Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1909-07-23
NEwcoMB WRONG AGAIN.

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was not stated until the matter under con.
sideration again came up some few days
later. 1t seems but fair that the SENTINEL s
account of this incident, which appeared
in your issue of January oath, in which
Senator Lee scored remarkable victory
for public economy should be published
1t is as follows:
At the conference of the Democratic
State Senators at Annapolis, Tuesday, on
motion of Senator Lee it was decided to
cut down the proposed appropriation for
J legislative expenses from 100000 to
$4,000, using in support of his motion
the undisputed items of extravagance
pointed out in the message of Governor
Warfield.
In cutting down this part of the appro-
priation. Senator Lee followed the novel
plan of asking the press to discuss certain
hypothetical questions, in which he sought
to place the expenditure in the light most
favorable to the expenditure; and then
suspended an expression of his own views
and purposes on the matter until the daily
press of the State had fairly riddled the
suggestions with arguments showing the
unjustifiable character of the appropriation.
Then it was that the sentiment crystallized
against 1.-THE appropriation he sought to
attack-and thus his effort met with sue
cess.
Senator Lee is willing that separate
fund should be set apart for giving publicity
to proceedings affecting matters of revenue
and taxation; and vigorously urges that
the large graft must be fought as well as
the small, and insists that the daily press
should not be allowed to make scopegoat
of the charwoman appropriation and keep
quiet about the large grafters who have
been so successful in the past.
During the debate Senator Lee said
THE newspaper discussion in response to
the four hypothetical questions propounded
by me on the day of adjournment. when
asking that this matter 90 over for future
consideration. has been even more extern
sive than anticipated, and. though much
of it was not responsive to the questions.
nevertheless it was instructive. | trust
that it was sufficiently instructive to con-
vince the gentleman who wished to act
without regard to public opinion CT the
newspapers that the pause was justified.
THE four hypothetical questions offered
by me, assuming that extravaganza exist
ed, put the matter on the most tenable
ground on which it could possibly be ex-
cused and brought on lively newspaper
debate, which developed great deal of
steam against extravaganza. tits my hope
that this strong feeling is now sufficiently
developed to carry our newspaper friends
not only through this comparatively small
matter of employees and scrubwomen of the
Legislature. but also to carry them on to
attack the really great extravagances and
PRIVILEGES and exemptions from taxation
that involve many thousands of dollars Of
revenue to the State, city and counties and
keep back our people in the development
of our school system and good roads.
81 hardly expected the Baltimore editors
to understand Montgomery county farmer.
Last summer had an experimental field
of alfalfa which was growing weak and
patchy The soil needed stirring up to
scatter the bacteria this particular legumi-
nous plant requires. A city editor might
have thought me foolish in ploughing up
and re-seeding that alfalfa. These Balti-
more editors themselves required stirring
up They we're growing patchy Their
zeal for economy was directed against small
things and they were overlooking the big
things.
THE great point to which our newspa-
pers are clearly committed is. that they are
hot against all extravagances and strongly
opposed to taking any money out of the
public treasury except for services honestly
and directly rendered to the State. These
are my personal views and are in the line of
Democratic economy from the time of JEFF
ferson and Jackson to the present. Jack
son. though not the author. yet was one
who applied the maxim, to the victor be-
long the spoils. He was. however, great
upholder of official integrity He retained
Peter Hagner. of the Maryland family, in
office as Comptroller of the Treasury. though
Wing, on account of Ha9ner's sterling
integrity as an accounting officer. and Hae-
ner, though he yielded nothing of his polit-
ical opinions. conceded that Jackson was
one of the most scrupulous army officers
whose accounts had come before him.
THE definite part of Ex-Governor War
fields criticism Of the last Legislature s
expenses cover about thirty-One thousand
dollars His views have been successful
in so far as the amount left out Of this
bill is almost exactly that amount, or
thirty thousand dollars.
"Mr President. would have preferred to
have seen the Ex-Governor attack the large
extravagances and special privileges first
Personally, would have left these smaller
people to the last. if choice were to be
made between them and those larger
matters.
This smaller matter is now before us
and we must decide this question accord
ing to Democratic principles of honesty
and economy. no matter who it affects.
THE situation reminds me of the lines
of Kipling
For the COlOnel's Lady and Judy O'Grady
Are sisters under their skins.
Judy O'Grady is the Legislative scrub
woman. She may need regulating. but her
sister needs it more. The COlonel's Lady
we may say is Miss differentiation and
Exemption. with whom Colonel Schley has
been flirting with disastrous results to the
general taxpayers. She is rather an old
girl and has been around here since about
the time of the Lowndes administration
Colonel Schley should have turned her out
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