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107th Year -44 Published Every Thursday ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND THURSDAY, MAY 3,1962 GArdes 4-7700 26 PAGES JQO ■ Copy
Ecker Says
He’ll Speed
Urban Plan
Renewal
Urgency
Is Cited
Efforts to speed up Rock
ville’s urban renewal pro
gram were promised this
week by the city's new
mayor, Frank Ecker, after
he took office following
Monday’s election.
Ecker and his running mates
on the Citizens for Good Gov
ernment slate made a clean
sweep of the biennial election
in which they were opposed by
the hard-campaigning Federa
tion of Independent Voters’ slate
heeded by former City Council
man John Rausch.
Ecker won 1544 votes as
compared to 11.39 by Rausch.
Other city councilmen to win
and the votes they chalked up:
Achilles Tuchtan, 1694; Ross
Roberts, 1622; Ralph E. Wil
liams, 1611, and Edward J.
Mack, 1441.
Members of the losing slate
and their vote totals: Henry J.
Giaque, 1154; Bert Kurland,
1076; Lt. Col. Robert T. Bard,
1051; Hugh Hassell, 1023.
Total votes cast in the elec
tion was 2728 as compared to
1400 in the 1960 election.
Ecker succeeds former may
or Alexander 4. Greene who
presided at his last council
meeting Monday night as the
election results were an
nounced.
A round of friendly hand
shakes followed the announce
ment with no apparent bitter
ness visible on the part of either
winning or losing candidates.
The “Independent” slate had
campaigned, principally, on the
theme that Citizens for Good
(Continued on Page 3)
Three Democratic Tickets
Active as Race Nears End
Scanlan Letter
Gives Support
To County Slate
The counsel for the Mary
land Committee for Fair
Representation, a supporter
of the County Democrats
slate headed by State Sen.
Margaret C. Schweinhaut,
said this week the slate de
serves “the support of the
intelligent and cool-headed
vote.”
Alfred L. Scanlan, vice chair
man of Democratic Precinct 7-
17, in a letter to members of
Precincts 7-15 and 7-17 said the
county situation appears as
“confusion compounded.”
“A plethor' of candidates, a
multiude of slates and a host
of bizarre alignments defy
objective political analysis,”
he said.
“On balance, however, I think
that the Montgomery County
Democratic slate headed by our
incumbent, State Sen. Margaret
Collins Schweinhaut, deserves
your vote. The members of this
slate have at least shown the
good judgment of abjuring in
volvement in the fratricidal
donnybrook which rages at the
state level.”
Despite the fact that County
Democrats have no commit
ments at the state level, Scan
lan himself recommended Blair
Lee as “most deserving of the
nomination for United States
senator, by virtue of ability,
integrity, experience and knowl
edge of the affairs of Mary
land.”
He also backed the candida
cies of John Moore, running for
judge of the Circuit Court, and
William P. Allen, candidate for
the House of Representatives
from the Sixth Congressional
District.
In answer to rumors that the
County Democrats ticket is
secretly aligned with either Gov.
J. Millard Tawes or David Hume
♦Continued on Page 2)
SbtMieii M mM
Jury Will
Probe 4
S&L Units
State’s Attorney Leonard T.
Kardy has called the county
grand juiy into special session
Monday to seek criminal indict
ments against four savings and
loan associations here.
More than 60 witnesses have
been summoned. Kardy said, in
cluding three Congressmen:
Reps. Frank Boykin, of Ala.,
James Roosevelt, of California,
and Thomas Johnson, of Mary
land.
In a statement yesterday,
Kardy said, “I believe the
people of Montgomery County
through the grand jury are en
titled to a full disclosure of all
the facts involved.”
"There was a complete be
trayal of the public trust by the
associations involved. After
lengthy discussion with the re
ceivers of such associations and
other witnesses, I believe there
to be possible criminal viola
tions against all four associa
tions and I will seek criminal
indictments against them.”
Kardy identified the four
firms as First Continental Sav
ings and Loan, Mutual Security
Savings and Loan. Military
Service Savings and Loan, and
Family Savings and Home Loan
Association.
Missile Contract
The Navy Department this
week announced the award of
a S2O million contract to the
Johns Hopkins University Ap
plied Physics Laboratory in
Silver Spring, for research and
development on ordnance and
related equipment.
Lee Suggests
Progress Group
To County Voters
Blair Lee, Montgomery
County candidate for the
U. S. Senate, noted the “con
fusing array of candidates
for county offices” and pro
posed to voters that they
choose the Democrats for
Progress slate.
Democrats for Progress, inci
dentally, are a slate of local of
fice-seekers who endorse the
George P. Mahoney-Blair Lee
ticket.
Lee pointed out that county
voters must decide among three
complete tickets as well as a
sprinkling of unaffiliated candi
dates.
“Although each of these
groups Includes some persons
whom I admire,” he said. “I
do not hesitate to recommend
down-the-line support of the
ticket known as Democrats
for Progress and headed by
Bill Hickey as candidate for
state senator.”
His reasons for backing Dem
ocrats for Progress include:
• Members are broadly repre
sentative of the entire Demo
cratic Party. “The ticket is com
posed of liberals, moderates and
conservatives who are joined
together in a common deter
mination to keep Montgomery
County in the vanguard of sub
urban committees.
• Members offer a combina
tion of experienced incumbents
and vigorous new blood. “Dem
ocrats for Progress include a
majority of the present mem
bers of the County Council and
the Democratic State Central
Committee and the only incum
bent member of the House of
Delegates (Mrs. Edna P. Cook)
who is running for re-election.”
• Members “have adopted a
forthright and detailed platform
which projects into the future
the concepts of public service
that have guided our efforts
ever since the great Democratic ]
renaissance of 1951.”
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Gov . Taives Talks to County Voter
Old Sol Gives Tawes
Hot Time in County
Old Sol himself and local
politicos teamed up to show
campaigning Gov. J. Millard
Tawes a hot time in the old
county last week.
And the governor, in one
of the major speeches of his
campaign so far, helped keep
the atmosphere boiling.
Gov, Tawes, who says he lost
eight pounds on his pre-primary
swing before hitting Montgom
ery County, could well have
sweltered off a couple more in
the near-90-degree heat which
simmered the county during his
crowded day here.
Barbee Attacks
Petition Signers
For Statements
Alger Y. Barbee this week
said that statements of 11
candidates who signed a peti
tion to return the novel,
“Tropic of Cancer,” to li
brary and bookstore shelves
reveal them “as individuals
who lack the discernment to
be sure of what they are
signing, or who lack the
principle to stand on their
statements.”
Barbee, United Democrats for
Tawes ticket candidate for the
Maryland state senate, added:
“Of course, the failure of
these candidates to admit their
guilt is, to some extent at least,
understandable. They know
their action in signing the peti
tion was wrong, and they know
that the people do not want ob
scene literature available to
their children.”
Each of the 11 candidates who
endorsed the petition circulated
by the Kensington-Wheaton
Democratic Club made state
ments to a county newspaper
(the Sentinel) last week, Barbee 1
said, and “only one of them,
Mary Jo Bowman, a candidate
for delegate to the state con
vention on the County Demo
crats ticket, maintains her pre
vious position on the book.”
Mrs. Bowman was quoted In
the story as saying, “I don’t
think anyone should restrict
people’s reading; I don’t think
any book should be censored.”
“In spite of what Mrs. Bow
man said,” Barbee went on,
“Mrs. (Margaret C.) Schwein
haut, another County Democrat,
still contends that ‘No candidate
running with me has at any
time in this campaign, discuss
ed, suggested or advocated any
revision, liberalization or relaxa
tion of our obscpnity laws.’
"These statements are on
their face contradictory, and
avert Mrs. Schweinhaut should
(Continued on Page 24
I With touring un-air-condition
■ ed buildings the air-cooling
[ systems aren’t turned on until
I a forecast of at least five days
of above-90 temperatures is
issued and riding around in
the hot sun in an open con
-1 vertible, the governor can safely
say he found a warm reception
in Montgomery County.
At one point In bis crowd. <j
schedule, he attempted to slip
off bis suit coat he was
wearing a vest, too but
: hastily got back into It to
1 greet a couple of approaching
women.
“Wouldn't do to have the
ladies catch me in my shirt
sleeves,” he observed, mopping
his brow.
The governor’s day in the
county got under way with the
arrival of a 100-car caravan
carrying running mates on both
state and local tickets at the
county courthouse in Rockville.
There, a small group passers
by, startled by the mile-and-a
half long caravan, was quickly
swelled by courthouse em
ployees and officials out to
: greet Tawes.
Mrs. “Pete” Snyder of Twin
brook and a companion, Mrs.
Phyllis Grady of Travillah,
pushed in with press photog
raphers to snap a picture of
the governor on Mrs. Grady’s
; small camera.
,! Mrs. William E. Wootten, a
, lifelong resident of Rockville,
rushed up to assert he is “one
' of the finest men I’ve ever
known,” and said her husband
worked with Tawes when he
was president of the state fire
men’s association.
“He gave the governor one of
his first dinner parties in this
county,” she said proudly.
Climbing up the courthouse
steps, the governor said “I like
to get back to court houses now
and then,” referring to his serv
ice as a clerk of the court in
Somerset County 30 years ago.
The black-eyed Susan, Mary
land’s state flower, was sport
ed in lapels and corsages by
candidates in Gov. Tawes’ en
tourage as well as by a few
private citizens out to greet
, him.
The governor’s tour of the
courthouse was followed by a
'Continued on Page 4>
See S pecimen Ballot
In This Issue on B 5
Puzzled about how you’re
going to vote In the May 15
primary?
On page B 5 of this issue
a specimen ballot, paid for
by the Montogmery County
Board of Election Super
visors, lists the names of
all of the candidates—both
Democratic and Republican
—and where the names will
appear on your voting ma
chine on election day.
Don’t forget that you
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Mahoney During Yesterday’s Tour
Mahoney Slate Winds Up
County Tour Tonight
George P. Mahoney and
Co. variously known as
the M-L-B-S and Democrats
for Progress slate tonight
wind up a two-day vote
gathering tour of Montgom
ery County.
Mahoney, generally conceded
as the strongest contender with
Oov. J. Millard Tawes for the
May 15 Demoratie primary
gubernatorial nomination, was
joined in his tour of the county
by other state candidates on the
ticket.
Hosts for the tour were Blair
Lee, 111, the ticket’s candidate
for U. S. Senate, and candidates
for county offices.
After this morning’s tour of
the Silver Spring business dis
trict and Piney Branch and
Four Coiners shopping centers,
the group was to attend a lunch
eon at the United Democratic
Women’s Clubs of Maryland at
Indian Spring Country Club.
All the candidates for state
office were to speak.
In addition to Mahoney and
Lee, they Include Samuel Bar
rick, candidate for attorney
general; Carlton R. Sickles,
candidate for congressman-at
large; and Marshall Levin,
candidate for comptroller.
This afternoon’s schedule in
cludes tours of Glenmont at
1:30, Wheaton at 2, Wheaton
Plaza shopping centpr at 2:30
and Kensington at 4:30.
A 5 to 7 o’clock “Welcome
Home, Blair” party for Lee and
the other candidates at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward
Friedman in Garrett Park will
climax the Mahoney Caravan’s
country travels.
The caravan, which includes
a line of decorated station
wagons and the Democrats for
Progress sound truck, began at
Damascus early yesterday morn
ing to cover the county from
Damascus to the District Line
and from the Potomac River to
the Prince Georges County line.
Progress of the Caravan
through the county was unmis
takable as the sound truck
played a recording of the Demo
crats for Progress campaign
song, recently recorded by “The
Boarders,” a folk-singing trio
made up of the son of one of
can’t vote for candidates of
both parties. This Is a
party primary. If you’re a
registered Democrat, you
can vote only for Demo
cratic candidates. And if
you’re a Republican you
can only pull down the
GOP levers.
Why not look the speci
men ballot over now? It’ll
save you time on election
day and may help to clarify
some of your thoughts on
which candidates to back.
the ticket’s two candidates and
his two classmates.
After leaving Daniuscus,
the Caravan moved into Gaith
ersburg at 10 o’clock and then
arrived in Rockville at 11
o'clock for an 11 o’clock
“meet-tlie-voters” hour.
The afternoon had the station
wagons, sound truck and candi
dates moving into the Bethesda
business district at 2 o’clock,
the Wildwood shopping center
at 3 and the Little Falls West
wood shopping center at 5.
Climaxing the first day’s cam
! paigning was a rally at the Sil
i ver Spring Armory, where vot
| ers heard the candidates for
; state office, along with William
F. Hickey, state senatorial can
didate who heads the county
Democrats for Progress ticket.
Seating
Fight Eyed
By County
Montgomery County will
be represented tomorrow
when counsel for the Mary
land Committee for Fair
Representation meets with
attorneys for the State and
Judge O. Bawie Duckett of
Anne Arundel Circuit Court
on reapportionment of the
General Assembly.
County Attorney Alfred H.
Carter will represent the coun-
I ty’s voters at a court-called con
! ference on the committee’s
latest effort to have the state’s
county unit system invalidated
before the May 15 primary.
The question of intervening
in the case on the county’s be
half arose at a meeting of the
County Council this week at
which Councilman Stanley
Frosh predicted “the State of
Maryland and Mont gomery
County will make real history
this summer."
Pending a ruling by the
Anne Arundel court that the
ap|M>rtionnient provisions of
Maryland’s constitution are
unconstitutional, Frosh said,
“what it means for the state
and the county as of today re
mains uncertain.”
Although Carter told the
Council they had "a very legiti
mate Interest in wanting to be
on the side of the intervenor,’’
Council members hesitated to
authorize him to draw up a peti
tion to intervene in the case.
Their reasons ranged from
Joe Kyle's— “Ive no desire to
be part of this as an individual,
and no desire to pay court
costs”- to Mrs. Stella Werner's
“I don’t want to confuse or
delay this suit brought by a
taxpayer group."
Council members asked Car
ter to reporl back to them im
mediately after tomorrow’s
moating,
Planning
Issue Stirs
Hot Campaign
Potter Again
Airs Claims
Of ‘Conflicts'
Despite a report by Coun
ty Attorney Alfred H. Carter
that he can find no irregu
larities in the handling of
plans to build apartments on
the Corby tract in North Be
thesda, a citizen who insti
gated the investigation press
ed this week for further
action.
As a result, the County Coun
cil is expected to review the
Corby tract zoning during a
meeting with the Montgomery
County Planning Board on May
22 v/hen it discusses the master
plan for the North Bethesda-
Garrett Park area.
Charges of Irregularities in
the apartment zoning of proper
ty owned by the wife and broth
er-in-law of Planning Board
chairman J. Newton Brewer, jr.,
were made last week by Neal
Potter, 6801 Brookville rd.,
Chevy Chase.
In a fresh complaint to the
County Council this week,
Potter said the county attor
ney’s report “was not respon
sive” and that he had "con
fined himself to reviewing the
legality and completeness of
the platting and Issuance of
building permits.”
He reminded Council mem
bers that he had asked them to
determine whether the planning
and zoning of the North Bethes
da area had been done “In ac
cordance with public policy and
the public interest”—which, he
indicated, had not been done.
Potter, who Is a member of
the Montgomery County Citi
zens Association but nays he
is seeking the Investigation as
a private citizen, reiterated
his charge that “the planning
function has been perverted to
the convenience and desires”
of Brewer’s family.
The Corby tract is owned by
Karl W. Corby and Mrs. Brewer,
his sister.
Most recent development in
the conflict issue cited by Potter
was a telegram sent to the
Council last week by Fred W.
Laßastille, former planning
commission senior member who
had been in charge of the pre
liminary master plan for the
North Bethesda Area.
Laßastille’s message charg
ed that the master plan was
"stopped on two occasions for
two to three week period,”
and quoted Brewer as saying
the plan “would never see
light of day.”
The former commission staff
member said he resigned his
job “due to interference and
politics in planning operations
by Board” and expressed his
willingness to appear before any
appropriate investigating body
in defense of his plan.
Scout Leader
Roundtable
Slated Today
j i
A Boy Scout leaders round
table for Montgomery County j
adults active in the scouting
movement will be held today at!
Grace Episcopal Church, Grace
Church rd. and Georgia ave., j
Silver Spring.
The meeting will be open to >
Institutional represent all ve s,
scoutmasters and assistant
scoutmasters, committee chair
men, committeemen, scout dads
and other adults.
Special emphasis will be plac
ed on physical fitness, in a “Fit
for Tomorrow” discussion, and
use of scouting tools will be
stressed In a "Gimmicks and
Gadgets" roundtable.
The program will also include
scouting ceremonies, songs and
a “cracker barrel” exchange of
ideas between scout leaders.
Special activities will begin
at 7:45 p.m., with the formal j
program to get under way ati
S p m.
New Features
The Sentinel each week
adds new features which
you’ll And highly readable.
Several new ones have been
added in this week’s issue.
Be sure to look for them.
Candidates
Are Quizzed
j At Meeting
By Elly Bradley
Sentinel Reporter
The running battle over
who should have the final
say in plans for the county’s
future land development
a major issue in the primary
campaign broke out anew
this week.
This time, however, the Coun
ty Council and Maryland-Na
tional Capital Park and Plan
ning Com mission, normally
vocal participants, were side
line observers.
Latest outbreak came at a
meeting called by Montgomery
County Citizens Planning Asso
ciation to question primary
candidates of both political par
ties and all slates on their plan
ning views.
By the Ume the evening
was over, one major candidate
State Sen. Margaret C.
Schweinhaut had blasted
one of her primary opponents
for voting against fellow
County Council members tat
their decision to return three
(Continued on Page 3)
Cahoon Backs
Brewer on
Conflict Quip
A tongue-in-cheek question
tied into the current conflict-of
interest issue drew an unexpect
edly sharp reply from County
Council president David I*
Cahoon at this week’s meeting
of candidates to discuss their
planning views.
Among the questions present
ed to the candidates by the audi
ence was this one:
“Dare we hope that larga
landowners, developers and real
tors will ever be excluded from
positions on the County Council
or Planning Board?”
After the burst of laughter
this question evoked, the
candidates expressed almost
unanimous Indorsement of a
strong conflict-of-interest ordi
nance.
Then Molly Vinton, vice
president of the Citizens Plan
ning Association, which spon
sored the meeting, spoke up
to ask whether Cahoon, aa the
County Council’s “only Incum
bent present,” wouldn’t like to
speak to the question.
Cahoon, who had participated
In the earlier discussion from a
seat toward the back of the
room, looked far from amused
as he walked up front to face
the audience.
Although he couldn’t speak
for the entire County Council,
lie said, he poited out that no
member of the group "ever de
cides on any candidate for ap
pointment on his own” without
full Council discussion of all
candidates' qualifications.
Turning to recurring
charges of conflict of Interest
against Planning Board chair
man J. Newton Brewer, jr.,
Calioon declared that they are
“questionable.”
Brewer has figured promi
nently in a recent conflict-of
interest. report released by the
citizens planning group, as well
as in charges made by member
Neal Potter and a former com
mission staff member.
Cahoon told his audience that
Brewer's wife owns the large
tract of land died In the report
and that Brewer himself la
neither a land developer nor
realtor.
“His llwllhood la not bottled
up with land development.”
Cahoon said, “and, as a mat
ter of fart, he Joined with the
Republican members of the
Commission last week In
okaying the new open-space
zone.”
Part of the land owned by
Brewer’s wife and brother-in
law recently was rezoned for
apartments. ConflictKjf^-Interest
criticism against Brewer stems
from the fact he voted as a
member of the planning board
for high-rise apartment regula
tions and rezoning.