Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1881-01-21
To the Citizens of Montgomery County.

banks when the bonds of this series have
been called in for redemption.
To the Citizens of Montgomery County.
FelLor- Citizens 1T is seldom that l feel
compelled TO resort TO the public journals,
and nothing short Of duty to myself and
others induces me at the present time TO
speak through the public print.
In the AdD0cdte of the 9th ultimo, there
appeared long communication signed by
Messrs. A. b. Davis, Richard Il, White and
Henry Renshaw, School Commissioners, in
which they make serious charges against
the County Commissioners, the States At
torney for the county, many of its leading
and influential citizens and myself as Sena-
tor from the county, for attempting to break
up the Public Schools, and which catastro-
phe they, by their zeal, averted. am in
formed this document has been printed and
circulated in pamphlet form through the
county, also, will be frank to admit, if
no other name than that of Mr.. A. b. Davis
had been subscribed to the paper | should
have passed the matter by unnoticed. The
propensity of Mr.. Davis to find fault with
public men by making charges against them
through the public prints is SO well-known
and understood in Montgomery county as
W DC iOl Cfll1 III ldtb ~ 10 u DIlNl-
lege accorded to his years and harmless
qualification of his vanity to have his name
in the newspapers.
| confess my surprise at the names of
Messrs Renshaw and White to such a paper,
as have always esteemed them gentlemen
of too great integrity of character to be in
stigated by political or other motives to in
tentionally wrong or maliciously injure any
man, and think in the present instance they
may be well excused under the plea made
by the stork when captured in company with
the crows.
To say the least Of this paper, it is false
and groundless in its charges. No person
has attempted to stop, hinder or break up
the Public School system AS far as the
appointing power conferred by the present
school law upon the Circuit judges is con-
cerned | have always been land am now
more than ever Of the opinion that it is I'M
constitutional. If in this opinion am right,
then the dangers thereform are too great for
any man looking to the public veal to ignore.
If this law is unconstitutional, then we have
no County School Commissioners, no Secre-
tary and Treasurer; taxes are levied and col
| lected, and, if the Collectors refused to pay
them over, no power to enforce their pay
ment, no corporation to legally do anything
and no redress for the people for any non
application or misapplication Of the money
lin short, to use the language of one Of the
ablest lawyers in the State, Geo. Ii. Williams,
of Baltimore county, sit is lawlessness"
Had l stood alone in my views as to the
unconstitutionality of this law, no one would
have yielded an opinion more cheerfully
and bid them God speed and prosper, but
when | ascertained that the same views
were entertained by Others, Judge Alvey,
of the Court of Appeals, Ignoring the whole
law and refusing to make an appointment
under IL, Judge Lynch so far doubling the
law as to address several letters to the Leg
| islature upon the subject asking q change,
majority of our own bar entertaining the
same opinion and numbers of other promi-
nent lawyers throughout the State concur
ring therein) with such support as this, in
the discharge Of my duties as Senator, with
which you had been pleased to honor me, l
would have been recreant to my trust had
failed TO remedy what might in the future
prove to be a fearful evil to the whole State
| | did use every effort in my power to have
this school law changed, to place it upon
safe and reliable grounds, to free the whole
matter from doubt and uncertainty, and my
efforts were so far successful as to have passed
through the Senate such law, and charge
! Mr. A. b. Davis that while he had full
| knowledge of the doubts and uncertainties
surrounding the present law. he was in An
napolis and used every effort TO defeat that
law And with that knowledge he has
falsely and maliciously charged me with at
tempting to break up the Public Schools.
Again this document signed by these gen.
tlemen attacks me for acting as counsel for
Captain James Anderson and tries to place
it in the light of using my position as Sena-
tor TO influence his case. Let me say to
4 /.
prostitute my official position to any impro-
per purpose was not born, bred or edu-
Gated in that school. Capt. Anderson sought
my counsel and services as an attorney of
this State, and believing | was u free man to
act in my profession, l, in conjunction with
other gentlemen, consented to act for him,
and ] only regret our Appellate Court did
not see proper to meet the constitutional
question presented. These gentlemen say
they have remained passive and on the de-
iensive. and will add for the best OF rea-
sons, for the first step they attempt to take
in a court they will be confronted with these
constitutional questions, and to-day they are
afraid to raise them.
II you gentlemen profess 10 be worthy of
your places,go in Court and get possession of
your room, furnished and provided for you
by the county; seek your legal remedies and
get possession of that room. ] think IL was
the Roman Emperor Calgula who made
the most extravagant and expensive prepar-
atoms for the invasion of Germany, and af-
ter spending the time of campaign with
out entering the egemy's borders or fighting
a single battle, he returned 10 Rome and had
himself leted by grand trumphal entry
Now the people of Montgomery do not
want pomp or show, they want facts II
you gentlemen are honest in claiming to
have settled vexed question, PROFOUND
10 you single question: Has tbs cnnstitu-
tionality of the school law been adjudlcated
by the CourtsY If not, is it still an open
question: II these questions are open, you
gentlemen by your action can have them
settled. If II be so doubtful question, it
should be settled, this is due TO the people OF
the State. il you gentlemen are afraid to
have il settled, would it not be wise TO keep