Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-08-13
Municipal Aldermen Take Bull
BY The Horns In The Wa
ter Company Tangle
ACTION MEANS A REAL
TEST OF WATER BILL
Mayor Strange's Refusal To An.
nounce Result Of The Bal
loting Has No Effect

The election of William Meade Hol-
laday as president of the Annapolis
Water Company, the naming of A.
i. Theodore Brady as City Counsellor;
knocking out of the increase in the
city tax rate proposed by Mayor
I Strange and the Finance Commmitte
as a first step taken toward getting
control of the Water Company's Emer-
gency fund as a means of saving the
municipality from borrowing money
at a high rate of interest, formed the
outstanding accomplishments of last
nights stormy meeting of the Annap-
oils City Council.
True, Mayor Strange refused, after
the vote naming Mr.. Holiday to the
head OF the Water Company, TO an
nounce the result or declare an cleo
tion, but in the opinion of competent
/ legal authority, this in itself has no
/ effect upon the legality of the election.
The meeting, like many which pre-
/ ceded it in recent months, was
stormy. During its progress, Alder.
man Smith, of the First Ward, charg
ed that a statement by Alderman Levy
was false; Alderman Levy later
countered by a statement that a charge
of playing politics" made by Alder
man Smith against him, was "a false
hood" and as a real climax, Alderman
Levy, following a passage lat arms with
the presiding officer, figuratively
cleared decks for action" by pushing
his chair back and practically daring
the Mayor TO come down off the ros-
trum and settle their differences.
After attending a lecture" upon the
theory of Single Taxation delivered hy
a Mr.. Ogle of Baltimore who was III
troduced by Mayor Strange, and which,
with five small petitions consumed the
time of the meeting from o'clock un-
! til $50 the council really got down 10
business" late, but made up for its de-
lay by three real fights over the Water
Company, the tax rate and the Coun-
sellorship and stayed in session until
after midnight.
1t was after IL o'clock, when, with
the Counsellorship, and tax questions
out of the way, Alderman Beavfn
moved to go into the election of
President of the Water Company. This
motion, seconded by Alderman Parkin-
son, was carried 5 to 4, the roll-csll
being, Yeas, Aldermen Parkinson, Bea-
win, Russell and Adams. Nays, Mayor
Strange, Aldermen Smith, Wells, and
/ Stevens.
Alderman Parkinson, nominated Mr..
Holiday, and there occurred a brief
wrangle over the question of nomina-
tions, there being at first no other
name offered than that of Mr.. Holla-
day, Alderman Levy. moved that the
nominations be closed and the Clerk
directed to cast the ballot. Mayor
Strange from the chair ruled that such
proceeding could not be followed un-
less unanimously" concurreds con, and
said that even one objection to it, was
| enough. Whereupon, Alderman Smith
registered an objection, after Mayor
Strange, from the rostrum, command
/ ed. in a distinctly audible voice. Go
on Charlie object to it."
| Alderman Russell demanded to
I know the reason for such method of
/ forcing a secret ballot, when there
were no other nominations, and was
told by Mayor Strange that there
might be men present who wanted to
vote for some one else. The Alder
man from the Fourth Ward then de-
manded to know how this could pos
sibly be done in the face of the pre-
cedent established by Mayor Strange
when, while the Water Company
presidency was under consideration
I several months ago, when, from the
/ rostrum. he had arbitrarily ruled that
no one could be voted for whose name
/ had not been formally put before the
council as a nominee. Although the
Mayors two rulings on this piont, at
/ the different meetings were undoubted-
7 ly in conflict, the question was not
pressed, by the other side to the con
I troversy and Alderman Smith took the
I floor TO nominate Mr.. George T. Mel
vim, the hold-over president of the
company Mr. Smith several times
verged upon the old history of the
meeting of democrats, which is in con-
I troversy as to whether or not it was
really called as a party caucus. Each
time he got to this Alderman Levy OBJ
/ jected and the Mayor ruled the discus
sion along such lines as out of order.
Finally Alderman Smith yielded the
effort to get into his explanation any
talk about the sins of bolting a party
caucus. and Mayor Strange named Al
derman Levy and Adams as tellers,
and votes were collected. The tally
showed, that Mr. Melvin had received
votes and Mr.. Holiday 5.
After a lengthy delay, during which
Mayor Strange absent-mindedly busted
himself with some papers upon his
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