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Maryland State Archives Jeffersonian, Towson, Maryland mdsa_sc3410_1_63-0256 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
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Maryland State Archives Jeffersonian, Towson, Maryland mdsa_sc3410_1_63-0256 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
| ? THE JEFFERSONIAN, TOWSON, MARYLAND. August 21, 1920—Page 3 TO THE EDITOR OF THE JEFFERSONIAN : It is, indeed, a matter of regret and disappointment to the people of Baltimore county, where former Judge N. Charles Burke is so well known, as well as to me as a member of the Charter Board, elected at the past election to prepare a Charter for Baltimore county, that he should have made such an incorrect statement as was published in the county papers of Saturday, August 14th, 1020, relative to the Baltimore County Charter which is to be submitted to the vot- ers of the county at the next election on November 2. I refer to the comparison he made of the salaries under the present county government, amounting to $23,600' and his estimate of $46,700 under the charter.. In the latter figure he includes: Salaries of the County Commissionss$ 12,000.00 Salary of 15 Councilmen, meeting for 150 days at $5.00 per day........,------ 11,250.00 Traveling expenses-.......... ........ 6,000.00 These items are not correct. Now, unless ex-Judge Burke has it in his mind to say that the 15 districts would inevitably send 15 rascals to this Council, who wlli call meetings merely for the purpose of earning their per diem., what occasion will there be for this Council to meet during the remaining eleven months, except in cases of most urgent necessity? It must further be remembered that when they do meet, say, under a call for such an emergency, they canot fo|ol away their time by senseless talk but they must dispatch the business for which they are called to attend in that one day, as no adjournment from day to day, except as a recess from day to- day can be made, and for such adjourn-days they get no per diem. It is not very likely therefore that if an emergency arises which justifies the calling of a meeting during any of these eleven months, that the time will be spun out for the mere purpose of getting another day's pay. There are various kinds of rascals in the world, but it is not conceivable to me that any of the districts of Baltimore county will elect men who will stultify themselves and make outcasts of themselves by calling meetings unnecessarily simply for the purpose of earning a little money. If such men should exist in the counties and ac- J07jd $1395 TrallicTnick Chassis f.Q.b.St.l&uis Some Traffic Features Red Seal Continental 3%x5 motor; Covert transmission; multiple disc clutch; Bosch magneto; 4 - piece cast shell, cellular type radiator; drop forged front axle with Timkeu roller bearings; A u s s e 1 1 rear axle, internal gear, roller hearings; semi-elliptic front and rear springs; flinch L: - o h a it ii e 1 frame; Standard Pisk tires, 34x3ya front, 34x5 rear; 133-inch wheelbase; 122-inch length of frame behind driver's seat; oil- cup lubricating system; chassis painted, striped and varnished; driver's lazy-back seat and cushion regular equipment. Pneumatic cora tire equipment at extra cost. The Lowest Priced 4,000-lb. Capacity Truck in the World. Traffic Trucks don't get sore necks, collar boils, spavin or galled shoulders. They are always harnessed and ready to go. It costs more to feed a team than it does a Traffic, a^id you must feed your team whether it works or not. The Traffic hauls a 4,000-lb. load 14 miles in one hour for 30 cents' worth of gasoline. It saves hundreds of dollars in first cost—hundreds of dollars in maintenance cost and cuts the cost of hauling with teams in half and is the lowest priced 4,000-lb. capacity truck in the world. See it today. Seaboard Sales and Service Company 1109-13 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Md. Taffic Motor Truck Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., largest exclusive builders of 4,CC0-lb. capacity trucks in the world ^T=^r^r^T^r^r^T=^r^T^T^r^T^T^T^T^T^T=^T==^ I 1 E 1 I I fl fl fl fl B I fl I n i n =],=i,=i,=d,=i,=i,=il=i,=i|j i n MOTORTRUCKS BUILDERS gf BUSINESS^ Mean Assured Transportation For The Farmers. NOTE the increased number of FARMERS, who are now using SERVICE MOTOR TRUCKS to bring their products direct from the farm to the city markets. Every day you can see new faces driving up to the commission houses with a new truck, loaded heavily with fresh vegetables, getting exceptional prices for them, due to their quality. The farmer with a horse and wagon is looked upon as one of the old days, when rapid transit meant practically nothing. This means of transportation is steadily passing away and the SERVICE MOTOR TRUCK is taking its place. NOW IS YOUR TIME, MR. FARMER, to get into the new way of doing business and buy a truck. We have one of the largest service stations in the East, -which is at your disposal day and night. This department is well supplied with every part needed in adjusting your truck and in charge of only the very best motor experts. s Buy Now and Get Immediate Delivery Preparedness Means Everything When Seitz Says If s Right, It's Right SEITZ AUTO 2 TO 8 NORTH AVE. Mt. Vernon 3980 Some good territory open to live dealers 1! 1 I! fl II 11 fl 11 fl 11 II fl 1! 11 11 I 11 11 1 fl 11 fl 11 11 II 11 11 11 11 ^p^r=af=^f==Jr^i=Jr^F=lr=f==jf=siF=ir==jf:^r=^r=^r^ cept the trust imposed upon them by their fellow citizens of the district and then act treacherously, they should and would be run out of the county. Again, it takes a consipracy of at least eight members of the Council to meet uselessly for the dirty work merely of drawing a per diem. The Charter makes a quorum; unless they have eight there will be no meeting, and I assume as a certainty that eight men out of fifteen at least will not allow themselves to be bribed to conduct unnecessary meetings merely for the puropse of earning a little money. Therefore, Judge Burke is as-assuming that 15 districts would elect 15 bandits instead of 15 honest, men, or his apphensions about the cost of $11,250 a year, are utterly baseless. The same suggestions of course will apply to the item of traveling expense—$6,000—and it is quite as reasonable to believe that these two items which Judge Burke has blown up to such fanciful proportions, namely, $11,250 and $6,000, will dwindle to very much nearer something like $1,000. Now, Judge Burke adds the further item of $12,000 to be paid to the County Commissioners. He speaks of that as if that is a permanency, charter or no charter. On that we must with great respect take sharp issue with him and deny that any such expense will be incurred, as with the adoption of the Charter the County Commissioners go out by the unmistakable provisions of the Charter and by the amendment of the Constitution and by the decisions of the Court of Appeals. For the first year, if the Charter is adopted, it provides that the County Commissioners , shall continue in office and discharging their duties as they have done before that variation, except that appointments whiph they propose to make during that year, shall be subject to the concurrence of the County Council after it is elected in November, 1921. But for political conditions this delay might have been avoided, and an effort was earnestly made to .have the election of the 15 members concurrent with the vote on the Charter on November next, so that if the Charter was adopted the members would be on hand at once to take up the lines o£ duty. As this measure could not- be gotten through as proposed by those who favored the Charter, no alternative was left but' to leave the County Commissioners to perform the duties and the care of county affairs until, during the year running from November, 1920, to November, 1921, each district might select its member, and the election would take place in November, 1921. These conditions bring about this fact: That the plan of the Charter will not involve any additional expense in running the county, unless, as has been said, a band of robbers is sent by the 15 districts to make up the Council. The outcome of it all is this: That the two objections made to the adoption of the Charter and with it the great advantages of home rule, are according to Judge Burke, that. we will not get rid of the County Commissioners' system, and that no matter if the Charter is adopted and they are rendered impo-ent, so far as governing the county is concerned, they will still hang on and will try to draw their salary. It is very much to be hoped that decency and patriotism will prevent the County Commissioners from taking any such position. The other objection is as to the expense,, and it would seem that anything like an examination of the questio basis of these suggestions that there would be no inc penses, and on the other h ing of over $5,000, in additio^ to in creased efficiency and freedom from political control in our local affairs. Former Judge Burke is very skillful in citing references to the Home Rule Amendment of the Constitution and the Express Powers Act passed by the 1918 session of the Legislature, to support his contention that the County Commissioners will be continued in office after the adoption of the Constitution, but carefully omits important provisions. Section 3 of the Home Rule Amendment contains the following: "Every Charter so formed shall provide for an elective legislative body in which shall be vested the law making power of said county * * * * * an(j a]j references in the Constitution and ' laws of this State * * * * * t0 thg County Commissioners of the counties shall be construed to refer * * * * to the President and County Council herein provided for, when ever such construction would be reasonable." The Home Rule Amendment was duly adopted by the voters of the State of Maryland at the general election in November, 1915, which was followed by the Express Powers Act, passed in 1918, which provided that "All property and franchises of every kind belonging to or in the possession of the Board of Commissioners of the county and any of its agencies, shall, immediately upon the adoption of a Charter, be vested in the said county, as a corporation." The Express Powers Act of 1918 provides that when any county adopts a Charter "it shall be enttiled to exercise the following express powers, said powers being * * * * granted as a substitute for and in extension of the powers codified in Article 25 of the Annotated Code of Maryland, title, "County Commissioners," it being the intent of the General Assembly of Maryland that said Article 25 shall continue to be operative in any and all such counties of Maryland as do not adopt for themselves a Charter * * * * but that the powers herein granted SHALL BE OPERATIVE IN ANY* AND ALL SUCH COUNTIES OF MARYLAND AS DO ADOPT SUCH CHARTER or form of government." (Article 25 is the law which gives force and power to the office of County Commissioner.) It is, therefore, perfectly clear to any one, with the possible exception of former Judge Burke, that the office of County Commissioner will automatically cease to exist upon the adoption' of this Charter, and upon the election of a County Council and the appointment of the County Manager, to take over the administrative affairs of the county, the Charter providing that the County Commissioners shall continue in office until such election and appointment. As specified in the Home Rule Amendment to the Constitution, the State Legislature is, therefore, prohibited from passing any local taws for Baltimore county, and this power is vested in the elective legislative body known as the County Council, which is to sit not more than one month in each year for that purpose. As far as Baltimore county is concerned, it has never been necessary to call a special session of the Legislature, which meets only once every two years, and it would seem reasonable to assume that it will not be necessary to call a special session of the County Council which will meet Once every year. Judge Burke estimates $6,00# for traveling expenses for the Council for 176 days ,and as the chances are so very remote of their having to serve more than 2o days this, item should be reduced to about $858. Therefore, former Judge Burke's estimate of the expenses of the Charter system should be corrected as follows: 1. 15 Councilmen acting as a lawmaking body, 26 days in December each year . - -............................. $ 1,950 00 2. County; Manager (minimum salary) 5,000.00 ii. Heads of Departments (minimum sa-arj)............................. 10,500 00 4. Traveling expenses, etc., 26 days, one-seventh of what was estimated for 176 days.................,..... 858.00 $18,308.00 This will effect a saving of $5,298 from the present expense. However, the great saving will' not be in this reduction of $5,292, but by the increased , efficiency brought about by having the County Manager and the three department heads on duty the entire time, instead of having five County Commissioners sit for two or three hours daily for three days a week. Former Judge Burke also very skillfully omits to mention the most attractive and important feature that has been offered to the people of Baltimore county by the Home Rule Amendment to the Constitution and the laws passed pursuant thereto, and that is it vests in the people of the county, by the facility with which amendments to the Charter may be made, the absolute right to control their own local affairs and takes this power out of the hands of the few politicians who control us under the present system. The Charter Board took six months of careful study and deliberation in preparing this Charter, and while there may be some few grounds for honest differences of opinion as to certain provisions contained in the Charter, these points are nolj material, as after the Charter is adopted the voters of the county will have the absolute right of determining these questions for themselves. Other articles will be published from time to time to prove that the objections that have been made to this Charter are not sustained by the facts. RANDOLPH BARTON. "^ Why go to the heart of the city ? T. B. GATCH & SONS Machine Shop and Garage.. Belair Road RASPEBURG, MD. All kinds of Machine Work Nothing too laVge Nothing too small KELLY-SPRINGFIELD PNEUMATIC ana KELLY-SPRINGFIELD SOLID TIRES Always In Stock—All Sizes, --26-iy Pressed on day or night at Quarry IBB Visit real Timonium Fair! AUGUST 31, SEPTEMBER 1,2,3,4 and 6 TIMONIUM, BALTIMORE COUNTY, ON YORK TURNPIKE Maryland's Greatest Agricultural Exposition -- Showing — Blooded Dairy Cattle Prize Swine Magnificent Horses Poultry Farm and Dairy Products Farm Machinery and Imple-. ments Home Canned Vegetables Preserves, Jams, Jellies Bread, Cakes, Pies Embroidery, Tatting, Knitting Demonstrations of Remodeled Garments Cookery Demonstrations Flower Show Many Amusements, Including: The Diving Venus and Her Diving Beauties • De Ivey's Wild Animal Arena Death-defying Motorcycle Races ® Athletic Arena Merry-go-Round and The Whip Circus Side Show Minstrels and Society Horse Show... Many other Features. Visit The Art Gallery! Free Band Concerts Gaily Free Lectures By Farm Experts Free Demonstrations of Many Kinds ADMISSIOM, 25 Cents CHILDREN, 15 Cents Mothers may leave their Children at the Model Nursery and Kindergarten, where Competent Nurses and Teachers will look after them. j Wanted—Farms! ¦ I All sizes. We have eash ¦ buyers waiting. ! THE BALTIMORE REALTY CO. 18 E. Lexington Street BALTIMORE, MD. ¦ i Wanted—Country Stores! ¦ ¦ Business Strictly Confidential. RAISE MORE HOGS AT LESS COST HOG F11D The most valuable pig for a breeder to raise is the one that will give him^the most money for the feed consumed. Spring Garden Hog Feed is all food, no waste. The protein content is practically all digestible as compared with 70 % digestibility inborn. It is made from corn germ or hearts, corn oil meal, corn bran and part of the crown portion of the kernel. Thoroughly kiln-dried and sterilized; packed clean by machinery; free from dust and adulterants. Guaranteed to keep pure and sweet and do all we claim for it or money back. Spring Garden Hog Feed is the most economical pork producer on the market. Superior feeding value proven by Agricultural Station tests. Farmers who raise both cereal crops ana stock can profitably sell their corn and use Spring Garden Hog Feed. This can be readily jdem-onstrated by breeders who will compare results. Write for samples and prices if your dealer cannot supply you with "Spring Garden" Brand. BALTIMORE PEARL HOMINY CO. SEABOARD CORN MILLS HOWARD STREET PIER OTHER "SPRING GARDEN" FEEDS Borse Feed, Dairy Feed, Flaked ats, Hominy Feed, C. & O. Feed, Cracked Corn, Chick Grits, Dry Poultry Mash. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND TO CORN DEALERS AND * SHIPPERS We buy White and Yellow Corn either shelled or on cob delivered at our mill or at your station. 10-6-1* Laryland State Archives mdsa_sc341.0_1_63-0256.jj |