The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-07-14
TURNING ON THE LIGHT.
What is Going on In the Comptroller's
Office at Annapolis-A Former Clerk
in One of the State Departments
Makes Some Revelations.
Letter II Woreester countu saleld.


Letter IN Worcester County Shield.
ANNAPOLIS. June ii, 1900.
Chief Clerk Grouse, of the Comptrollers Office,
took few hours off last week and Spent tn ne
Annapolis. muddling the funds account anu
spelling pay warrants. He had handed over the
colleague. the Hon. "Budie'' Hoffacker, while
he enjoyed the brief run to Annapolis, but It
was evident his mind was not at ease. IL taxes
time to get back, and therefore there were but
a few hours to waste in the Comptroiler's once.
se WHILE he
absent. Hohacker might write announcer ietter
DR.. Herring might forget some Instruction ana
lin short Chief Clerk Crouse's work IN the
destruction of trusts is of more Importance to
the country lust now than the unlmportanI
routine of the Comptrollers once ana 20 LOT
the summer and until after the election. ne re-
nounces the whole situation, except the salary
attachment This is his intention as he stated
it himself.
He knows the condition of affairs existing IN
the Office over which the people elected MIN 70
order to give the combination of Smith, Vandi-
yer & Herring veneer or respectaDlilty anu ne
turns out to be mere puppet IN tneiF s nanus rs
character when he admitted-as ne dlo, ana ~
can be proven-that he was allowed to name put
one clerk in his office. Who did he surrender
the s s to? To John Walter Smith,
one to Senator Hubner, OF Baltimore county,
one; to Aionzo L. Miles, one. To the remain
not distant future, and it will contain some in
But to return to DR.. Herring, whose mildness
of character and eminent respectability con-
tributed not little to Democratic success last
fall. and has since found its elimination IN tne
selection of chief clerk whose nagrant neglecI
Of duty has become public scandal He was
thEes mQptRs 5efore ms tender and coe
corporations began to manifest itself. The
books will show that in plain Violation OF law
he abated portion of the taxes of several Bal
then overdue for the year 1885, No reason was
assigned for the act. No valid one coulq De
given. The order was simply issued, and OF
course it was obeyed, and 1T STANDS TO-DAY upon
the books without explanation.
Surely this is a discouraging beginning Tor
high official whose established purity OF cnarac
ter was to atone in some measure for the shelf
worn Vandiver and the office brokering smith.
Why office-brokering2 Simply because his
probation of the dignity of his position than to
use it to secure place for his friends, followers
and relations, especially the latter Inc PROOF
w. w. Bowie, one of Gov. Smiths inspectors OF
Tobacco openly declares that he received his
appointment with the understanding that GOV;
Smith and his closest friends were 70 make al. an
the appointments in his warehouse down 10 tne
humblest laborer. Isaac s. Nutwell, another
Tobacco Inspector, makes the same statement;
J. Frank Smith, the Chief insPect4h, 81 RE
force, whereas the law places all the sueorul-
nate appointments at his disposal; Gen. Saun-
Heart never doubted his right to select his own
clerk and did so. But he Teckoned without his
host Murray Vandyer wanted the place Tor
Hartford county man and Gen. Saunders was
compelled to discharge the gentleman ne had
appointed and give the place to Mr.: Vandlver's
man. The new appointee has openly expressed
his determination not to allow the duties OF
clerk to the Adjutant General to interfere with
his business in Baltimore, but he Will graclously
condescend to come down to Annapolis occa-
sionally.
In the Land Office there are now four clerks,
an increase of one under the new regime. lt is
fc bor live ms N a
for two One of the new appointees is Mr..
Brewington, of WicOmico, think. DO not
know whether Mr.. Brewington has made his APP
pearence here or not. But tits generally under
stood that he has agreed to farm out the work "a
to Mr.. Thomas Taylor of this city, who will
represent Mr.. Brewington and receive half the
And vet some unsophisticated people say the
old Democratic ring is dead, and its practlces
are a thing of the past. In fact the old combi-
nation is in evidence everywhere. Its old inso-
lence and indifference to public sentiment is
manifest in every department of the state
government "GOrmanism" is upon us. and
though the voice may be the voice or smith, the
hand is the hand of German.
Nick Steele. of Carroll, whom Chlef clerk
Grouse has put up for Congress in the SECOND
district, expressed himself very freely the
ard: ID Smith. He is rotten. He has
given Western Maryland nothing worth men
tioning and thrown everything to the eastern
Shore; I'm sorry he was elected, and he is break
ing the party to pieces: -, 60.
/ think as you do. But let the fool alone. He
is killing himself as fast as he can. And that Is
what we want. 1t will be all the better for our
man two years from now"
The above conversation actually occurred as
stated 'Our man" is A. p. German, of course.
Onore' anu p'e"'' y ~ 7. F. McCARDELL.