Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1910-05-27
A GOOD ANENDER.

Following the successful efforts of Stat
Senator Lee to obtain authority from tn
State Roads Commission for the construc
ton by the County Commissioners through
d. Knight, County Road Superintendent
OF the State road from Gaithersburg L
Jamestown Of local material, there ap
peared in certain Baltimore papers appar
entity inspired publications with the eviden
object Of making it appear that the crit
clsms Of the Geological Survey group, in
Guiding the Chief Engineer, Mr.. W. W
Crosby, constituted an attack by Senato
Lee on the State Roads Commission, in.
Guiding the Governor and Commissioner:
Tucker and Hutton, all Of whom co-operated
with Senator Lee in effecting amendments
to the States road laws, by which the Geo
logical Survey was abolished and the Gov.
ernor given the power to break the so-called
deadlock" on the State Roads Commission
Senator Lee in an interview laid bare
the fallacy of these publications and re-
quested the members Of the General AS
sembly and the public to await the ides of
June for proper action by the Governor in
carrying out the wishes of the General
Assembly. as approved by the Chief Ex-
ecutive of this State
On Monday this interview was published
in the Baltimore Sun Gas reproduced in
another column Of this issue of the SEMI
NEL) as an attack on the State Roads Com
mission. the very opposite of what the
interview itself shows to have been the
intention.
This was followed on Tuesday by an
editorial of our contemporary, the San, in
which the legislative and executive disap-
proval of the Geological Surveys record
and methods were ignored and Messrs
Shoemaker, Crosby. Remsen and Clark were
commended in the highest terms as sue
cessful road builders.
The Sun cOmmends Senator Lee in GEN.
eral terms as prelude to a sarcastic attack,
in which the Senator is denOminated the
Great Amender." likening him to the
apothecary prone to giving customers what
they do not want
The SENTINEL, as conservative yet pro-
gressive Democratic paper. has watched
with some care the public record of Senator
Lee; and, while il is doubtless true that
he has not always stood for what the Sun
and some other city papers wanted, yet,
nevertheless, 1t is believed that few of our
modern Maryland statesmen have so uni
formly stood for and obtained what the
masses OF the people want than Senator
Lee.
A more radical man would have incor
porated his ideas into bills and insisted
upon the enactment of all he wanted or
nothing. with the result that only little would
probably have been accomplished. As a
progressive conservative Democrat, Senator
Lee has been ready to recognize and pre-
serve what was good in the laws as he
found them, and has fearlessly sought by
amendments to improve them; not always
getting all he sought. yet practical enough
to take what improvement he could secure
from time to time.
The SENTINEL believes that he has not
only been Great Amender," but a good
amender and the following may be sue-
gested as some of the changes he has ad-
vocated and secured
The old system of sneaking through local
bills without being printed has been abol-
ished
The b. and o. resolution of investiga
was amended so as to make il immediate
and effective
By resolutions of inquiry, the foundation
was laid for the Montgomery county tax
suits, which have lifted a burden of taxa
ton from the shoulders Of the average
taxpayer and put it on the financial in
terests. which were escaping taxes.
The County Treasurer was substituted for
the old collector system in this county, and
banks were required to pay interest on
county money.
A primary election law was first passed
for this county and thereafter, by series
of continuous efforts, extended to primary
elections throughout the State. tending
toward control by the people; greatly to
the discomfort of the city press the pOliti-
cal power of the counties was preserved
The Shoemaker road law was so amend
ed that the State aid must be supplied as
the road work progresses, thus saving the
payment of interest by the counties on
money elsewhere lying idle in bank to the
credit of the State; and. further. so that
the law hereafter will be administered by
the State Roads Commission.
The State roads law has been so amend
ed that local road material may be accu-
INFLATED and used and the cost of stone
and the freight reduced and also that the
County Commissioners can be recognized
and their engineer utilized in making prac-
teal roads and the most miles possible.
II must be conceded that but for the
resolute efforts of Senator Lee in the clos
ing hours Of the last session of the General
Assembly both the Federal Income Tax
resolution and the Public Utilities bill would
have been defeated.
The Baltimore city papers must recognize
that man Of resolution and principle |.
nowhere subservient; and, though the San
may not like the failure to secure increased
power for Baltimore city under the euist
Of a primary election law and may dep
recate exposures of Vaccinations politica
Of the Geological Survey road-buildini
group, it will learn in time to respect. ever
more fully than 1t has in the past tn,
militant Democracy Of Montgomery county
as represented by the public servant /
now criticises.
CONGRESSIONAL NOMINA TONS
BY DIRECT VOTE