Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-09-20
A SETTLED ISSUE.
Communicates.

Messrs. Editors-It was stated bv
two different gentlemen during the late
political campaigns in articles printed
in your journal. that no territory could
be taken from a county and added 10
the city of Baltimore without the CON
sent of a majority Of the voters resid-
ing in the section annexed. This is an
error. This question was raised in
the case of Daily VS.. Morgan. reported
in SO Maryland Reports. page 46O. and
in which cause the Court Of Appeals
said:
The Legislature has the power to
extend the limits OF the city of Balti-
more by including therein parts of Bal
timore county. with or without the
consent of a majority of the voters. re-
siding within the disthicts annexed.
A part Of Baltimore county. against
the protest of its delegates andSenator
in the General Assembly and their
votes, had been annexed TO Baltimore
city by Act of the Legislature. and
that,toO after an attempt had been for
mally made by a vote of the voters
within he section sought to be an
uELRHIEI
the polls
As Baltimore county was only con-
cerned in the question, only Baltimore
county was mentioned in the decision
but, as the principal upon which the
Court of Appeals founded its decision
was a good and fundamental one. il
applied to every county in the State
Under the decision of the Court the
whole State could be made a part of
Baltimore city, by Act of the LegisIa-
ture, without asking a vote in the en-
tire State, or in any part of it.
II is a dangerous legislative power.
and the Court of Appeals had to do as
courts often do with laws, put some
thing in the State Constitution that was
not written. 1t was said that the in
tendment of the authors of the Consti-
ution to give this power to the Legis-
lature and in effect that the section
applying to and affecting the lines of
counties did not apply to the munich
pality Of Baltimore
Your lay and legal correspondents
have company in their oversight. Not
long since one of the luminaries of
journalism in Baltimore city itself
made the same statement in an edito-
rial. A few months later light having
evidently dawned on its journalistic
intellect, the same newspaper. in it's
same editorial columns, published the
contrary statement and the actual law
of the subject, without reference to its
previous erroneous utterance.
The decision of the Court of Appeals
was made November %. 1883. 1t has
lain unnoticed in the dust of time. but
when it was before the people. it was
a burning issue of the day. When edi-
tors, writer's and candidates for Off
cial positions presume to tell the peo-
pie the law, they should not cover their
lights under bushel, nor should the
trumpet give an uncertain sound.
En- passant, if the Court of Appeals
will not reverse itself on this cues
ton, as it has, occasionally on other
points, then it should be written in the
organic law that no part of the polit-
ical divisions of the State, and Balti-
more is one of them, may be denuded of
any of its territory except with the
consent of the voters in the subtracted
or annexed territory. More it should
be the settled policy of this State to fos
ter and encourage the growth of other
large cities within its borders besides
that of Baltimore city. in order that the
political and legislative forces of the
commonwealth may be equalized. AS
it is, Baltimore city has preponder-
ance of power menacing to the coun-
ties of the State.
| nal questions of importance. the
legislative vote of Baltimore city, in the
General Assembly, is practically a unit.
Self interest is as with human nature
everywhere the general governing mo-
tive. 1t is by equalizing interests that
equity Will be preserved. Besides. the
strength of the political evil is in the
large cities. The great cause of local
option and prohibition would have been
victorious in Maryland long before this
had it not been for the powerful oppo-
sition it encountered in the Legislature
from the members from Baltimore city.
1t will be a calamity, indeed. if all
Maryland is to be governed by one
great city-proud as we are of her ca
reer and her value and worth to the
State. Yet right, justice and political
safety are beyond pride
ELTHTr 8 RILEY