The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1902-02-07
LEGISLATIVE NOTES.

speaker mitchell mas introduced,
by request, bill to provide for the
retirement of the Judges of the Court
of Appeals, the Supreme Bench of
Baltimore City and the Associate
Judges of the several judicial circuits
of the State upon three-fourths Of
their respective salaries from and
after the completion of the terms of
their office or from the date of their
resignation. 1t was referred to the
Judiciary Committee.
Mr.. Brashears has introduced a
bill making an attempt to assault,
a capital olfense where the commits
sion of the act is now punishable by
death, in the discretion of the Court.
Delegate Knoebel, Of Baltimore
county, has introduced a bill allow
ing electric railways whose terminals
shall be a point on the boundary line
of the City of Baltimore, to connect
their tracks with those of any other
railway within Baltimore City and
to enter into an agreement for the
use of tracks and other property
upon such terms as may be agreed
upon between the two companies.
In case an agreement cannot be
reached each company is to appoint
an arbitrator and these two arbitra-
tors are to select third and the de-
cision of the majority shall be final.
School Commissioners and Ex-
aminers from nearly every county in
the State were in Annapolis on We'd
nesday. This gathering was in re-
Spouse to call sent out by Superin-
tendent Stephens, in which the object
stated was to consider school
legislation. A preliminary meeting
was held and the following recon-
mendations were adopted: To in
crease the amount ofmoney towards
the schools ofmanual training;second
to consolidate schools and carry
children in trolley cars or wagons
when it would be cheaper than to
sustain separate schools; the Moore
bill providing the retirement ofteach-
ers on half pay; to have the schools
supported by the State without the
aid of local taxation; to have the
school year uniform in all counties;
to pay a minium salary to all teach
ers, the sum suggested was $3.50; to
distribute the school fund according
to the enrolment without regard to
color, the colored children now count
twice; teachers not to be dismissed
by trustees until after charges are
preferred; to make the State Superin-
tendent member Of the State Board
of Education; to have a commission
enquire into the condition Of the
public schools.
TORETZRE EX.JUDGES ONPARTP PAY
A bill now before the present Leg
islature, which is attracting some
attention, is the one to pension ex-
judges who have served on the bench
a certain number of years and have
reached an age which incapacitates
them from taking up an avocation
after they have retired to private
life. This is following out the theory
which has been advanced by our
national government in retiring all
of it's officers on a stipulated life pay
provided they have been faithful to
the duties which were required of
them.
There is no public position which
offers so many tempting opportuni-
ties to amass money, by methods,
which, while not criminally wrong,
are far from right from a moral
standpoint, as the Judiciary, and the
people at large can suffer no greater
than a question: BILE or
corrupt judicial incumbent. Fortu-
nately Maryland has, so far as we
know, without a single exception,
mad men on the bench against whose
honor the slightest breath of sus-
Dicion has never been breathed. We
10 not pay these officials exorbitant
salaries at present, and it has only
,een quite recently they have received
lear so much pay as they now get.
We are not familiar with the provis-
ons of the present bill and are only
the question in an alb
tract manner. Vixen we are fortu-
late enough to obtain men of the
proper calibre to accept these places
md require of them that they should
i've in a manner becoming their posi-
ion it would only seem to be consis-