The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1914-04-10
THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE
LEGISLATURE AND ITS
WORK.

The Maryland Legislature adjourned
on Monday last, and we are sorry to say
that little can be said in praise or de-
Tense of its work. The net result has
been to increase the State taxes on the
taxpayers little more than four and
one-half per cent This increase does
not take place until 1917 by legislative
lergerdemain. To hoodwink the taxpay
ers, the increase was made to skip over
1915 and 1916. Six years ago the
State tax was 6 cents on the one hun
dred dollars. In the last six years we have
just doubled the State taxes and placed
on the State for the Improvement of pub
lie roads alone a debt of $l4, 900, coo.
and all the improvements made in the
roads has been a series of roads for the
benefit of the automobile. The great
agricultural classes and country people
generally are required to maintain the
same horse power that they did before
this S14, 600, 900 debt was created, and
it is now said, and it is true, that in about
seven years and one-half the automobile
travel of the series of roads will wear
them out and the cost of repair will almost
be as much as the original construction.
This statement is made by Gcv Glynn of
New York, after thorough investigation
Of the road system. We make this state
ment for the benefit of the Road Com
mission, as it may lead them to a con
sideration Of the subject and may save
some Of the appropriation of over So
100000 by this Legislature. SO far as
this county is concerned it has been more
unjustly treated by the Road Commits
sion than any county in the State. 1t
has only seventeen miles Of new road
built under this law. But the great in
justice has been done the taxpayers who
will ultimately have the enormous State
debt to pay, for which they will receive
little or no benefits. Perhaps the Leg
islature might have appropriated more of
the peoples money than they did, but
they went the limit. Colleges, private
schools and eleemosynary institutions all
over the State received extravaganza ap
preparations and especially Baltimore
City This is another evidence that
Baltimore City has too large represen-
tation in the Legislature. It's delegation
get together and trade and dicker and
logroll for measures before the Legisla-
ture, and bring about results that ought
not to receive the undivided support.
The best thing we can say for this Leg
islature is that it has adjourned. But
circumstantially before it adjourned Sen
ator Benson offered two important
bills, one of which was adopted, the
other defeated; one of which was to re-
duce the membership of the Legislature
by one-half of its present size, the
other to increase their per diem to
$40 per day. The first, decreasing the
membership was voted down, as it was
perfectly natural for such Legislature
The other increasing the per diem was
unanimously adopted, which was also
most natural to this Legislature because
it was most ready and willing to vote
away the money Of the taxpayer, even
voting to give the Judges of the State
one thousand dollars more salary, when
they were all perfectly satisfied with what
they were getting. We are sorry the
membership of the Legislature was not
decreased, and the per diem made $40
per day, because if both measures had