Evening star., 1909-07-08
HILTON MAKES REPLY
Montgomery County Official
Answers Criticism.
ADDRESS TO THE VOTERS
Questions the Democracy of Harry
T. Newcomb.
UNTIL RECENTLY REPUBLICAN
Always Regarded as Proper to Ap-
point Beneficiary of Party Chair
man of Central Committee.
Special Correspondence Of The star.

H1dH Ol SSuIldl
Special Correspondence Of he star
ROCKVILLE, Md, July $. 1909.
The democratic primary campaign IN
Montgomery county is developing, es-
pecially as regards the contest Tor me
nomination for the state senate. SeE-
eral days ago Harry I. NeWcomp on
Bethesda. who is contestinS with Sena-
tor Blair Lee for the nomination lor
state senator. published letter TO SEN
ator Lee in which he criticised Mr..
Lees course in connection with lne
public schools and other county aH2lrS,
charged extravaganza in the eXpendl- :
ture of county money and declared that
Robert G. Hilton, who is county treas
urer, clerk to the county commissioners
and chairman of the democratic state
central committee of the county. is
holding too many Offices. Mr.. Hilton
now issues an address to the demo-
cratic voters of the county, questioning
Mr. Newcomb'S democracy ana declar-
ing that party custom gives him a per :
feet right to hold the Offices he nils. II
is said that Senator Lee is preparing 4
reply to the Newcomb letter.
The paragraph in Mr. Newcomb let
ter to which Mr.. Hilton pays particular
attention is as follows:
II believe it is utterly wrong that any
person should hold, at the same time. the
two offices OF county treasurer ana clerk
to the county commissioners, and tnat
the abuse is even greater when the same
person is also chairman of the state CEN
tra committee of the dominant paTlf5 III
the county. Without reflection upon the
particular individual who now holds all
these positions. it is plain that the sit
uation violates an important principle OF
good government. The powers OF these
offices ought to be a check upon each
other: when all are held by the same
person there is no check at all At
though Mr.. Hilton has had your aid in
bringing about and mintaining this situ-
alton, and it could not have continued at
any time since the fall of 1901 without
your consent, public w1tndraWai OF
YOUR support. even at this date, would be
received with gratitude by all who desire
to establish the permanent conditions of
good county government Ii nominated
and elected senator, l shall at once en-
deavor to separate these offices.
Attack Personal and Unreasonable
Mr. Hilton declares that my activity
in behalf of the party in 1900 in prevent
ing Mr. Newconb from voting when his
politics was well known has much to do
with his personal and unreasonable attack
on me-" After stating that Il was
born in Montgomery county and have
lived there my whole life of about thirty
five years. and the people of the country
know all about me, and 1t seems that the
people should know something about Nj.
Newcomb. who has so suddenly entered
democratic politics" Mr.. Hilton proceeds
to furnish considerable information,
gathered from various publications and
other reliable data concerning Mr. New
L. Tho Of h h
at Owosso. Mich. January 4, 1867. 'of
republican parents to the present, his
apparent object being to prove that until
very recently Mr.. Newcomb's associa-
tions, at least, have always been republi-
can.
After mentioning the government posi-
tions held by Mr.. Newcomb and the sal
aries he received. Mr.. Hilton states:
From 1899 until 1901 he was chief of
a division in the United States census
significant promotion of MIR. Newcomb
by the Mckinley administration, as this
department was run under the 'spolls'
system. The register for the Interior
Department for 1901 shows that he was
appointed to this position from the Dis
trict of Columbia. and that his resi-
dence was in the District of Columbia.
Since then he appears to have held no
regular public office, although just prior
to the passage of the Hepburn act he
the United States Senate committee on
interstate commerce, of which Stephen
B. Elkins, republican senator from West
Virginia, was chairman.
Expression of Views.
"In 1902 and 1905 he was one of the
counsel for the Philadelphia and Reading
Coal and Iron Company before the an
thracite coal strike commission, and at
the same time was editor of the Railway
World, published in New York and Phil
adelphia in the interest of the railway
companies.
I'm the summers of 1890 and 1900 Mr.
Newcomb boarded at Boyds, in Clarks-
burg district, where l reside, and Octo-
Der >, 1900, he appeared before the board
of registry and applied for registration,
testifying that he had been resident of
the state, county and district for twelve
months, and was registered. ] was dis
trict committeeman at the time and,
while not personally acquainted with
him, ] had heard him express himself
politically, and had information furnish
ed me by other party workers. who had
heard him express himself. to the effect
that he was a republican. When Mr.
Newoomb went to register he was ac-
companied by a republican worker I'm
der the circumstances, and knowing that
he had not resided in the district con-
tinuously for twelve months. as required
by law, l filed a petition with the cir
cult court TO have his name stricken
from the books The case was called for
trial November l, 1900, before Judge
Henderson, and Ashley NJ. Gould, who
was then republican leader of Mont
gomery county, appeared for Mr.. New
comb and submitted the case upon the
petition No testimony was offered in
Mr.. Newcomb's behalf and the court
ordered his name stricken from the reg
istration books.
First Vote in 1904.
ION October 4, 1904, he registered in
Wheaton district, testifying he had been
resident of the state and county for
eighteen months. which establishes the
fact that he became bona fide resident
of the county in the spring of 1903 lust
six years ago. His first vote was cast
at the election of 1904. On October :,
1905. he transferred to Bethesda dist rict
and voted that year. In 1905 he did nor
vote. but voted in 1907 and 1908 from
which il can be seen that he has voted
only four times in this county
"In 1905 | was appointed chairman of
the state central committee and have
kept i'm close touch with the registration
each wear by having detailed reports of
each days work from every precinct in
the county. and / do not find that anv of
the workers regarded Mr. Newconb as
a democrat i'm the districts in which he
registered and had no knowledge th.. ns
nrofessed to be a democrat until ha uas
elected n delegate to the last countv cor.
vention from Bethesda district
Matter Of Holding Offices