Montgomery County sentinel. [volume], January 07, 1960, Image 1

About Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974

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104th Teer - No. 5 f V MARYLAND THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 17*0 \> i f T#|| Cl||ft m Co|(y
99 Zoning
Pleas Are .
On File
Two members of the
Montgomery County Plan
ning Board will disqualify
themselves from discussions
of two rezoning applications
for apartment and industrial
uses because of their close, sepa
rate connections with the tracts
Involved. t
They are J. Newton Brewer,
board chairman, whose wife and
her brother have filed for apart
ment zoning of 96 acres, and
W. Lawson King, owner of 11
acres sought for industrial use
by a science industry.
Altogether, 99 individual ap
plications for zoning changes
were filed with the County by
deadline date, December 31. The
County Council will start public
hearings soon.
Brewer and King, whose
Board must review and make
recommendations to the Coun
cil on zonings, said this week
that they will disqualify them
selves from discussions and vot
ing on the two specific applica
tions.
Brewer said he had "absolute
ly no financial interest” in the
application filed by his wife and
Karl W. Corby, for a change to
R-10 or R-30 zoning of a tract
now zoned R-90. It is located
West of the Rockville Pike,
North of Grosvenor la. and
East of new U. S. 240.
He pointed out the land is part
of a huge estate left his wife
and her brother by their late
grandfather, C. I. Corby, bakery
magnate who formerly owned
the palatial home on Rockville
Pike, now called St. Angela Hall.
It is occupied by an order of
Catholic Nuns, Sisters of The
Holy Cross.
Karl Corby is a builder. Brew
#r >Jtid Corby j. .-nther than his
sister, was the initiator of plans
to build on the site located to
the North of Rooks Hill inter
change, according to Brewer.
Additionally, Brewer said he
had no comments to make on
the mounting issue of apart
ment budding at this time.
Meanwhile, W. Lawson King,
Planning Board member and
dairyman with large land hold
ings in the County, similarly
said he would refrain from con
sidering an application by
Washington Technological Asso
ciates, Inc., to rezone 76 acres
to the new Industrial Park zone.
WTA, he explained, is con
tract-purchaser of the land at
the Northeast quadrant of
Shady Grove rd. and U. S. 240.
King owns 11 of these acres.
J. E. Troth owns the remainder,
King said. Should the zoning
not be granted, the sale would
be called off, he said.
King added that in WTA’s
conditional sales contract, he
spelled out that he would have
no responsibility nor obligation
to see that industrial zoning was
'granted.
WTA’s request for Industrial
Park zoning was one of four
filed with the County. The IP,
or 1-3 (light) industrial zone
is brand new, having received
County Council approval only
last November 17.
Broadly, the new zone sets up
standards of industrial perfor
mance and occupancy that rule
out other than so-called "garden
industries.” Noise, heat odor,
radioactivity, vibrations, and
many other physical products
of industry are rigidly con
trolled In the new ordinance.
Other three 1-3 applicants:
• Ralph J. Duffle, contract
owner of an 85.4-acre tract
zoned R-40 and R-90. in the
Southeast quadrant of old Co
lumbia rd. and Colesville rd.,
White Oak.
• Lawrence L. Levin, appli
cant for 97.5 acres now zoned
Rural-Residential. West of Old
Georgetown rd.. South of the
proposed Outer Circumferential
Highway not far West of Rock
ville Pike.
•, The County Council which
,on its own motion instituted 1-3
zoning of a 93.2-acre tract West
of Metropolitan Grove rd.,
'North of Rt 117, and South of
the BAO Railroad tracks.
Now zoned Rural-Residential,
the land was the subject of
heavier, 1-1 zoning sought by
Andrew L. Devlin, Christian
Heurich, Jr., and Jonathan S.
England. Several weeks ago
the trio asked the Council to let
them withdraw their zoning ap
plication so they could avail
.(Continued on Page 2).
WMtmtt fnrii SeiM
H's Against It
Birth Control t.
\ J?
Taken by Rep. Foley
Rep. John R. Foley (D-Md.)
believes the United States Gov
ernment should not distribute
birth control device information
under any circumstances.
“The sanction of government,
in my judgment should be with
held from this matter of individ
ual conscience,” the first-term
congressman said in reply to a
series of question* posed by the
Sentinel.
Foley, a Catholic, will stand
for re-election in the May pri
mary at a time when the candi
dacy of Senator John F. Ken
nedy for presidential nomina
tion will bring such questions
of religious dogma into the
middle of the political arena.
The congressman stated that
he did not behave in birth con
trio, but “would nor try to im
pose my view opposing birth
control on any other person.
Likewise, I do not believe any
other person should try to im
pose his view favoring birth
control on me.”
“Those for birth control have
no greater rights to government
adoption of their views than
those who oppose birth control.
Therefore no government
agency should be in the business
of disseminating any informa
tion about birth control.”
In answer to questions con
Religious Factor Cited
In Anti-Hospital\Suit
A suit designed to block
the transfer of $250,000 in
public funds and land to the
Holy Cross Hospital to be
built in Silver Spring was
filed in Montgomery County
Circuit Court Monday.
The suit alleges that:
• The Maryland Legislature
has never given the Silver
Spring Hospital Association
power to transfer public funds
to a sectarian institution.
• Transfer of public funds to
the Sisters of the Holy Cross
is unconstitutional because the
hospital is to be operated under
the Ethical and Religious Direc
tives of the Catholic Hospital
Association.
• A convent to be constructed
on the grounds of the hospital
“cannot and will not be used by
nurses serving the hospital un
less they are members of the
aforesaid sectarian, denomina
tional order.”
The $250,000 in funds cited by
the five plaintiffs, backed by
the Protestants and Other
Americans United for Separa-
More Police
Assigned
To Court
Armed plainclothes police
men will be made available
from tomorrow on to main
tain peace in Montgomery
County Circuit Courtrooms,
it was announced Tuesday by
County Manager Melvin L.
Reese.
County policemen will be on
call to the State’s Attorney’s
office, whenever cases involving
dangerous prisoners are heard,
Reese said.
While criminals charged with
manslaughter, armed robbery,
rape, murder, etc., will auto
matically rate police supervi
sion, Reese indicated that even
lesser offenders may come
under courtroom surveillance If
they have extensive police rec
ords.
Meanwhile, deputy sheriffs
will continue their normal
duties of escorting prisoners to
and from the courts and jail.
The policy of additional police
protection followed an outbreak
in court by Gordon Leon Con
tee, of Quince Orchard, found
guilty before Christmas of rap
ing a Chestnut Lodge patient
Contee went berserk and a
half-brother slugged a police
man before the ruckus was
quieted. Circuit Court Judges
and the State’s Attorney’s office
immediately called for a meet
ing with Reese, police Superin
tendant McAuliffe and Sheriff
Luke Bennett to explore meth
ods of better court protection.
The meeting will be held after
Bennett returns from a vaca
tion in .florida, where, it was
reported, (lis wife was ill.
cerning the actions of Catholic
bishops in protesting the use of
public funds for the distribution
of birth control information to
such countries as India and
Egypt, Foley noted:
“As citizens of the United
States . . . Catholics have the
same right to exercise freedom
of speech. The bishops’ state
ment set forth basically what
Catholics believe concerning
birth control.”
Foley affirmed his own be
lief in the separation of church
and state, and denied that the
bishops’ action was in direct con
flict with this principle. “I do
not believe that the bishops seek
to have the Catholic church or
the tenets of its faith estab
lished as a state church or re
ligion of America.”
Foley, who was in Europe at
the time President Eisenhower
was questioned on the matter at
a press conference, said that the
Pret' lint’s advisors apparently
concluded that this principle
was not involved or they would
have undoubtedly included it.
He expressed his belief that the
President “undoubtedly believes
in separation of the church and
state.”
The congressman also noted
that “there should be no gov
ernment agency to police the re
ligious practices or beliefs of
any persons.”
tion of the V ureh and State, a
national organization claiming
100,000 supporters, consists of
a 10.2 acres of publicly-pur
chased land valued at $150,000
and SIIO,OOO in funds from the
association.
An additional $650,000 expect
ed by the Sisters In Hill-Burton
(Federal) funds is at stake,
barkers of the suit say, but
their only chance to block those
funds is in Federal Court. Mont
gomery County Circuit Court
is a State court.
The second count of the suit
was called the most important
by Glenn L. Archer, executive
director of the POAU and one
of the plaintiffs in the case.
“The chief moral issue in this
case is freedom for birth con
trol,” he claimed.
“Catholic hospitals have a
perfect right under our consti
tution to practice medicine in
their own way, but American
tax payers should not be
charged with the cost of sec
tarian Institutions which dis
criminate against doctors and
(Continued on Page 2)
On City Council
Plan to Up
Membership
Is Dropped
The Rockville City Council
Tuesday after an Impromptu
discussion dismissed a pro
posal to increase its member
ship from five to seven.
Councilman Joseph C. Rodg
ers was dubious about the whole
proposal and the others were
split on whether the decision
should be made by the council
or by referendum. Mayor Alex
ander J. Greene and Council
man John M. Rausch favored
a referendum.
After some discussion of the
subject, which was not an agen
da item, and faced with such
lack of unanimity, the council
voted to drop the whole thing.
• In other action the coun
cil voted to make Jefferson a
through street from Ritchie
pkwy. to Perry st. placing the
stop signs now on Jefferson
on the intersecting side streets.
• Authorized two-hour park
ing meters installed on the
south side of Jefferson from S.
Washington st to S. Adams st
• Approved abandonment of
three of four wells on Chestnut
Lodge property.
• Approved a staff report
that all properties not now
joined to the city water system
should be compelled to do so
immediately since the three
year lee-way has lapsed.
IK -
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NEW CITIZENS of the United States who
were naturalized at Monday’s ceremonies in
the Rockville Sixth Circuit Court, are (left)
Karla Jayne Gebuhr, 4, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Carl Gebuhr, 902 Southwood ave., Sil
ver Spring, and (right) Shirley Ann Diggory,
City Parking Lot
Is Getting Meters
Rockville city officials hoped
that they would be well started
by the middle of this week with
their project of installing 12-
hour parking meters on the
city's municipal parking lot be
tween East Middle and Com
merce las.
Eighty-seven double - headed
meters, costing about S6O each,
will finally be arranged in three
lines. The center line of meters
will allow front-to-front parking
while the other two lines will
accommodate only front-end-in
parking.
These two latter lines will
also have two meter heads per
Police Beating Is Laid
To Four By Defendant
William Melvin Smith, 20-
year-old half brother of con
victed rapist Gordon Lee Con
tee, charged three police offi
cers and one deputy sheriff with
assult and battery in warrants
issued Tuesday.
Smith, of Lee ave., Gaithers
burg, told the Sentinel that the
four men had hit him with
“their fists, kicked me and used
a blackjack on my head.”
The four named in the war
rants are Detective Sgt. Frank
Griggs, Detective John A. Bech
tel, Deputy Sheriff Ralph Oifutt
and Pvt. Cornelius DeVries, Jr.
The four were released in per
sonal bond for an appearance
in Rockville People’s Court Jan
uary 11. Smith is also sched
uled to go on trial that day for
assult and battery on Sergt.
Griggs.
The attack, Smith claimed,
took place after the courtroom
melee in which his brother was
Two Lifelong Friends Die
At Same Time, Same Place
Two elderly ladies who lived
life together, died together
Christmas night, ’in the same
room at Montgomery General
Hospital.
Strangely, though each was
born more than 70 years ago in
Fort Seybert, W. Va., married
there and raised large families
in Montgomery County, they
died not knowing they were in
the same hospital.
Both Mrs. Daniel A. Davis,
74, of Sandy Spring, andC Mrs,
Wilbur V. Hottinger, going on
71, of Redland, were too ill to
realize they were near < each
other at the end. }
Mrs. Hottinger was admitted
to the hospital December 21,
followed a day later by fair life
long friend. Oid-age Infirmities
took them away at almost the
same time Friday. M
They left behind prJligious
families. Mrs. Hottingfr and
her husband had five boys ad
five girls, 26 grandchildren and
A Century of Service ™
pole, one for a car on each side
of the supporting pole.
The lot will be restricted to
one-way traffic each way be
tween the two abutting streets,
thus allowing cars to circle the
middle line of meters in search
of a space.
Cars are limited to two, free
hour* of parking on-the lot at
this time. The lot is next to
another owned by the neighbor
ing Safeway grocery store.
The meters are similar to
others in the city, but their
clock works will be adjusted to
give 12 hours of parking at five
cents an hour.
pronounced guilty of rape.
“They took me upstaiis to the
jail where the four of them
were waiting. Then they
started.”
At the time of the attack, he
said, he was handcuffed and
could not defend himself. Four
stitches were needed to close
two lacerations in his head.
Smith also claimed that he
was placed in a cell with his
brother, Carroll C. Scott, 24,
who had also been arrested
after the courtroom disturbance,
and that he was unable to call
a lawyer or his home until the
next day.
His mother arranged S3OOO
bail, and he was released after
about 30 hours. His trial is
scheduled for January 11.
Witnesses to the incident,
Smith said, were Francis Por
ter, a reporter for the Washing
ton Daily News and James Mc-
Auliffe, Jr„ an assistant state’s
attorney.
14 great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Davis and her husband
raised four girls and two boys,
and had 15 grandchildren and
five greatgrandchildren. Both
husbands survive.
You could say both ladies died
well-loved.
In addition to being bound
together with the thousands of
every-day ties of long, comfort
able friendship, both great
grandmothers shared a love of
God. Mrs. Davis was said to be
the founder of the Flower Hill
Church of the Brethren, Red
land. Its first meeting was held
in her parlor back in 1929.
Her friend also attended
the church all her adult life,
stopping only when illness kept
her from going.
Mrs. Hottinger and Mrs.:
Davis, who started out life top
gether as Florence Brady anti
Dorcas Nesselrodt, were burial
near each other in thqir
church s cemetery last week,''
18, of 4706 Arbutus ave., Rockville. Karla
was born in Germany and adopted by Mr.
Gebuhr during his tour of duty with the
U.5.1.A., while Shirley left her native Mon
treal, Canada, in 1951. —Staff Photo.
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John Gray
John Gray
Named to
Works Post
Rockville City Engineer John
Gray has been appointed Direc
tor of Public Works, Walter A.
Scheiber, city manager, an
nounced Tuesday.
He will assume the $9,360-a
--year position upon the resigna
tion of William M. Colony on
January 31. His successor as
city engineer has not been
named. '
A resident of Kensington,
Gray is a member of the Amer
ican Public Works Association
and the Maryland Association of
Engineers.
He served aw city engineer for
the past year and a half after
serving as aHwistant city engi
neer since November, 1957... He
became assistant city engineer
after serving as a design engi
neer for the Montgomery Coun
ty Publie Works Department.
He has a certificate in engi
neering from Dundee Technical
College, Scotland, and was a
junior engineer in Scotland for
five years.
Gray, 28, is married and the
father of a son, lan, 3. He
served with the Sea bees from
1955 to 1957.
B&O Fares
Are Lower
Round-trip fare reductions of
21 to 33 percent have been an
nounced by the Baltimore A
Ohio Railroad on coach tickets
between Baltimore, Washing
ton, Pittsburgh. Cleveland, De
troit and Chicago.
The new fares will become ef
fective January 5, 1960, making
reduced rates effective on all
B&O lines. Bargain fares were
introduced previously on other
sections of the line. The new
tickets will be good for 30 days
after the date of purchase.
Correction
/The Sentinel last week quoted
fftobert McKeever as saying that
' up to S2O million would be spent
on an apartment house project
I proposed by developer Sam Elg.
iThe story should have quoted
(John E. McKeever. We regret
i the enoi.
2 Vacancies
On Personnel
Board Filled
County Tells
Of Plans for
Betliesda Unit
Plans for a new Bethesda
County Office Building, costing
an estimated $570,000, with
three floors and a connecting
five-level parking garage, were
announced Tuesday by County
Manager Melvin L. Reese.
The County Council concur
red in Reese’s plans for the
building which would occupy
the site of the existing county
office building. Working draw
ings will take another three
months to complete, and con
struction could get under way
in May or June. Completion
should take at least 10 months,
according to County Architect
John Blake Murphy.
All floors of the office build
ing would be accessible from
the parking garage, Murphy
said. The Bethesda Police De
partment, People’s Court, of
fices for the County Manager’s
assistant and County health de
partment offices will be quar
tered in the building. Archi
tects are Thomen & Cromar, of
Silver Spring.
Pastor Tells
Of Church
Quandary
The 172-year-old Clarksburg
Methodist Church wants to ex
pand, but may not be able to
because of a law of nature.
Plans for an educational ad
dition of six classrooms, kitch
en, two bedrooms, etc., are
gathering dust because the
church stands on land that just
won’t soak up water fast
enough.
The problem is one of percola
tion. The new addition calls for
toilet facilities and other
sources of water drainage.
Since no public sewer is any
where near, septic systems must
be used.
But an application to install
a septic tank system at the
church was turned down not
long ago by the Health Depart
ment. Seepage from such a sys
tem could not be assimilated
fast enough by the soil it would
rest in, the department ruled.
Only alternative Is to bury a
sealed, 400-gallon sewage tank
and then pump it empty every
three weeks. Church pastor L.
Howard Allwine estimated that
pump-outs would cost around
$45 every three weeks. He
doesn’t know where the money
would keep coming from.
In Du-*, he doesn’t even know
whet, money to buy and install
the tank would come from.
“Maybe publicity on our prob-,
lem would help. It couldn’t '
hurt,” he told the Sentinel.
East-West
Zone Plea
Rehuffed
A recommendation denying'
proposed apartment zoning on!
East-West hwy. and Washing-1
ton ave.. Sliver Spring, was;
passed yesterday by the Mont
gomery County Planning Board, j
Applicant for R-10 zoning oni
the one-acre tract -vas John E. I
McKeever. agent for Rook
Creek Forest Apartments. His
application requesting the
change from R-60 to R-10 zon
ing was denied by the County
Council last November 3.
A "clarified” board recom
mendation yesterday suggested
R-60 zoning for the site but
said that some sort o' public,
semi-public or institutional use
of the land could be permitted
as a special exception in the
zone.
The Planning Board vote was
4-1, with Commissioner Donald
E. Gingery dissenting. 4 {
Weather Outlook
Temperatures will average
around 44 high, 29 low with
colder weather today and to
morrow. A warmer weekend
may see up to one-half inch
precipitation.
Pair That Had
Party Support
Are Not Named
The County Council put
an end to a continuing con
troversy this week with the
appointment of two persons
to round out the three-man
Personnel Board.
Voted in were Mrs. Robert G.
Angle, 5009 Del Ray ave., Be
thesda, and Forte H. Sandison,
incumbent whose term expired
December 31 but who was to
serve until reappointed or re
placed.
The third member of the
Board Is Louis A. Palmer, of
10207 Frederick ave., Kensing
ton, who has served since 1955.
Mrs. Angle, the wife of a
physician and a member of the
Children’s Bureau, was a can
didate backed by the League of
Women Voters of Montgomery
County. She will serve until
January 6. 1962, in filling out
the unexpired term of Mrs. Mel
ba Williams, who resigned No
vember last year to join her
husband in Georgia.
Forte Sandison, of 320 East
Diamond ave., Gaithersburg,
will start his second term Im
mediately, serving until Decem
ber 31, 1962. He had the en
dorsement of the Democratic
State Central Committee.
The Council had a total of
eight names to choose from:
Mr*. Angle, Sandison, Mrs. War
ren G. Bledsoe, Mrs. Oscar A.
Lott, Earl A. Nash. Miss Vlr
ginla Richardson, Jane E. Miles,
Mrs. Philip (Ruth) Schlff, find
Bryan Z. Kile. '
The order of nominations,
votes, counter-nominations, etc., j
went like this Tuesday:
• Councilman William F. j
Hickey nominated Sandison for |
reappointment. Council presi- I
dent Grover K. Walker and *
Councilman Jerry T. Williams
noted that Sandison was an up
county resident and that geo- J
graphic representation was good I
for the Board. If
• Councilwoman Stella bY
Weiner injected that qualifies'
lions, not location, should come
first. She nominated Mrs,
Angle for Mrs. Williams’ vacant
post. She observed that she
“had never pushed a woman”
for a post, but that maybe they
have a little more patience and
understanding.
• A second not forthcoming
for Mrs. Angle, Jerry Williams
moved the name of Earl A.
Nash for Mrs. Williams’ post.
This was seconded by Hickey.
Whereupon Walker, an “up
county” thinker, turned to Mrs.
Werner and said, “I’m going to
surprise you.” He seconded
Mrs. Angle’s nomination.
• Then Councilman David L.
Cahoon began reciting the pub
lic and private support given to
Nash, only to be interrupted by
Mrs. Werner, who said, “Are
you aware that Mr. Nash has
to carry oxygen for illness with
1 him? Don’t you know he regu
-1 larly meets with a small group
of pai-ty people for the purposes
of political maneuvering? I
do.”
• Cahoon retorted he had
been about ready to vote for
j Mrs. Angle, but that Implica
tions of the kind ventured by
j Mrs. Werner might make him
i switch his vote.
After considerable backing
; and filling on the topic of poll
; tics vs. partisanship In govern
| ment, the Council took a vote
!on Nash’s nomination. He lost, I
j 4-2 (Williams, Hickey were |
jhim). Mrs. Angle was then
' unanimously appointed.
Williams then puller! a sur-
I prise by nominating Bryan Z.
I Kile to succeed Sandison—a
1 substitute motion for Hickey's
> move to reappoint Sandison.
; Kile also lives near Gaithers-
I burg.
Kile lost because of a three- /•
way tie: Werner, Stanley B.
Frosh and Williams were for
him, Cahoon, Hickey and Walk
er against him.
Cahoon explained he did not
know Kile and that Sandison
had done a good job for the l
Board. Hickey came out for a J
policy of priority to incumbents, 4
all other things equal.
The vote deadlocked. Hickey sM
(Continued on Pag* 2) *