Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1912-01-04
LIMIT SENATE EMPLOYEES
Senator Lee Proves His Combina-
ton With Republicans to be
A Formidable One.
TO REPEAL WILSON LAW.
Democrats Hold Conferences To De-
termine on What Shall be Their
Program in This.

After a single day meetings in
both the House and Senate and a
party conference which lasted until
the early hours of this morning, and
with the session of 1912 scarcely
twenty-four hours old, Senator Blair
Lee, of Montgomery county, has
demonstrated that in his eight
| Democratic friends and his combina-
tion with the progressive Republ-
cans, he has a machine that will be
dangerous at all times to the pro-
gram of the regular Democratic
State organization.
In what will possibly eventually
prove to have been one of the warm
est and most important fights of the
session of the Legislature, Senator
Lee and senator Frank Harper yes
terday afternoon defeated by the sur
| prlslng vote of l6 to Il the efforts of
Senator Price and Senator John
| Moore, of Worcester. to retain in
force the old system of appointing
employees and officials of the Senate
through the President, and not on
the floor of the Senate.
The fight came after a recess had
heen taken for the joint session of
the House and Senate to canvass the
! gubernatorial vote, and when Sena.
| tor Harper sent to the desk his order
Uniting the number of employees of
the Senate and providing that all
should be named in open session. The
bitter fight over the adopting or re-
| iecting of a substitute sent to the
de TX by Senator Moore, which effect
ually blocked the plan of Senator Har-
| per, opened at once and continued until
nearly 8 o'clock last night.
In explaining his order, Senator
Harper said: None can be blind to
| the fact that there has been an awak-
ening of the public conscience or to
the fact that this has in turn caused
| an awakening of the political con-
science. We, as Senators, here, are
trustees of the people, bound in
trusteeship that demands we exer-
else the utmost care in the expendi-
ture of their money.
THE great trouble is that we feel
that we have got to bring a crowd of
| men down here from the counties and
from the city for purely political pur-
| poses who cannot do the work that is
required of them"
Referring to his plan to have each
| employe report his arrival for duty
each day Senator Harper said it would
| be better il the circumstances made
it necessary to appoint a roll keeper,
than to name a flag-raiser during the
sessions. He strenuously opposed
having his order referred to a COM
mittee to delay the fight which he
thought should be finished right
away and the matter settled at once.
Senator Lee, in opposing the SUBJ
stitution and upholding the original
order of Senator Harper, called at
tention to the nationwide awakening
of Democrats and cited the case of
Champ Clark, as Speaker of the Ma
tional House of Representatives, who
had agreed to the curtailment Of the
powers of his office and the placing of
this power on the shoulders of the
whole body. He then referred to
the policy of relegating the appoint
ment of employees on the hands of
the president, radical contradiction
of law and of the constitution of
the State.
Agreeing with Senator Harper's
contention as to the illegality of the
system, he said that it exposed the
financial officers of the State to suit
against their bond for paying out
money without warrant of law. Con-
tinuing, Senator Lee affirmed that had
he occupied the chair now filled by
Senator Price, he would have left it
TO take the floor to urge the passage
of Senator Harper's resolution.
President Price then put the ques-
tion on the adoption of Senator
Moore's substitution, which was lost
by vote of 16 to IL, the vote being
as follows:
Nays-Senators Benson, Coady,
Crothers, Dodson, Duke, Emmart,
Goslin, Harper, Lee, Matthias, Mil
bourne, Snader, Speicher, Wells, Wilk-
inson and Zilhman-16.
Yeas-President Price, Senators
Andrew, Beck, Bells. Bosley, Camp
bell, Frere, Hammond, Maloy, Moore
and Sproesser-11.
: In explaining his vote, Senator
, Price said that he was not voting on
personal grounds. but that he did not
| OeilSNe OSudtOr I1dTpeT . plan was
practical one. He said he did not care
for the job of appointing these off,
cials, but that he thought the naming
/ of them in open session would simply
invite system of "log-rolling" for
places, and that the Senate would
often find itself seriously embarrassed
The vote was then taken on the
adoption of the order, which was
adopted 19 to 8,Senators Bosley. Ham.