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fbnhwKq 4 Foot In Mouth THE Board of Appeals, which has assumed the role of a cute society of would-be jurists who never quite made the grade as successful politicians, has stuck its foot in its mouth again. It was not too long ago that the Circuit Court sug gested that the Board use a little common sense as the Court delivered publicly a long over-due verbal spanking to the Board’s broadside. Now in another fit of verbal over-indulgence the Board has displayed its arrogance, its sarcasm and its un judicial talents. The Board saw fit to deride those who felt that a 188- foot tower atop the C & P Telephone Building on Georgia ave. in Silver Spring would be an undesirable eyesore and would have an adverse affect on the community. “The street is not too impressive anyway,” the opinion writer of little talent declared. Well, to that one, it may not be, but perhaps, the writer would tell us where in sub urban Washington one can find three more impressive structures that the Perpetual, Guardian and the new Bank of Silver Spring office buildings which grace this particular area? And then in a fit of adolescent observation, the Board s self-esteemed author went on: “People do not go walking around looking at the sky or at the tops of buildings, at least not if they hope to stay alive in this day of pedestrian hazards on busy streets. Likewise, in active offices people do not spend their time looking out of windows unless they wish to get fired.” If that is the case, then there is little reason to build beautiful office buildings except in the cheapest rundown areas, or to ban junk yards adjacent to office buildings or to prohibit billboards along our scenic highways, or for that matter, even to require hearings in the future on such . matters as towers which might stand like “shoe boxes on top of bean poles.” The Board of Appeals again has brought the derision (mi itself and its appointive body by its inept handling of its business. Moving Ahead rpHE Montgomery County Art Center organization is going forward in its plans for a cultural center suited to the needs of the people. Good! It was announced this week that the firm of Keyes, Lethbridge and Condon had been retained to draw up the plans for a center that will cost in the neighborhood of one million dollars. The selection was made by a committee headed by Carl M. Freeman, vice president of the Art Cen ter. And Mr. Freeman has demonstrated his ability in the design field. We trust tile leaders of this movement have definite plans for raising the necessary funds for this civic need. It would be unfortunate to have excellent ideas, plans and much effort thwarted by the inability to get the necessary money to see this project move ahead to a successful con clusion. Support Planning ''HE Park and Planning Commission’s proposed five-year planning program deserves the support of all citizens Interested in maintaining Montgomery County’s enviable reputation as an outstanding place in which to live and work. The program is ambitious and far-reaching in its im l plications to the future growth of the county. But even S more important is the planning agency’s recognition of the I pressing problems to which answers must be found and its l intention to solve them in order to protect and continue the 1 county’s expansion. N , To finance this program, the Commission proposes a modest half-cent increase over the present 4-cent planning tax. In view of the purposes for which planning funds will be used, this increase is amply justified if the Commissior is unable to find ways and means of economizing in other phases of its work. The program, which is contained in the planning agen cy’s proposed budget for the 12-month period beginning May 1, contemplates stepping up work in all phases of plan ning. These include watershed studies, extension of thf general plan, community and neighborhood analyses, zon ing and street plans, photogrammetric mapping, land us( surveys and various master plans. During the last 10 years, the county’s population has more than doubled—from 164.000 to 338,000; and this phe nomenal growth shows no signs of slowing down. Despite this skyrocketing expansion, with its aceom panying demand for more and better services, Montgomerj County has remained one of the nation’s top-ranking areas There has been room for improvement in effecting orderly growth, but there is no doubt that the influence ol the Park and Planning Commission has been felt to a large degree. County residents should acquaint themselves with the five-year program and therefore be prepared to make con structive suggestions. And by the same token, the Com mission should be ever on the alert to spend tax dollars ir the most intelligent and constructive way possible. The Cat! A LITTLE excitement has been created this week by sev eral reports of a wandering lion. We are sure the lady in Clarksburg saw a big lioi crouched beside a fence near her home. And we tire equall; qertain the people in the Norbeck area saw the big cat-Hk footprints. So the big cat must be still visiting our fai county. ’ Whether this mountain creature came for a shor visit and left, or is still hanging around, there are a num ber of us who would much rather see him than anothe snowstorm—the usual cause for conversation this winter Come to think of it—it could have been Basil, the Bas sett Hound. Thursday, March 2, 1961 B, ON THE TRACK OF A CAT” ■ — ■' — ir " j i OL ! & ! c\.) 1 r Letters to the Sentinel James On Education I had supposed that I would be retired to some Valhalla re served for defeated school board candidates, there to re flect upon the vagaries of hu mankind and even the wisdom of my own thoughts. However, the lead editorial in your Feb ruary 23 issue, and the heart ening news regarding the suc cess of the District’s Amidon School experiment, prompt me to fire at least another round. It was more than 20 years ago that Walter Lippmann, in an address entitled “Education Without Culture,” expressed the thought that in this nation we have created a system of education in which we insist tha while everyone must be educated, yet there is nothing in particular that an educated man must know. Unfortunately, this is true in Montgomery County today. Record educa tional budgets have produced, as your incisive cartoon in the same issue indicates, high teach ers’ salaries, the best school plants, experimental methods, high administrative salaries, air conditioning, and altogether too frequently, uneducated chil dren. The pity of it all is not the wasted money, but the blindness of a Board of Educa tion and a school administration that equates quality education with no more than dollars spent, and the complacency of a population that would allow itself to be led in such a path. I recall rather vividly that last spring, when Dr. Hansen first announced the Amidon ex periment, a suggestion was made in writing, to the Mont gomery County Board of Edu cation, that this county under take a similar experiment. To put it kindly, the board was un receptive. The Assistant Super intendent of Schools in this county dismissed the Amidon experiment as a "sop" to reac tionary forces, In the recent school board campaign, I suggested that Am idor. School embodied much of the philosophy of education I held. Both Mrs. Keker and Mrs. Maurer, and to some degree Dr. Beck, expressed a somewhat lukewarm interest in the experi ment. I suspect, however, that their remarks were no more than lip service. In any event, any interest they had is appar ently stone cold now for no where in the new record budget the board recently approved is Montgomery County SENTINEL CY M. CAMPBELL. Publisher Byron Sedgwick, Editor \V. H. Smith. Associate Editor Established 1855 by Matthew Reids MEMBER MARYLAND PRESS ASSOC. AFFILIATE MEMBER NATIONAL EDITORIAL ASSOCIATION SENTINEL PUBLISHING CO.. INC. Published Tuesdays & Thursdays at 213 East Montßomery Avenue, by the Sen tinel Publishing Co.. Inc.. Cy M. Camp ball president Entered as second class matter at the Post Office at Rockville. Maryland, under Act of Congress. March 3, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION RATES UaU m Maryland and tha District ol Columbia. On# Ytar 84.00 there any provision for such an experiment as Amidon nor any recognition of the educational principles it embodies. Instead, this county is em barked upon an unwieldly “cur riculum study” involving huge numbers of people with differ ing educational views. I cannot conceive that such method will produce any concrete conclu sions. It shifts a responsibility that is basically the board’s and prima facie relieves the board and the school administration of any responsibility in the areas of improving education, and the people are left with no effective means of judging the board’s performance two years hence. It all adds up to tragedy, and especially so in this enlight ened and relatively rich com munity. We boast that our school system is the finest in the area. I sincerely hope that the aura of success which is rapidly lighting the way for Amidon will shed some light on educational issues in this coun ty, for without a recognition of the educational principles in volved in Amidon, we do not have the finest school system, but only the most expensive. Yours very truly, Charles F. James Time to Blast Mr. William Smith (Sentinel 2-23-61) seems to believe that no man with political aspirations dares to publicly blast “the most powerful of all the State’s or ganized groups the teacher educator bloc, Dr. Pullen, and the State Teachers Association, combined with the PTA’s.” If so, it’s time to “blast”; and "Man Bites Dog” makes for much better copy than “Dog Bites Man.” These organiza tions add nothing to the econo my of our State; they owe their power to the power of the State to tax its citizens. In attacking this powerful organization, it would seem that Governor Tawes has accepted that his ob r ligation to the taxpayers supei*- cedes his personal political as pirations. Those who oppose the educa tionists’ thinking, or those whom the educationists cannot ' “educate” via their various ed ucational - tax - supported pro ’ grams for “adults” ln-ser vice training; junior colleges, schools; group study confer . ences; and the regularly desig ’ nated “adult education" courses are seemingly slated for abo lition. If Governor Tawes prefers to serve the people of Maryland as Governor of a Sovereign State, rather than as a figure head of some regional authority established by the educational :. heirarehy, I’m sure that, if and when the issues become clear ( cut, he will have the active sup port of the vast majority of the people of our State behind him. B r David Lawrence (Star, 2-22- 61) in "Lesser Roles for the 50 States?” has sounded the warn ing of a Constitutional Crisis, i Let the Governor “blast” if blast he must and long may he reign! as Governor of a Sovereign State! ! ! HB Education Cheers upon cheers for your cartoon and accompanying edi torial on the alleged school sys tem of this county. Picture win dows, Venetian blinds and fluor escent lighting do not make a school. All it takes is an hon est-to-God teacher and some educatable pupils. The fact of the matter is that most of our high school graduates are illit erate, a fact easily ascertained by the most casual examination. For a truly acid test give one of them, almost any one of them, a secretarial Job. So far as arithmetic is concerned, In most cases, if you cut off a thumb they couldn’t count over nine. As for spelling: Whaz zat? It is fashionable in these days to lump all critics of our al leged school system into the category of benighted livers in the past, but the past turned up some pretty literate characters even though by current stand ards they paid too much atten tion to such things as split in finitives. Ross C, Hurrey Write to Old Teacher I would like to inform the old neighbors, friends and students of Mrs. Myra B. Heil that she is now living in a rest home in Indiana. She is almost blind, has arthritis, which has crippled her. I know it would please her a great deal to hear from all of us. It need not be a long letter —a pretty card with a few cheerful words would be fine. Her address is: Mrs. Myra B. Heii, Indiana Baptist Home, West 96th st„ Zionville, Ind. Can’t you just imagine her . surprise and joy, when all the notes and cards begin coming i in, to know that she hasn’t been • forgotten? It seems a small : thing to do, but if can mean . so much to a lonely soul. Thank yoti all very kindly. Mrs. Ends H. Reber Washington Grove RIMES of the TIMES Mail Tale I write my friends and re > latives ... To hear how they get on ... I love and feel con cern for them . . . The trials 1 they’ve undergone ... I write at length and tell the news ... Recall old friends we know ( ... But not a word do they I reply . . . From them no , blessings flow ... I’d love to hear from ail of them ... To r learn their latest state . . . I Why don’t they drop a line I some time .. . And this to me relate? . . . There’s lots of news I’d like to learn ... To , help pass boresome days .. . I am so lonely all alone . . . And chafe a. their delays . . . * I do not wish to gripe too ) much .. . About this writing - snag .. . But honestly I do . dislike .. . Thi., careless mis- E sive lag. ' Richard Hobart mk- Wick Byron's Column Three members of the County Board of Appeals should be ashamed of themselves. They handed down an opinion concerning a special exception to permit the addition of two stories on the Telephone Building in Silver Spring and to construct on top a micro wave tower at the rear of the building. Without going into the merits concerning the decision to grant this special exception allowing the telephone company to install a high tower, we believe the language used in the decision is unfortunate, to say the least. In fact, it borders on the capricious. The three members are Mrs. Mary Hep bum, Chairman, Mrs. Rita C. Davidson, Vice Chairman, and Philip M. Fairbanks. Messrs. Everett R. Jones and E. L. Bright did not participate. And although just one wrote the decision, all three concurred. If two of the three members didn’t like the language used they should have said so or held out until it was changed. There is no excuse for the Board of Ap peals to say: “The street (Georgia avenue where the Telephone Building is located) is not too impressive anyway at the present time. As for the tower, people ordinarily do not walk around looking at the sky or at the tops of buildings, at least, not if they hope to stay alive in this day of pedestrian hazards on busy streets. Likewise, people in active offices do not spend their time looking out windows unless they wish to get fired.” For years an effort has been made to have the dividing islands in the Silver Spring business area planted and kept beautiful. This has not been successful even though one organization received a prize for the plans. However, there are sections of the Silver Spring business district that are outstanding ly pleasing to the eye and unusual for subur ban business development. Take the portion of Georgia avenue that HRPsr s?} W3m % Any time you want to stir up a little excitement in Montgomery County, the first step is to form mn as sociation with a nan* that starts off with the words “Cit izens Committee for Fair— Just fill in the blank with whatever it is that you are promoting. Already well known is Phil Thorson’s Committee for Fair Representation, which has been working on the reappor tionment problem. The only news from that quarter is that the Committee seems to be shifting its posi tion from adamant insistence on its own bill (which is much too sophisticated for the Gen eral Assembly) to cautious support of the Staten-Mandel bill, which would set up two or more legislative districts in the larger counties. Then there is the Commit tee for Fair Taxation, head 'd by Mr. Darius V. Phillips, of Chevy Chase, who is a build er by day and a “liberal” poli tician after hours. Other leaders of this group are Messrs. Henry Bain and Neal Potter, both liberal Dem ocrats, and Messrs. Bill Ro mack and Hal Lackey, who were Republican candidates for the County Council in 1958. An odd combination! I.and Taxation In 1956 the General Assem bly enacted the Farm Land Assessment Act. which I had sponsored at the request of the County Farm Bureau after a University of Maryland study revealed the fact that farm land was being assessed at a higher level here than in neighboring counties because of its potential value for sub division sometime in the fu ture. The result was that farmers of limited means were being forced to sell out. The act required that “lands which are actively devoted to farm or agricultural use shall be assessed on the basis of such use, and shall not be as sessed as if subdivided.” In 1960 the act was held un constitutional by the Court of Appeals as a result of a suit brought by a real estate de veloper in Howard County. The Legislature promptly re-enacted it in the 1960 ses sion and also initiated two amendments to cure the con stitutional defect. They came to be known as Questions 13 and 14 on the ballot last No vember and were ratified by the voters of the State by an overwhelming majority. This year, at the suggestion the Board of Appeals said was “not too impressive anyway.” It’s very impressive to a lot of people including those who have been responsible for the construction of fine tall buildings. The Telephone Buiding is on the corner of Georgia and Fidler Lane. It’s design is good-looking. Across Georgia avenue is the huge Johns Hopkins Lab which is no slouch of a building. Furthermore, the planting in front of it is beautiful. Across the main street is the old Bank of Silver Spring Build ing that is not exactly ugly. Next to it is the big Guardian Federal Building with five stor ies. It’s modem and certainly impressive for a suburban town. Across from it is the new nine-story Bank of Silver Spring Building. There is a photo of it today in this news paper. And directly across from it is the rich looking Perpetual Building Association struc ture with five stories. Just beyond to the north is the Woodside Methodist Church and it is a beautiful Church-looking Church with a neat wide-open parking lot. To the east is one of the nicest looking public buildings in the area. This is the Park and Planning Commission Building that is beautifully landscaped with a simple but good-looking fountain. We would say this area of Georgia ave nue is just about as impressive as any subur ban business section in the entire United States. And we imagine there are many per sons who resent the higher-than-migjity atti tude taken by the Board of Appeals. The only backward looking area in this section is the block known as the Scrimgeour Strip. And there are plans to make this quite im pressive. The Board of Appeals stepped beyond the powers it has granted itself. It is not the Supreme Court and they should stop act ing like it, forthwith. Inside Annapolis By BLAIR LEE, HI , Chairman, Montgomery County Delegation of the State Farm Bureau, I asked the Attorney General’s office if it would be necessary to re enact the Farm Land As sessment Act once again so that it would follow the rati fication of the amendments. I was advised that it would be a wise precaution. The re-enactment, embodied in House Bill 391, has already passed the House of Delegates without a dissenting vote either in the Ways and Means Committee or on the floor of the House. Comes now Darius Phillips with some recommendations presented on behalf of the Committee for Fair Taxation, upon which I should like to of fer comment: “1. Land shall be assessed at its actual value unless a public agency acquires the de velopment rights from the owner.” Comment: This would vir tually nullify the effect of the act. No county government, no matter how much it may want to preserve open spaces, has the money to buy the de velopment rights of more than a tiny fraction of the hun dreds of square miles of farm land within its boundaries. “2. Conveyance of develop ment rights to a public agen cy shall reduce the assessment by an amount corresponding to the value of the develop ment rights.” Comment: No legislation is needed. If a land owner sells or gives away his develop ment rights, he automatically ceases to be taxed for such values, for the obvious reason that he no longer owns them. Incidentally, the authority for the purchase of development rights or “conservation ease ments” by the State or County is contained in the Open Spaces Act of 1960. which is an entirely separate law. I was also the sponsor of it. “3. These provisions to ap ply to farmland, churches, non • profit schools, golf courses, and any other land for which a public agency ac quires development rights.” Comment: If Darius Phil lips thinks that I am going to sponsor legislation to deprive churches and non - profit schools of their age-old exemp tion from property taxes, he is really goofy. “4. These provisions to ap ply in any case to Montgom ery County, if the representa tives of other counties desire different • provisions with re spect to their counties.’’ Comment: Sure, let's drive our farmers out of business, while all the others go merri ly on their way. One other observation Is in order. Not all of the mem bers of the Committee for Fair Taxation agree with one an other, and not all are as radi cal as Mr. Phillips. One of the more moderate members. Ed Rovner, suggest ed last December that I inves tigate the feasibility of an amendment that would permit a county government to modi fy the act in its own county to prevent specific local abuses. I put this question to Gill Riley, the Acting Director of the Department of Assess ments and Taxation. He begged me not to proceed with such an idea, since it would lead to a chaotic variety of as sessment rules throughout the State. He said that the De partment was refining its cri teria for screening out land owners who were not bona fide farmers and assured me that the criteria would be effective to that end. Although the bill has passed the House, it occurs to me that one amendment to tighten up its application ought to be put on in the Senate, and I shall suggest it to Ed Northrop. I am quite certain that he will accept it. The House can then concur in the Senate amend ment. The amendment would pro vide that farm land would lose its special tax status if pub lic sewer and water were pres ently available. Surely land that has been taken into a Sanitary District and that has sewer and water lines reach ing out toward it is too far gone to qualify as farm land. Postscript I note that Mr. Phillips’ re quest for changes in the law was accompanied by a blast at me in one of the county papers. He says that I start ed the whole thing because my father owns farm land in the upper fringe of Montgomery County and in Frederick and Carroll Counties. Darius, do you really, really believe that? Or are you just having some politically in spired fun? Do you know that for the past seven years I have been fighting tooth and nail against the inclusion of the Upper Northwest Branch Valley ir the Sanitary District prior tc the adoption of a master zon ing plan for the area? And do you know that m> father and I are co-owners oi (Continued on Page 13)