The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1914-03-13
Legislative Review.

received little or no return in important
legislation for the money expended in
salaries of our statesmen, ETC., etc.
The Baltimore Sun of the 9th inst.
gives an excellent review of the 1egisla-
tive situation, from which we make the
following extracts:
Two thirds of the legislative session
at Annapolis is gone and not single
measure of real Statewide importance
and benefit has been passed and few of
them even discussed to any extent.
"Only four more weeks of the session
remain, and even the eternally inevitable
oyster measure is still on the legislative
ways, with the prospect OF its being a
mere patched up makeshift when 1t
finally is launched an of its being ship
wrecked later and losing valuable cargo.
while time and money are ing
wasted at Annapolis, number Of matters
of great consequence to the State are
sidetracked, either to be rushed through
without consideration at the close of the
session, possibly with snake amend
ments, or left to die on the calendar.
Zone of the most important of these,
from the standpoint of the States well
fare, is the Tax Reform bill. 1t would be
sleeping peacefully and unmolested in a
committee pieeonhole were it not that
the politicians had scented jobs in it, and
are now engaged in trying to fix those
jobs for political hacks who would make
the whole admirable plan more or less of
farce and prevent any really expert,
capable, honest board from being ap-
pointed.
"The question of State roads is another
vital matter still undecided and is in dam
ger of being tied up by the demands of
the city administration for more money
and the trading of county politicians to
have this or that piece of road built by
enactment, regardless of its effect upon
the road system.
There are various bills for work mems
compensation, and the Insurance Com
mittees have he ,rd much discussion upon
them, but SO far nothing has been done
about it.
1.-THE Health Department bills, which
are of much importance are still in COM
mittee.
san educational survey for the State is
one of the most important proposals
made at this session, but the Legislature
is too busy even to consider a matter in
which there are no jobs in sight.
"The lobby has been looking lougingly
to the race track bills as possible means
of paying expenses, and it has been
charged that they are being used as bell
ringers to make those interested in rae
ing, whether merely from sporting or
financial standpoint, come across with
the COIN In the meanwhile the pro-
fessional moralists are getting busy and
there may yet be merry war between
the Lobby of the Uplift and the Lobby of
the Dinner Bell to decide whether the
sport of kings is to go into the Junk
heap kept supplied by the sportsmen of
moral endeavor.
but while nearly every matter of any
real consequence has been sidetracked
the Legislature has not been idle. Some.
thing like 1000 bills have BEN intro
duced and printed-many Of them, il
might be remarked, worth much less
than the expense of printing them-and
all these have been referred to the var
ions committees, who, if they worked ID
hours day for the balance of the ses-
sion, would hardly have time TO give
them the proper consideration.
ut seems absurd beyond words that
the time of I3I elected representatives of
the people should be taken up in consid.
ering whether John Smith should be paid
$iI.o5 for extra services as constable:
the widow of Bill Jones, pa roll
man, should be given a pension of 81
week; whether patrolman dismissed for
drinking should be reinstated or PEN
stoned; whether buzzards should he shot
in Talbot county; whether seines should
be used in Hoop-la creek; whether fish
bait should be shippe out of Frederick,
Or whether Harry Jones should be REIN.
bursed $40 so on his liquor license after
his saloon had been burned down.
"The home rule constitutional amend
nent which Speaker Trippe intends to
Introduce would go long way toward
remedying this almost iuiolerably ridicu-
Gus situation by having all such trivial
matters and all purely local concerns
ettled by the people interested ia them,
lot by the General Assembly of Mary
and, and that would give The latte, some
easonable time TO consider matters of
statewide interest aud concern