The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-05-05
SAYS COURTS SHOULD DECIDE
Objection Arises Under Act of 1921
Prohibiting State From Aiding In
Internal Improvements.

repair and maintenance of county
roads in the various counties
of the State. Mr. Bryan is of the
opinion that the matter should be
taken into court to- determine the
validity of the act before any money
is paid out under its provisions With
this view of it, Mr. Bryan wrote tC
Mr.. q. I. Atkinson, State Comptroll-
er, and Gen. Murray Vandiver State
Treasurer yesterday, advising them
not t. make any payments under the
act.
Mr.. Bryan's letter was as follows:
There was passed at the session OF
the General Assembly of 1904 a Road
bill. appropriating 100000 annually
of the States funds, to be expended
i'll certain contingencies specified in
the act, in the repair andmaintenauce
of the county roads in the various
counties of the State
II write to inform you that, in my
Judgment, it is your duty to decline
to pay over or aid in paying oyer any
OF the States money under the pro-
visions of this act until the cOnstitu-
tional validity of the same has been
finally and authoritatively declared
by the judicial tribunals of the State.
81 think that there is too much
doubt about the authority of the Leg
islature to appropriate any of the
States money for the maintenance
repair of county roads for any of the
Treasury officers of the State to be
justified in paying out funds under
such attempted appropriation until
and unless the same is sanctioned by
the courts.
Section "a OF Article 3 of the State
Constitution denies to the General
Assembly the power in any mode to
involve the State in the construction
of works of internal improvement,
nor in granting any aid thereto which
shall involve the faith or credit of the
State; nor make any appropriation
therefor, except in aid of the construc-
ton of works of internal improve
nent in the counties of st. Mary's,
Charles end Calvert, which have had
no direct advantage from such works
as have been heretofore aided by the
State and provided that such aid, adj
yances and appropriations shall not
exceed in the aggregate the sum of
$500, 000.w
AS is well known, bill was intro
duced in the General Assembly to
submit to the popular vote an amend
ment to this clause in the tConstitu-
ton providing that under limitations
the prohibition should not apply to
aids to county roads. If it should be
determined by the courts that all the
necessary requirements have been oh
served to authorize the submission of
this proposed amendment to the
people, and it should be adopted at
the general election in 1905. the OBJ
lection to the validity of this road bill
will, of course. be removed. | mention
this proposed constitutional amend
ment now merely as showing that the
same General Assembly which passed
this road bill evidently considered
that it might need an amendment OF
the Constitution to validate it.
"The question ON which the val
idity of this act turns is wheather by
being required to aid in the oonstru C.
tlon of county road the State will bt
in any mode involved in the construc
ton of works of neutrality-suspicious.
This, of course, depends upon wheth
er such roads are works of internatio
nal Improvement in the sense il
which those terms are used in the
Constitution.
This prohibition was introduced
into the Constitution of 1851, and the
debates in the convention framing
that Constitution undoubtedly show
that the main mischief sought to be
guarded against was the subscription
by the State in the future to the stocl
of railroads and canals, with which
classes of investments the States ex
perience in the past had been cost,
and unsatisfactory.
while these were undoubtedly the
chief classes of works OF internal i'm
provements intended to be guarded
against, it by no means follows tina
they were the only classes of sucl
works. When it is remembered tina
in constituting constitutionthe term
used are to receive the popular mean
ing in which they were understood by
the persons adopting the Constitu
ton, and when it is remembered tina
there had been in the first half of tn,
last century and prior to the origina
adoptiOp in 1871 NJ tbiS c1ous ~ ~,