Montgomery County sentinel. [volume], February 28, 1961, Image 1

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

Image provided by: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

                
READERS ...The 106-
year old Sentinel is now
being published two times
a week.
B ALT I MOif 11 ■■
lOtth Year-No. 10 Publis ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 2t, H4l • PACES CAiCm 4-7700 TCM C*n
Gentilini
Removed
As Mayor
Richard S. Mehring
Reinstated in Town
Post at Kensington
Former Kensington Mayor
Richard S. Mehring, defeated in
his bid for reelection last June
by A. Victor Gentilini. has been
reinstated on the ground that
his successor failed to qualify
for the office.
In a ruling on a petition for a
writ of mandamus filed by Meh
ring, Chief Judge Patrick M.
Schnauffer has ordered Genti
lini “forthwith to surrender and
deliver up unto the plaintiff . . .
the office of mayor of the town
of Kensington and all the
rights, privileges, liberties, pow
ers, advantages and emolu
ments belonging or appertain
ing to the said office.”
Judge Schnauffer ordered
Gentilini’s ouster on the ground
that he disqualified himself
when he failed to appear before
the clerk of the Circuit Court to
be sworn in within 30 days of
the date of his election.
In the same ruling, however,
the jurist held that two mem
bers of the town council elected
on the same ticket with Genti
lini were legally in office, even
though they were sworn in by
the mayor later disqualified.
They were Charles M. Hersh
and Courtland K. Townsend,
who defeated incumbents Rus
sell B. Duvall and Philip C. Mc-
Curdy in the June balloting.
Duvall and McCurdy also
were plaintiffs in the court ac
tion.
Of the two new councilmen,
Judge Schnauffer said: “There
has been no negligence or neg
lect on their part, and to re
move them would be a great in
justice and contrary to existing
law.”
According to testimony when
the case was argued last De
cember, Mehring advised Genti
lini that it was necessary for
him to appear before the clerk
of the court to be sworn in.
Gentilini did not contest Meh
ring’s testimony but, the court
was told, he appeared before a
notary public for the swearing
in ceremony instead.
Eventually, on August 8. the
new mayor was sworn in by the
clerk, but a 30-day limit pre
scribed by law had expired.
During the trial the defense
contended that Mehring was
not entitled to reinstatement be
cause he had "abandoned” the
office when he surrendered the
keys to the town offices and
other municipal material to
Gentilini following the election.
However. Mehring argued that
he did so under a “misapprehen
sion” because, at the time, he
was under the impression that
Gentilini had been properly
sworn in.
Judge Schnauffer upheld Meh
ring with the observation that
“if there ever was an abandon
ment it was under a misappre
hension and in no way inten
tional, voluntary or deliberate.”
14,000 Patients Treated In
Suburban Emergency Room
Over fourteen thousand cases
were treated during 1960 in the
Emergency Room at Suburban
Hospital, according .to Mrs.
Amelia C. Carter, Administra
tor of the hospital. She stated
that this is the highest number
in the history of the 17-year-old
community hospital.
“The 24-hour service of Sub
urban Hospital continues to be
available,’’ emphasized Mrs.
Carter. “The hospital wants the
community to know that every
thing within our power is being
done to give adequate profes
sional coverage. We ask the
cooperation of our friends In
not overburdening the Emer
gency Room facilities when the
case could best be treated in
the private physicians office.’’
"The Emergency Room facul
HtHtuien (Mi
j
■ •'. . , ■ ' ,vv ■ ■ :i - v
BIG SPRAY A 500 foot curtain of water shot from the visible in the background. Nearly one million gallons of
hillside on the outskirts of Rockville Saturday, when the water were lost before the break was repaired and concrete
main water line serving the City of Rockville came apart at poured in the 13-foot deep hole which was gouged in the
a joint, due to subsidence in the ground after the wet weath- ground by the water. staff Photo
er and thawing snow. Water splashed vehicles on Route 28,
County Residents Urge
Proper Area Realignment
Nearly 100 representatives of leading Montgomery
County civic organizations joined last week in urging the
House of Delegates to pass a measure that would give the
populous sections of Maryland proper representation in
the state legislature. !
Montgomery County spokes
men joined those from other
large counties in pressing for
passage of House Bill 90 em
bodying a constitutional amend
ment proposed by the Mary
land Committee for Fair Rep
resentation. It would require
apportionment of the House of
Delegates on a population basis
and permit, but not require, ad
justment in the Senate to give
better representation for the
four large counties. The bill
has been sponsored by the 6
Montgomery County Delegates
to the legislature and 19 others.
Organizational representatives
from Montgomery County ap
pearing at the hearing included
Ogden W. Fields, vice president,
Allied Civic Group; Julius U.
Hoke, president, Montgomery
County Civic Federation: Mrs.
Betty Miller, legislative chair
man, County Council of P-TAs;
Mrs. Ida May Garrott, legisla
tive chairman. League of Wom
en voters: Arthur D. Simonds,
executive secretary, County Ed
ucational Association; Mrs. Rose
Kramer, executive board, Eliza
beth Rohr Fund; Eugene Peters,
vice president, Kensington
Wheaton Democratic Club; Don
R. Kendall, president, County
Young Republican Club; Mrs.
Marit Thorson, executive vice
ties at Suburban Hospital are
maintained as a service to the
people of the area who have
been injured and are in need of
emergency medical attention,”
continued Mrs. Carter. She
stated that when an injured
person is taken to the Emer
gency Room of Suburban Hos
pital a member of House Staff
is called to determine the ex
tent of the injury. The name of
the patient’s physician is deter
mined, and he is called on the
case. In the event the patient
has no physician, a private doc
tor on call is summoned. “How
ever, in critical cases, the house
doctor or practicing physician
on the Day-Call Roster goes
ahead and treats the injury,
after which the patient is re
ferred to a private doctor.”
president, Western Suburban
Democratic Club, and Mrs.
Charles Gordon, Ayrlawn Citi
zens Association.
Hoke read a Civic Federation
resolution urging the legisla
ture “to strongly oppose legis
lation along the lines of the
Walsh report and exert every
effort to obtain reapportion
ment based on proportional rep
resentation.” The Walsh report
was put forward last year by a
commission appointed by Gov
ernor J. Millard Tawes but was
rejected. Recommendations
along the same lines have been
incorporated this year in the
Pine-Northrop bill sponsored by
the Senators from Baltimore
and Montgomery counties.
The Montgomery County rep
resentatives at the hearing were
introduced by Phillip Thorson,
President of the County Com
mittee for Fair Representation.
Thorson told the legislators of
the 67,212 County voters who,
on Election Day last fall, sign
ed petitions calling for fair rep
resentation at Annapolis.
In answering a question as
to specific examples of damage
suffered by underrepresented
counties, Thorson cited the al
location of road funds. He said
that although the four large
counties, Baltimore, Prince
Mrs. Carter went on to say
“Every effort should be made
by patients to contact their pri
vate physlcan for instructions
before coming to the hospital.
Patients are treated in our
Emergency Room in the order
of the severity of their injury,
and are treated for one visit
only.”
The American Medical Asso
ciation and the American Hos
pital Association have ruled
that foreign doctors in this
country who have failed to
peas an American Medical Qual
ification Examination must be
removed. Suburban Hospital,
like many other hospitals, con
sequently has a shortage of
Residents and Internes.
Georges, Montgomery and Ann -
Arundel, have over 45 percent
of the automobile registrations
in the state, they get only 12
percent of the money for roads
which the state distributes to
local governments. The four
counties have 46 percent of the
state’s population, but are en-j
titled to only 16 percent of the!
seats in the General Assembly.
A glimmer of hope for an
effective reform enlarged on the
day of the hearing when Sena
tor Frederick C. Malkus, Chair
man of the powerful Senate
Committee on Judicial Proceed
ings, indicated willingness to
back a “legislative district” plan
for reapportionment. Malkus,
from Dorchester County on the
Eastern Shore, told a reporter
he could support a plan estab
lishing two legislative districts
in both Montgomery and Prince
Georges counties and three in
Baltimore County. Each legis
lative district would elect a sen
ator and 6 delegates, so Mont
gomery County’s strength In
both houses would be doubled.
The legislative district system
would adopt the arrangement
now utilized for the represen-
Up ■'
■ 4b
jjf H VSfp
B§j|lrepgy !w
HL
SPEAKER Knox Banner, Executive Director of the National
Capital Downtown Committee, a private non-profit corpo
ration to plan the rejuvination of downtown Washington,
will talk on urban renewal Wednesday, March 8, at 8:30 p.m.
in the Rockville Civic Center Mansion.
A Century of Service
Area Soldiers
Get Korean
Three Rockville area soldiers
—Sp. 4 Roger L. Shelleman, Pfc.
Zane R. Burgess, and Pvt. Ro
land Z. Philips, Jr.—recently ar
rived In Korea.
Shelleman and Burgess, both
19, are with the U. S. Army 7th
Infantry division, which remain
ed in Korea after the war as
part of the UN security force.
Shelleman is an assistant
communications chief; Burgess,
a recoilless rifleman.
Pvt. Roland Z. Philips. jr„ a
clerk for the Ist Cavalry divi
sion, has been there since Jan
uary.
Mrs. Mary J. Virst, Shelle
man’s mother, lives at 414 Den
ham road; Mr. and Mrs. Ernest
A. Burgess, at 300 Taylor ave
nue; and Mr. and Mrs. R. Z.
Philips, on Great Falls road.
tation of Baltimore City in the
General Assembly. The city is
divided into 6 districts for this
purpose. The Executive Vice
President of the Maryland Fair
Representation Committee,
Royce Hanson of Bethesda, in
dicated he would work closely
i with Malkus and the House
I Committee. Chairman, Ridgley
i Melvin.
Democrats Take
Up Integration
Issue Tonight
6 Tax Scandal’
Alleged by
Local Group
Charging a “tax scandal” in
Montgomery County, a citizens
group called upon Governor
Tawes, State Senator Northrop
and the County Council for ac
tion to recover a million dollars
in real estate taxes being lost
annually through illegal reduc
tions in assessments being giv
en to large landowners.
"We are trying to awaken the
public,” said Darius V. Phillips
of Chevy Chase, chairman of
the Citizens Committee for Fair
Taxation, "to bring pressure up
on their elected officials to take
action to restore the taxes this
year and to defeat the land as
sessment bill again being push
ed by Delegate Blair Lee at An
napolis to perpetuate a million
dollars of tax reductions for the
large landowners at the expense
of the home-owners under the
guise of helping the farmer and
of preserving open spaces. Our
committee, which has been
fighting this type of special in
terest tax legislation, supports
tax relief measures for our re
sident farmeps actively farm
ing their lKnd and measures
which will truly preserve open
spaces for <?ur present and fu
ture population.”
Phillips said investigations of
tax records by Committee mem
bers have revealed “glaring in
equities” in taxation between
landowners and home owners.
Citing three instances of own
ers of a million dollars worth
of land being assessed at $lB,-
790, $13,580 and $2,200, and pay
ing taxes less than those of
average home owners, Phillips
said, “The farm assessment
loophole for wealth in land in
.Maryland is as glaring a tax
inequity as the oil depletion
loophole in Texas.”
Rockville Little
Theater Offers
Children's Plav
y
The Rockville Little Theater
group has billed for Saturday
and Sunday an adaptation of
Hans Christian Anderson’s “The
Princess and the Swineherd.”
Staged at the Civic Auditori
um here, matinees are sched
uled for 2 p.m. both days. There
are no evening performances.
The all-adult cast features
Charles Fail, Camilla Moore,
Robert Walker, Sigrid Houston,
Sandy Insley, Doris Donoghue,
Jean Evertxart, and Lucy Red
key.
Helen Feil and Margaret Pa
radis direct the play, which was
adapted by Madge Miller from
the fairy tale. Tickets may be
purchased in advance by phone
(WH. 6-4508) or at the door.
Rockville Citizens To Hear
Official on Redevelopment
Knox Banner, Executive Di
rector of the National Capital
Downtown Committee to reju
venate central Washington,
D, C., and well known lecturer
on redevelopment problems,
will talk on urban renewal and
Its application to Rockville on
Wednesday, March 8, at 8:30
p.m., in the Lounge of the Civic
Center Mansion.
. Banner was formerly execu
tive chief of the little Rock,
Ark., Housing Authority. He
held the position from 1954 to
1960 when 15 percent of that
city was involved in urban re
newal programs. He has been
associated professionally with
Vote Scheduled Oil Bill
Pending Before Assembly
Montgomery County’s Democratic precinct chairmen
tonight are scheduled to thrash out a growing controversy
over racial integration that has flared openly in recent
weeks as the result of a bill currently pending before the
legislature.
Cabin John Unit
i
Wins Honors in
Holiday Parade ■
The 22 Cabin John Majorettes,
despite ralnshowers, marched
primly off with third place for
best appearance by majorette
groups in the mile-long George
Washington Day Parade through
Alexandria.
Afterward, the majorette’s
two leaders, Charlotte Purdue >
and Janice Lawrence, presented
the 18 inch trophy to Chief Don
ald Marshall of the Cabin John
Volunteer Fire Department,
which sponsors the girls.
I
They marched in uniforms of
red and white, with a hatchet
and cluster of cherries decking
each shirt.
Aid Planned
For Business
Hit by Ban
The State Roads Commission
of Maryland has established a
policy to aid individuals and
businesses along roads on which
vehicles carrying axle-loads of
certain weight are restricted.
John B. Funk. Chairman-Di
rector of the Commission, made
this statement:
"Winter weather of a severe
nature is endangering many of
our older secondary highways.
Pot holes and frost boils are ap- 1
pearing at an alarming rate.
"In order to hold damage to
a minimum and, in some cases,
to prevent total breakup of a
road, we are keeping heavy
loads off them.
‘‘These restrictions can save
heavy repair bills in the future.
“However, the Commission
realizes that many individuals
who live along these posted
roads and firms doing business
on them sometimes have to haul
loads heavier than allowed.
"The Commission does not
want to cause undue hardship
on farmers or other individuals
on these roads and does not
want to hamper business activ
ity which could lead to employes
being furloughed.
“In order to help in situations
like these, the Commission has
authorized its district engineers
■ to consult with affected individ
uals and firms.
“Perhaps alternate routes can
i be worked out and. In some cas
i es, the district engineers will be
' able to permit limited use of the
> roads by affected firms and in
dividuals.”
public housing and redevelop
ment matters since 1946, and
his experience in urban renewal
extends from the city level to
the national level.
Banner has been officially in
vited to talk by the City of
Rockville. The meeting on
March 8 will be sponsored by
the local Chamber of Commerce
in cooperation with the City’s
Urban Renewal Advisory Coun
cil.
Rockville has already sub
mitted proposed legislation to
Annapolis as required under a
recent amendment to the State
constitution to permit urban re
newal here. The city is also
r Tv ■ fmm
CtiMSimp ADS . . .
\ 'fkh newspaper bring
rAittte iru a Hurry.
The party officials will be
asked to take a position on a
legislative proposal to outlaw
racial discrimination in private
ly-owned places of public ac
commodation, heretofore im
mune from federal laws that
have lowered race terriers in
places operated by governmen
tal agencies. Four of the coun
ty’s six delegates to the General
Assembly are among co-spon
sors of the measure.
The prednet chairmen liave .
beer asked to support the pro
'posal at tonight’s meeting in
letters sent out by a group of
about a dozen party leaders
who acted after the county dele
gation split over the anti-bias
bill.
Barbee Attacks Bill
Their action was prompted
by an attack on the bill by Del,
Alger Y. Barbee last week in
Annapolis. In opposing the
measure, Barbee asserted that
the rights of proprietors of
business establishments “are
just as important as the rights
of the customers.”
Barbee’s position has been
supported by Del Charles W.
Woodward, placing the two In
opposition to the bill’s cospon
sors, Blair Lee, 111, Mrs. Edna
Cook, Mrs. Margaret Schweln
haut and J. Grahame Walker.
Letters sent to the prednet
chairmen have asked them to
support the bill “to refresh Mr.
Barbee’s memory” that 52 of
the 88 precinct leaders pre
viously have endorsed the pro
posal to outlaw discrimination
in public places on grounds of
religion, race or nationality.
Motion Proposed
It has been reported that a
motion will be offered express
ing appreciation to the four
delegates who have sponsored
the bill.
Party leaders for some time
have been at odds over the anti
bias measure, but the debate at
Annapolis apparently has
forced it to a vote of precinct
chairmen. The Democratic State
Central Committee has taken
no position in the controversy
to date, and its membership re
portedly is divided on the issue.
Meanwhile, the County Coun
cil is scheduled to receive a re
quest from its Commission on
Human Relations that It en
dorse the measure pending at
. Annapolis. A previous request
| was received last week from
! the county branch of the Na
’ tJonal Association for the Ad
-1 vancement of Coloied People.
i
The human relations com
mission was formed last sum
mer to look Into racial rela
i tloms In the county after Negro
■ demonstrators picketed Glen
( Echo amusement park, a num
t ber of restaurants and a thea
• ter that had refused to admit
Negroes.
one of the first in Maryland to
! have a workable program, a
! prime requisite for federal aid,
i certified by the Housing and
Home Finance Agency in Wash
ington.
The Urban Renewal Advisory
i Council was established last
year to study redevelopment
i procedures and their possible
application to Rockville and to
make recommendations to'the
Mayor and Council. The Cham
ber of Commerce, as part of its
1 1961 program, seeks to keep
local businessmen and property
owners Informed of urban re
; newal developments in Rock
' (vlll*.