The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1910-10-14
CrOthers' Good Record

The Baltimore Suns Washington
correspondent has this to say about
Governor Crothers:
''The uproar about the Police Board
investigation has raised a fog that OBJ
scures from a forgetful public some of
the really solid things about the Croth-
ers administration. He may or he may
not be right about the rottenness of
the police force. do not pretend to
know, but recent denunciation of the
Governor calls to mind some of the
things for which he has striven and
some ne has accomplished. He may
come out of this mess indicated or
discredited, but fair-minded men know
the State owes him something and will
give him his due.
"Crothers was nominated and elected
Governor without cost to himself and
through the power of certain influences.
Frankly an organization man, after his
election he made his appointments to
please those influences and the organi-
cation. They were pleased. No Gov
ernor has ever given the organization
or its leaders a larger slice of the
patronage than he.
1.-The best illustration of this is that
in neither city nor counties has he made
a personal Supervisor of Election ap-
pointment. In every instance Crothers
has taken both Democrats from the or
ganization list, whereas he was requir-
ed and expected to take but one, the
other being personal selection Of
which former Governors had awaited
themselvee, His appointments are not
among the things for which the State
owes the Governor thanks although
he has made a number of fine ones,
free from the faint of politics and
wholly in the public interest, For the
most part he has used them to pay his
political debts to his political sponsor.
and the organization. He has shifted,
traded and snapped in q seemingly in
cApiCdoiC way, O0I oo lioI OcucNS
there is 4 leader in the State who can
truthfully stand up and say he was not
recognized or was turned down or not
consulted.
Having divided the places among
the forces that elected him Crothers
conceived he had discharged the politi.
cal obligations incurred in his election.
He then proceeded to take his job
differently and more seriously than any
of his predecessors. Without a single
business or social interest outside, he
gave his whole time to it, and since his
| auguration has regularly worked
more than union hours. After he got
the appointments out of the way, he
started out to be Governor He had
ideas and plans and he had q policy.
He consulted about places, but he did
not consult or submit about anything
else, and credit will be given him for
being his own man rs Governor.
Probably the biggest thing Crothera
did in the 1908 session, was to veto
items aggregating nearly half million
dollars in the Omnibus Appropriation
bill, saving just that much of the peo-
pies money. And in doing so, he did
not cripple a single institution. After
the session he developed more strongly
IS an economist. Economy became his
hobby. The politicians called it pen
uriousness. He insisted that State
boards should not spend the State 3
money for champagne at their meet
ings. He dropped several useless en-
ployes about the Statehouse at Annap-
oils and scared a lot of fellows into fits
by stating his intention of going
through every department and wedding
out the unnecessary job-holders. A
howl went up. Politicians began to
dance about in rage. Leaders asked
" hat is the matter with Crothers?
What does he want to agitate these
things for? Wasn't he always anxious
to make places for himself? Doesn't
he know he can't be renominated if he
tries anything like this?"