Evening star., 1914-04-05
LEGISLATURES END
COMES TOMORROW
MaryIanders Satisfied, Except
in Case of Shepherd 0ys-
ter Measure.
EXPERTS DENOUNCE 1T
AS A BACKWARD STEP
Big Fight Coming Over Senate Bill
to Cut Membership of the
House.
Special Correspondence of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star
BALTIMORE, Md. April 4. 1914
The session of the Legislature of 1914
will come to q close Monday evening On
the whole the record of the legislature
for constructive legislation has been
good, with the possible exception of the
Shepherd oyster bill This measure. it
is claimed by the friends of oyster cul-
ture, means the beginning of the end of
the oyster industry in Maryland waters
On the other hand. the sponsors of the
law assert that it will benefit the in
dustry. Time will tell, say the experts.
who denounce the law as backward
step.
There's going to be some big fight in
the house over the constitutional amend
ment passed by the senate cutting the
membership OF the house of delegates
almost in half and increasing the pay OF
delegates to $40 a day. There is not
scintiila of objection TO the hnanclai up,
lift, but there's a howl from the smaii
counties whose representation IS cut to
one member, and there is not chance
of the pay going up unless the repre-
sentation goes down. There was opposi-
ton in the senate when the bill was pe-
fore that body and it was feared that the
bill would fail for the necessary two
thirds vote. Senator Benson of Balt-
more county, the father of the Dill.
worked quietly for his measure for sew
eral DAYS. and a fine political hand was
seen when the bill went through with the
requisite number of senators voting Tor
it.
Leaders of Opposition.
The members of the house who are ex-
pected to lead the fight against the
bill are those from Howard. Kent.
Queen Annes and Dorchester. OF these
counties only Dorchester will have two
members of the house. Three of these
counties are on the eastern shore, where
they raise fine politicians. in addition
to early vegetables and fine fruits. 1t
is in this section of Maryland that
Senator Smith is strongest, and where
the members of the house are good gen
erals in a political fight. 1t is general
iy taken for granted that on the east
ern shore the politicians at times would
pay, and for this reason lively fight
is anticipated The result will be
known next week, and should the bill
pass the house, it will mark an era
when the eastern shore allowed itself
to be shorn of political power. and this
is something unknown in the political
history of the garden spot of old Mary
land.
During the fight in the senate thA
small county senators advanced some
of the strongest arguments that have
been heard this session for a mass-vote
bill, and voted against the Benson bill
on the very grounds for which Balti-
more city earlier .ought for the mass
vote That is. that the proposed new
ent county unit system in the second
case. provide an uneven distribution of
power. Senator Becks arguments
would have been especially applicable
been before the legislature. The Kent
senator argued that Benson's bill pro-
posed no difference in standing between
county with several thousand voters
and one that has nearly ten times that
number, except to give the couH,y of
the smaller population an uneven and
an unfair voice in the total strength
of the house.
Fact Brought Out Earlier.
This same fact, concerning tho ci,rs
present status. was brought out earlier
in the session by friends of the mass
vote. who argued that such counties as
Calvert. st. Marys, Kent and Caroline
have a far greater voice in proportion
to population in selecting the party can
didates than does Baltimore city Sem
ator Benson was against the mass vote
bill, but the city delegations in the SEN
ate supported the bill in its entirety.
The republican senators, with the ex-
ception of Williams of Cecil, lined up
with Benson. The Cecil senator sharp
ly attacked the statement of BENSON
that a small house can better handle the
business than a large one, and declared
the statement of Benson to be one of
the strongest indictments of popular gov
ernment by houses of representatives
that he had ever heard.
The last chance of either senate or
house statewide anti-betting bills COM
ing from committee, unless during the
final hours of the session, has vanished
The house has made plain it's desire not
to pass legislation affecting present rae
ing conditions. and the senate is equally
willing to let the Williams bill die in
the finance committee pigeonhole. In the
house Delegate Hall has abandoned the
fight, having thrown up the sponge Fri
day night. when by overwhelming
vote he was defeated in the attempt to
prevent senate bill amending the Balti-
more county racing commission law from
being committed to the Baltimore coun-
ty delegation. Hall in his defeat boldly
admitted to the house that he desired
to amend the senate bill by offering his
measure as a substitute, and the house
declared by two-to-one vote that this
would be impossible
| Tried to Keep Faith.
| Chairman Wilkinson of the ways and
/ means CoTlfrlltlee mas taken occasion to
make plain to the House that he has
tried to keep faith and fulfil his promise
to report out the Hall bill. and explain
| ed that he had been voted down, and
| that a motion had been carried to hold
! the bill until Monday. AT that time no
one will care if the measure Is reported
| out, as suspension Of the rules, to
| permit its passage through either house
! within a single day, could not be OBJ
| tanned. Therefore, it seems certain
| that the session Will come to an end
| with the Hall anti-betting bill forgotten
, in the waste basket of the ways and
means committee Senator Williams has
| succeeded in his plan to put the mem
| bers of the Senate on record regarding
| anti-betting legislation. and it is not
| thought that he will make an effort to
| have the finance committee act The
Senate will, n any event. have too lit
tie time Monday for bills that have a
| chance of passing during the last day to
devote any time TO a bill that could do
no more than precipitate a lengthy fight
and tie up busin ,ss.
The bill appropriating $4,000 for the
national Star Spangled Banner" CEN
kx,HI