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Mi a airi * lan ATj* ituliA pwyoae^ipQSiiiieiniti Roger B. Farquhar, Editor Thursday, February 19, 1959 Pork Barrel AT first blush it would appear that Gov. Tawes’ plan to reorganize the State Roads Commission is a good one. What he wants —and undoubtedly will get—is an in crease of from three to seven in the member ship of the SRC with geographical representa tion from all areas. Montgomery and Prince Georges, for example, would have their own commissioner while such areas as the Eastern Shore, Southern Maryland, Central Mary land, Western Maryland, Baltimore City would each have theirs, too. In addition, the Tawes plan would create a powerful di rector of highways who would have broad powers over the State’s highways and would serve as SRC chairman. This plan setting up geographical rep resentation is as old as the hills and always in the past has been quietly axed by the more responsible members of the General Assembly. Politics being what it is, how ever, the measure which Tawes obviously wdnts enacted very strongly will be enacted this year because Tawes is in the saddle and it would go hard for the legislator that blocks his wishes. The big evil in the bill, we believe, is the fact that road commissioners represent ing sections will think in sectional terms rather than in terms of the best interests of the entire State. Under the Tawes plan, the new commissioners will scramble for road improvement in their own sections because of inclination and because political and other pressures will be harder to resist. Under the present system the three at large members of the commission have tended to look at State-wide needs, and not be too pai’oehial. Also, as has been pointed out by forrtier SRC chairman, Robert O. Bonnell, the en largement will tend to create top-heavy ad ministration and make the commission’s operation more cumbersome and slow down decision-making. With all of the additional voices to be heard on Tawes’ expanded commission, the conflicting sectional interests to be wrestled with and the struggles between members that are almost certain to take place, the status of sound road-building practices seems to us to be in serious jeopardy. We would be delighted if Gov. Tawes would reconsider but are as certain as we are that the word "pork barrel” is in our dictionary that he will not. That means the General Assembly will meek ly pass the Tawes bill and we challenge any legislator to refute that assertion. Hasty Heart GOV. Tawes acted unwisely by letting himself be drawn into the emotion charged adoption case involving a Montgom ery County couple and a county foster child. Welfare and other officials who are charged with the day-to-day responsibility of carrying on their offices can properly look with askance at a chief executive who steps lightly into a highly controversial situa tion without thoroughly investigating first. It is very easy to side emotionally with the couple waging a strong fight for adop tion of the 19-month-old foster girl they had in their care for about 18 months. The hard facts, however, seem to indicate that county welfare officials did not err as seriously as some believe in awarding the child to another couple. The county couple knew that adoptions by foster parents are discouraged with vigor by county welfare authorities. The couple declined, we understand, to submit to an adoptive home study which other couples must undergo iK'fore adopting a child from the county welfare agency. And it is further difficult to understand the governor's deci sion to enter the case when it is realized that the matter is pending before Wicomico County Circuit Court. One should assume, we believe, that the court there will make a fair decision in the case and it is to be hoped that the judge will be allowed to make his own decision without any persuasion from Gov. Tawes. Halpine Crossing RESIDENTS of Twinbrook and others who are now complaining loudly about the Halpine grade crossing of the B&O RR tracks deserve all the support they can get. Last Saturday’s near tragedy when a woman fled her stalled car only a split sec ond before it was demolished by a train roaring through the crossing at 76 miles per hour dramatically focuses attention on the problem. The plight of the B&O in having hun dreds of such grade crossings across its tracks is easy to understand. If the carrier were forced to build an overpass or under pass for every such grade crossing, it would probably have to go out of business. There are other possibilities, however, and it seems to us that immediate steps should be taken to make the Halpine cross ing more safe. It is unthinkable, we believe, that the crossing should not, at the very least, have automatic gates. Either the B&O or the City of Rockville, separately or together, should see to it that gates are installed at once. We find it hard to accept the rather glib ex planation this week of a B&O spokesman d I ** | VieNqgrs lfotey School Psychologists to Interview 1186 Students ■flfc Kr\ § /V- XT XTf ftu iSjuW I* W/m. w jgfr 2* 'Let's Make a Deal! I Cooperate and You Give Me an "A" for Analysis.' Letters to the Editor C-1 Likes 'Suburbia' Congratulations on your week ly magazine dealing with Subur bia. its people and problems. Aft er I started looking through the new magazine, I found that I had to read all of three articles and order Dr. Robert Wood’s book on Suburbia. The article stressing the points that a prospective home buyer should bo particularly careful about was so well done that I have filed it to hand to my next friend who asks that kind of ad vice. This magazine is another of the recent useful additions to your interesting paper. E. Brooke Lee Let's Try Muzzles! Recently there have been ar ticles in the newspapers indi cating that the County Council is considering passing an ordi nance prohibiting unleased dogs on the streets in the lower sec tion of the county. This course of action seems to be rather harsh treatment for all the dogs in the area just because there may be a few that are vicious. The old saying that “a dog is man’s best friend” seems to be forgotten for the sake of a few mean dogs. I agree that a vicious dog should be confined to its owner’s property or kept on a leash. Taking away the free dom of a gentle dog that has gone and come as it pleased all its life, and confining it to the house or a small yard unless it is on a leash, just doesn't seem to be right. This typo of action is like putting everyone in jail just be cause there are a few criminals. Why single out dogs for this course of action? There are other pets that can also become a nuis ance. Why shouldn't cats be in cluded? There are various courses of action that can be taken for a dog that is not vicious, but is objectionable to the community for other reasons. The mean or vicious dogs are known either from police records, postmen, newsboys, etc. These are the dogs that should be con trolled by a leash. In my opinion, it would be far preferable to re quire that all loose dogs be muz zled by a county approved muz t zle. The owner would then be subject to a fine if the dog was caught away from the owner's premises without it. John W. Miller Dog Law Opposed Why should the children of Montgomery County suffer by having thousands of their well mannered pets sentenced to a life of confinement just to ap pease a few thoughtless people who are unwilling to spend a few rents- to protect their several shrubs that could be damaged by the attention of dogs? Montgomery County is a sub urban and rural community, not a city where dogs must he "curbed” to keep the sidewalks clean. Garden lovers should prefer the inconspicuous shrub protec tion to the extensive building of “Anchor-type" fenced yards that mar the beauty of their com munity. Those who propose this law that there is not enough traffic volume to crossing last Saturday grim tragedy was justify gates at that crossing. averted by only a split second. Must we wait Everyone knows that all grade crossings until someone is killed there before life-sav are terribly dangerous. At the Halpine grade ing gates are installed? have either failed to give it care ful and objective thought, or they are completely self-centered. Harold O. Smith, jr. 'Acute' Problem Regarding any protests to the proposed Montgomery County dog ordinance: as a “responsible dog owner,” Mr. John Q. Public, how far docs your responsibility ex tend? Do you keep him home so that he does not run the streets? Do you see to it that he does not ruin your neighbors’ lawn, flower beds or shrubbery? If he runs; is he fully inoculated against all dog diseases; is he kept clean and Iree of fleas and is he checked for internal parasites every two months? Do you, as his owner, see to it that he does not chase cars or delivery trucks; bother the milkmen or the mailmen; that he does not run in a pack with other dogs? Do you restrain him, assuming you have a male, when there is a female in heat in your neighborhood, in deference to the ow r ner of said female? Do you think moving to the suburbs entitles you to the ac quisition of a dog, free to run and “exercise" on property other lhan your own? In appreciation of this privilege, do you peri odically take shovel in hand and clean up your neighbors’ yards? Did you get a dog because you wanted one, was your wife in full accord ... or did the children nag you into getting one? Is the dog really part of the family or something that is spoken to only when necessary? Is your dog obedience-trained? Is he your pet and your protection on your prop erty or is he a neighborhood "bum"? Talk to your vet, if you know him well enough to get an honest opinion; talk to your milk man and your mailman and lo your neighbors, the dog-less ones, see what they think of your dog running loose! The County already has some say-so about destructive and/or vicious animals. Owners can be forced to restrain or dispose of those considered dangerous. It is not just a "relatively few dogs and dog owners" that have brought about the need for a severe restrain order. Those who care enough for their pets to see to it that their animals do not become neighborhood nuisances arc in the minority. This applies not only to Montgomery County, but to every city and suburban community where an ordinance is non-existent. Something drastic is needed in Montgomery County to control the acute dog problem and to deal with inconsiderate owners. People who are actively concerned with dogs, who know them, love and work with them, are behind the ordinance 100 per cent. Barbara McKee The Rockville Chamber of Com merce wishes to congratulate the Sentinel on its excellent coverage of personnel and commutation conditions at the Atomic Energy Commission in your issue of Jan uary 20. At a recent meeting of the Chamber it was unanimously agreed that your paper should oc commended for its accurate and factual reporting of a situation which was misleadingly reported in other quarters. It was with a great deal of in terest that we learned, as a result of your reports, that the person nel turnover at AEC is below the government-wide average; that 53 per cent of the AEC employees live in Montgomery County; that the employees AEC lost when : t moved to Maryland were in the lower grades and easily replaced; that there is a waiting list for employment at the AEC; that the percentage of employees who must drive 30 minutes or more to work has been steadily decreas ing; and that, according to the AEC Personnel Director, the move should eventually assure a more stable work force. Uncovering such facts throws an entirely different light on other stories that all was unrest and inconvenience at the Atomic En ergy Commission. For those of us in Montgomery County who welcome the AEC’s presence anil look forward to the Bureau of Standards’ relocation in this area, searching investigation such as yours is most reassuring. The Rockville Chamber of Coni meree and other groups stand ready to do all in their power to make the change for Federal gov ernment agency personnel as con venient as possible. Completion of the Washington-National Pike (Rt. 240) into the Distiict and its southern leg across the Potomac at Cabin John will undoubtedly make commutation to these agen cies swift and short so that travel ing to and from work in upper Montgomery County will be a most pleasant and tireless daily experience. Again, congratulations on an excellent job of reporting. Donald T. Burke Executive Director Rockville C. of C. School Taxes I was shocked to read about the increase in real estate tax necessary to meet the costs of the proposed school budget. For the council to approve such a budget and the subsequent tax increase would indicate to me, a flagrant disregard for the tax payers pocket book. I realize that schools are es sential and that a small increase might be justified to meet in creased costs. However, an in crease as great as the tine pro posed, if approved, would come close to a policy of issuing the school board a blank check each year. Ben 11. Crump SMiueii &Biffg§ffitiiid Ejtabllshed 1*35 by Matthew KVKU MEMBER MARYLAND PRESS ASSOC AFFILIATE MEMBER NATIONAL EDITORIAL ASSOCIATION SENTINEL PUBLISHING 00., INC Publlxhwl wwkly, Thursday*, at 21* Kant Montgomery Avenue, by tk* Sen tinel PublfNlilng Co., Inc-, Cy M. Campbell, preetdent. Entered a nr.md riant matter at tna Post Office- at Rockville, Maryland under Act of Congreu. March 3, I*7#. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Mall In Maryland and the District at Columbia: One Year .*3.00 Eiaewbere: One man \ Viewpoints WHL Problem Liquor Laws > Likely to Remain iSPRII Roger Farquhar It’s easy, as this newspaper did in its three previous issues, to pinpoint the weaknesses and the loopholes, the inequities and the inconsisten cies of our county liquor laws. But to come up with some concrete plan that would improve the present situation is, as Del. Blair Lee 111 pointed out in his column last week, something else again. It is ail amazing but apparently true fact that nobody seems to lie absolutely sure he knows what the answer is as far as the problem of our liquor laws is concerned. The very dry interests know liquor is bad and the world would be much better off without it. But they know, too, that if it is outlawed, the evils of prohibition will return. The very wet will admit at the outset that even they do not want a liquor joint on every street corner in Montgom ery County. And in between those two extremes there is a vast and confusing array of opinion with the holders almost pathetically eager to admit they don't even begin to know all the answers. Only one thing shines out quite clearly in this muddled picture and that is universal agreement that the dispensary system which enables the county government and no one else - to sell whisky by the bottle is a good thing. From that point on, there is chaotic disagreement to such an extent that present and past county legislators can more be pardoned for not, as the Sentinel articles put it, opening the Pandora's box of liquor legislation. To even begin to appreciate the present per County Comment P-TAs Aren't Afraid WflK To Take a Position jflßk ....iatt. 3 —— Bob Bernstein No matter how you feel about the ideals and goals of the County P-TA, you have to give the group credit for one thing: the courage to be different. At least two examples have cropped up in the past few weeks. The first was their much-publicized stand against new industry in the county. Somehow everyone always has assumed that industry more than pays its way and that new plants would help reduce everybody’s tax bill. Everyone, that is, except the P-TA, which lias taken the position that an Industrial plant pays less In taxes than it costs the public to serve the families of Its employes. Said County P-TA President Pat. Holt last week: “Montgomery County needs industry like eskimos need air conditioning.” The second example deals also with taxes. It has become as stylish to plead for lower tuxes as it is to defend the sanctity of Mom and Old Glory. But the P-TA and its various spokes men consistently have flaunted the fashion by proclaiming publicly that Montgomery County taxes are already lower than they need be, and that we might as well do something about It. Of course, there is nothing unique in lobby ing for expensive public programs. Many such causes likewise are in the current style. But wo know of no other group that has gone about it with such disarming candor. Ordinarily, organizations and politicians find it advantageous to adopt all the latest styles and to scream for both broader programs and lowered An Opinion County GOP Down \JkM But Far From Out Wick Byron Members of the Republican Party in Mont gomery County gave indications last Thursday night at the annual Lincoln Day dinner that they have no intentions of sitting quietly by until the next election campaign. At the first first large public affair since a rather dismal defeat in November, even Repub lican leaders were surprised !o see so much en thusiasm among workers and party members. They think it’s a pretty good sign that the local GOP is not dead; not too sick to recover from a lost election, and is not split to any great extent.' Principal speaker, Meade S. Alcorn, Repub lican National Committee Chairman, said, "It is very clear that the elephant is neither dead nor hibernating in Montgomery County. He also told the local Republicans that their "neighbor-to neighbor” drive prior to the election was tops in the country. To Dave Scull, chairman of the local GOP State Central Committee, belongs much of the credit for present party spirit, lie has devoted many hours of thought and effort to building the GOP into a real potent political force. He Is aware of the disadvantage Republicans in this county suffer as a minority party on the voting books. Mr. Scull hus strong ambition and strong hope. lie aspires to iron out all party kinks and dis satisfactions in order to build the strongest pos sible organization before next election. The Job is big, but the chairman is equal to the task. Dave's Scull’s one big hojx: is that the Übcrul element and Uic more conservaUvc members cl the Democratic Party here will t-plit the pemo erats wide open within the next few yean. As a matter of fact, Mx. Scull would not be 100 un plexing situation, the unitiated must understand that in the eyes of the law, sale of alcoholic bever age is a privilege not a right. If there were any constitutional rights involved in the liquor business most of the present inequities would have been straightened out in the courts long ago. But because of this “privilege” status con ferred upon alcoholic beverages by the State, there are such inequities as a rich man belonging to a country club and ordering a drink legally W'hilc a poor man who can’t afford to go to such a club can’t. Why should a rich man be allowed to do what a poor man can’t? Another almost ludicrous one is the requirement that a grocery chain may sell canned or bottled beer in only one retail outlet no matter how many outlets it may have here. If it is all right to sell this com modity in onp of your stores, why isn’t it okay to sell it in all of them? In any consideration of the problem of our liquor laws, one plain, very simple, unadorned fact always emerges like a beacon to help dispel a great deal of confusion. That simple fact is that a vast majority of the people who live in the county either grew up with the present system and take it for granted or they moved into the county knowing what the system was and have adjusted their social life to it; i.e., parties at home or dinner out of the county if you want a drink with it, dinner in the county if you’re con tent with a drink-less dinner. And it’s as simple as that. The politicians, of course, know this full well. They’ll undoubt edly decide again to leave the liquor laws just where they are. And there’ll be no public outcry. tuxes. We recently elected a governor who cam paigned on the fascinating pledge to raise teachers’ salaries while opposing the taxes to pay for it. So the P-TA stand is rather refreshingly eccentric. Its latest statement came from Joseph Els, who is promoting the organization's teachers’ salary plan calling for a top pay of $12,000 a year. In defending the cost of such an innovation, Eis declared flatly: “Taxes In the county are much too low In relation to comparable area* In the nation. We can afford to pay more to give our children the kind of education we want them to have.” Eis is chairman of the P-TA’s teacher re cruitment and retalnment committee, which drafted the proposed pay scale as part of u broad program for luring the best teaching talent in the country to our area. He and the P-TA frankly do not want to set tle for anything less than the best. And they make no attempt to pretend that the best is not expensive. Eis quotes statistics tending to demonstrate that, even if the County Council approves the school board’s plan for a healthy raise in teach ers’ pay, additional hikes will soon be necessary. “The number of school systems paying a maximum of at least SB3OO more than doubled last year over the year before,” he said. "There arc now 83 such systems, which is an indication of a national trend. I think the public is willing to pay.” happy to see the llorsky-Murphy-Werner-Schwein haul element of the Democratic Party gain control of all party machinery ami office. If this should occur, Scull is of the opinion the Blair Lec-Nor throp-Caddlngton combine would be more inclined to Join with conservative Republicans in a general election. In our opinion, this could only happen if the more or less conservative Democrats were thrown out completely In a hot and heavy Dem ocratic primary. At the moment, however, this doesn't seem likely. .Mr. Scull I Las an extra hope. He sees Demo cratic Governor 4. Millard Tawe* as a hack poli tician surrounded by hack politicians and beer Istron advisors. He believes voters throughout the State will be fed up with the Tawes administration within a short time and will send a Republican back to Government House bi 1962. In the opinion of this observer, enthusiasm shown at the Llm-oln Day dinner was not super ficial. Members of the State Central Committee, district and area chairmen, precinct heads and hundreds of party workers are ready, apparently, to follow a "hard work” program and stated oh Jisilves set by Scull and the Stale Central Com mittee. Tile GOP State Central Committee has taken steps to keep a watchful eye on Democratic offiie holders. It also plana to publish four issues year ly of a party newspaper called "The Montgomery Republican." The first one was presented at the dinner. As we sec it, "The Montgomery Republican" is a dignified. Informative-type of newspaper with some humor and with little or no political rancor —t this time! "It will no doubt get hotter,” Mr. Scull said. A