The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1900-03-22
Legislative Notes.

Oeneral Assembly tnOulQ go SLOWLY
and touch gingerly things upon which
the people have spoken. One of these
matters to which his attention was
called is the School Board election in
Garrett county last November. Un-
der the provisions of the act of 1898
Garrett county was authorized to
elecl School Commissioners and the
School Examiner. The Commission
ers were chosen for terms of two, four
and six years, so that every two years
one member would be elected. The
Examiner is also elective every two
| years. These officers have not vet
taken office under the provisions of
the act, and Garrett is the only coun-
ty in the State which elects its School
Board and Examiner by the direct
vote of the people. All other county
boards are appointed by the Governor
and the boards appoint the Examiner.
Under the School Board bill, which
has been passed by the General As
sembly to take effect May 1, all the
| School Boards are legisated out of
office and the Governor is empowered,
with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to appoint new members. OF
course the majority under this new
deal will be Democratic, whereas they
are now Republican, though Govern
or Smith is not Gesirous of substitut-
ing political partisans, and will not
do SO if he Gdheres to his often ex-
pressed determination in this connec-
tion. Under the old law one new
member was appointed every two
years, SO that during Governor
Lowndes' administration the boards
did not become Republican until af-
ter he had been in the chair two years.
School management, however, be-
came prime issue in the campaign
which resulted in the restoration of
| the Democrats to power, and one of
the distinct pledges of the party and
of Governor Smith was that minority
representation should be insured in
public school government.
The problem before the Governor
now with respect to Garrett county
is TO reconcile his appointments with
the verdict of the people and their
wish to elect their own school officers.
As elected by the people, the school
men are all Republicans. There is
no minority representation. The
School Board Reorganization bill null
lifies the local verdict at the polls,
and Garrett is placed in the same cat
egory with all the other counties of
the State.
| If Democrats hesitate to disturb the
county treasurer elected by the people
in Calvert county, why may not the
Governor hesitate with respect to the
Garrett School Board? He may do so
because the minority principle is not
recognized in the board as elected
Nevertheless, the whole subject of in
terfering with elections is one full of
important considerations, and may
justly cause the party in power to
pause on the threshold of taking an
important step possibly in the wrong
direction.
AttorneyGeneral Isidor Rayner ex-
amined the School Board bill and ad-
vised the Governor to sign it. He
said some question arose in the minds
of members to the effect that the Gar
rett county school law, being local
law and in conflict with the general
law just passed, would hold, but his
opinion is to the contrary. He thinks
that the present school bill creating a
general system for county school gov
ernment supersedes the Garrett law,
and therefore nullifies the election
The old School Board of Garrett coun-
ty is still in authority, and will con-
tinue until May /, when, under the
provision of the act of 1898 ordering
the election, the new board would en-
ter upon its duties.
The bill providing for remarking
Mason and Dixon's line at points
where it has been obliterated hss
been reported favorably by the FL
nance Committee of the Senate. The
bill was introduced by Senator Moses,
who has been intensely interested in
it from the first. 1t originally carried
with it an appropriation of $4,000, but
this has been taken out of it, with
the understanding, it is said, that it
will be included in the general ap-
preparation bill when that is intro
duced. General Latrobe, chairman
of the Ways and Means Committee in
the House, is also greatly in favor of
of the bill, and there is now very lit
tie doubt as to it's passage.
If there are any more Doodle cam
paigns, any more vote buying or vote
selling, or political contributions to
church fairs, it will not be from lack
of antibribery bills offered at this ses-