The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1914-03-26
A FRAME UP THAT DID
NOT GET THRO UG /
An Effort Made To Wreck State
Roads Work.

have members of the legislature to
support this movement. 1t carried in
the House of Delegates but was lost in
the Senate by an overwhelmingly large
vote.
The apportionment made by the State
Road Commission and embodied in the
Price and Veasey bills was changed by
taking from the counties of Baltimore,
Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Somerset,
Wicomico and Worcester, part of their
allotment and dividing it up between
Allegany. Carroll, Frederick, Garrett,
Hartford. Prince Georges. Talbot and
Washington counties. Montgomery and
one or two Southern counties refused to
go in the first deal, so a new apportlon-
ment was made and the amount allotted
to them greatly increased. In the first
deal Garrett county was to get 500, 600,
but in the second deal the amount fell
down to $50,000 just one half the
original offer, presumably because
Messrs Savage and Harvey could not
be influenced to sacrifice their idea of
honesty and justice.
Log rolling, wire pulling, bargaining,
trading and all sorts of legislative de-
vices were employed in connection with
this $2,OOO,OOO for the Light Street
bridge and city paving of Baltimore
city. Baltimore city in order to get
what it wanted switched about the ap-
portionments of the Good Roads Com
mission. which were Endorsed by Cover
nor Goldsborough, giving one county
more than the Commission allowed and
another less, adding to the appropria-
lions for those counties whose repre-
sentatlves agreed to vote with it, sub
stracting from the appropriations for
the counties whose representatives
would not consent to such vicious log
rolling, all without pretence of fitting
the appropriation to the amount of
work needed to be done.
Under this bill Allegany was promised
$780, 900 more than was necessary to
improve the man gaps in the State
road in that county, Frederick county
$75, 900 more; Garrett county $50, 900
more, and so on. In all $3.50 900 more
than is necessary is appropriated for
certain counties, and an equal amount
is deducted from appropriations for
other counties which do need the sums
originally allotted in order to complete
the main gaps within their borders.
The Baltimore News of Friday edi-
torially says:
But if the bill is a steal for the poll
ticians of the Democratic city ring, then
it is the boldest steal ever put over by
any Legislature in any State in the
union.
"The deplorable part of the business
Is not that the city is getting its due; it
Is that to get its due its delegation de-
liberatelv sacrifices the interests of the
State, upsets the well studied system
for truly State Roads system, brides
the county delegations to help it do so,
and that enough county delegations are
open to the kind of official bribery re-
sorted to put the bill over. The gentle
men from Western Maryland are not
whitless blameworthy than are the
gentlemen from Baltimore. Mr.. Mahon
of this city has given not a whit more
disgraceful exhibition than has United
States Senator Blair Lee. One and all
have been f1agrantly oblivious to their
binding pledge to make the good roads
situation the subject of constructive,
not political study"
The Evening Sun of Friday editorially
had this to say about this ungodly DEAL
''The main purpose of every machine
such as we have in Baltimore is to get
hold of the people money 1t is organ
lied for that object and for nothing
else. 1t is in the business of politics for
what it can get out of it, and if there
were no rich graft in it the partnership
of plumber would be dissolved in disgust.
The shameful spectacle that is now pre-
/ sented in Annapolis will not be without
ultimate influence for good. if it arouses
the masses of the people in this city
and throughout the counties to the ne
cessltV of destroying corrupt machine
government. A reckless and unscru-
/ pulous organization like our Baltimore
machine is not only disgrace and dan
+ ger to the city, but a menace to the
whole State through its baneful in
tluence and activity for evil. How
long will the people of Maryland tolerate
this unblushing combination of political
looters and plunders?"
. In regard to the trading and attempt
ed trading the Senators from the
Western Maryland counties are showing
up finely. They have one after another
refused to go into the deal to grab
more than the original apportionment
/ for their counties. In this class can be
found Senators Matthias. Jones, Snader,
Speicher, Emmart and Zihlman, all of
whom were offered extra money for
their counties at the expense of other
counties. Said Senator Speicher:
IL know my people want all the road
money they can get, but | stand for
this measure as a Statewide PROPOSE
ton. and do not propose to go into any
deal or grab game. ! did not come
here for that purpose.
Said Senator Beck, of Kent county:
Il was offered for my county many
thousand dollars to go into this deal,
but would not do it. Had | done so,
would tonight resign my seat IN the
Senate and return to nv home and hide