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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
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'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
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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