been on the farm on Silver Spring avenue with his son, George, while engaged in cutting grass near some grapevines, suddenly fell down exhausted. Physicians were immediately summoned. He died shortly after. He was 67 years of age and was buried in Baltimore.
Trucks loaded up to the limit with boys and girls in the afternoons have a gala time singing and playing all sorts of music and enjoying themselves generally, going as far as Belair and other points.
On Sunday the Harford County Trans. Bus, loaded with milk for Baltimore, ran into the Gunpowder bridge and was wrecked. A derrick was secured and the best part of a day wasi put in extricating and resihipping the milk.
MANOR GLEN,
Mr. Richard Brady and his mother, of Baltimore, visited Mr. and Mrs. J. Reuter, on Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. R. Lauderman, of Baltimore, spent Sunday with Mrs). Laud-erman's parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Treut.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rier and son, of Glen Arm, and Dr. John Rehberger, of Baltimore, visited Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Rehberger last Sunday afternoon.
The Ladies' Aid Society held a week day bazar in Wisner's grove the past week.
Mrs. Samuel Merryman is entertaining relative* from Ohio.
Misses Mary Zencker and Beulah Benson are on the sick list.
Evangelistic services will be held here in the grove the first two weeks in August.
Misjs Holise Phillips, who spent four weeks in the Maryland General Hospital, is now visiting relatives in Baltimore.
Picnics are being held every Saturday' now.
Established 1865
WM. A. CONWAY
Jobber of
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626-28 FORREST ST.
1 Phones, Mt. Vernon 2751 or 1999 Write Today for Prices
4-13-20
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FRANK I. WHEELER)
Towson, Maryland.
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Gas and Electric floor lamps, desk and table lamps, piano lamps, and an unusually beautiful selection of light domes,' gas and electric fixtures and light shades.
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The Gas & Electric Co.
BRANCH1STORES Tosvson Catonsville Hamilton Highlandtown
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