The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-08-05
REPIYs 10 MIR. sPARKLIN.
To The Public:


slider as unwarranted as his state
ments are misleading, l desire to
cali the attention of the public to
the following reply:
In the first place he accuses me of
trying to fool the voters of the
County by my circular letter; which
is exactly what am trying to avoid;
and l offer as proof to that state
ment the evidence of the fact that |
have stated the policies for which l
stand in the aforesaid circular let
ter, at least two months prior to the
primary, giving the people sufficient
time to decide whether or not they
favor such a proposition.
He then states that the Register
of Wills Office is not salaried Office.
1 am well aware that the salary" is
supposed" to be paid from the fees
collected in the Office, but the fact
remains that the Constitution of
Maryland states that Register of
Wills is entitled to retain as his
salary out of the fees of the office.
an amount not to exceed $4,000"
The only evolutionary thing that
I have suggested in my letter to the
voters is that they reduce the maxi
mum amount of salary that the
Register of Wills may retain, from
$4,000 to $4,000 per year.
I will state that within the past
two months the County Commission
ers have been presented with a bill
from the Register of Wills Office of
over $3.50, which, If paid, will come
out of the taxes of the County, and
il Mr.. Sparklin and other readers
of this communication will read the
recently published tax levy of the
County they will find there an item
of $500 levied for the Register Of
Wills Office, which is proof handy to
home that all of the expenses Of
that office are not paid from the
fees; which fees are of necessity an
extra tax on top of the regular levy,
duu AAu5I UO PoAu. ny PAOpCAty OWh
ers and citizens who have estates to
settle.
There has been a movement start
ed in other counties in the State for
the reduction of county expenses,
notably among them is our sister
County, Kent, in which some useless
offices have been eliminated and a
reduction made in the salaries of
others; and I believe the public will
agree with me that it is high time to
begin in Cecil.
He further attempts to give the
impression that it would be neces-
sary to call a Constitutional Com
vention to make this proposed
change. The attention of Mr..
Sparklin and the readers of this let
ted is invited to Article IA, Section
1, Constitution of the State of Mary
land, which will explain to Mr..
Sparklin how the change may be
made without calling Constitution
al Convention. The same may be
found ON page 358 of Passano's His
tory of the State of Maryland used
in the public schools of this County,
which states in part that the Gen
eral Assembly (Which is composed
of the Senate and House Of Dele
gates) may propose amendments to
the constitution by three-fifth
vote and submit same to the voters
at the next election for adoption or
rejection, etc.; and we do not have
to go farther back than the last cleo
ton to recall the fact that we were
called upon to raitify or reject an
amendment to increase the salaries
of. the members OF Legislature;
which was rejected.
At the same time would advise
Mr.. Sparklin to read Article Is,
Section 1, which he will find on the
following page, where in speaking
on this subject he will find these
words: when the amount received
by him for the year shall exceed the
amount which he is by law entitled
to retain as his salary" etc.
In reply to Mr.. Sparklin's advice
that should stand upon my merits
as a candidate, beg leave to advise
the gentleman that is exactly what
I do, and l also stand for the policies
1 have advocated, Notwithstanding
Mr.. Sparklin's objection.
When boiled down to the real
facts in the case, the principal diff
ference between Mr.. Sparklin and
myself is that favor reduction in
the official expenses of the County,
and he attempts by technicalities to
fool the voters by defending the
present system, and make it appear
very difficult to remedy.
am frank to confess that l am
not at all posted in the constitution