The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1915-08-13
LIGHT ON THE PUBLIC UTILI-
TIES COMMISSION AND THE
DIRECT PRIMARY ELECTION
ACTS, FOR THE PASSAGE OF
WHICH SENATOR LEE
CLAIMS THE INITIATIVE.

To THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir:
The long and of course interesting letter
from Mr.. William l.. Marbury in beha f
of Senator Blair Lee was as usual well
written and to the uniformed conclusive
as to the claims he makes for his old
friend.
But the column of argument and de-
lightfully presented reiterations of his
candidates remarkable fitness for the
Governorship does not accord with the
facts in the indelible record.
Senator Lee is not credited in that
record with initiating, accomplishing or
even materially assisting in the passage
of the Crothers-Strauss Public Utilities
act, or the original splendid Direct Pri-
mary Elections law drawn by Attorney
General Straus and known as the admin
istration bill in the legislative session Of
1910.
The Sun gives the details of the
events of that session with more accuracy
and fullness than the Senate Journal,
for it covers the doings and sayings of
Senators and others in committee and
lobby, as well as in the Senate session.
No more momentous event ever took
place than the passage Of the Public
Utilities bill in the closing hours of the
session Of 1910. The Sun of April 3 of
that year startled the State with its
graphic account of the fight. The bat
tie was waged in committee and lobby,
and MIR. VIM. L. Marbury was there as
the splendid, resourceful, indefatigable
attorney of the corporations opposed to
the Crothers-Straus bill. He was hon
orably attending to the interest of his
clients and performed his duty as law
yer with credit to himself and the pro
fession. He attempted to destroy the
bill by a substitute, and, falling in that
the splendid array of counsel with whom
he was associated prepared four amend
ments that would have emasculated the
bill of all power and value. These
amendments were offered in the commit
tee and accepted by Senator Blair Lee,
whose much-lauded reputation as a pro-
gressive and astute friend of the Croth
ers-Straus bill gave him a peculiar power
in the committee, the majority of whom
were not as friendly to it as he.
The Sun states the exciting event Of
that memorable hour when Lee came
out of the committee and approached
Crothers and Straus, who were seated in
the corridor awaiting the action Of the
committee on the bill. He Senator
Leg quietly informed them that the
committee would make favorable re-
port on the bill, which had been amend
ed in few unimportant particulars.
Straus leaped to his feet and demand
ed copy of the amendments, and when
shown them his voice rang through the
building denouncing the attempted be
trayal of the people.
In vain Senator Lee tried to quiet the
infuriated Straus, while the face o.
Crothers turned white with rage. Turn
ing to Lee, Straus cried, They hav,
duped YOU; and so bravely did he defy
them all that the committee hastily re
convened and struck out the amend
/ ments it had added to the bill and tn,
Public Utilities law was passed. But
be it noted not with the Blair Lee
initiative, or even his assistance, Blu
| in spite of the fact, as recorded in TIL
Sun, of the successful "duping of tn
Senator by the aforesaid they