Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1922-05-19
FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1922.
KEEPING THE RECORD
STRAIGHT

u SIhAIOHI
In his communication in yester-
days Evening Capital, Major John
DEP. Douw very frankly discloscs
that fractional politics has much tc
do with the present movement for
a referendum on the new County
Commissioner law. He is leadet
of the Progressive" faction of the
Democratic party and in his letter
gives as a reason for not directing
TO the bill when It was pending be.
fore Governor Richie, or during
Its progress through the Lcgisla-
ture, that the Governor has made
every effort and used every occa-
sion, during the past six months,
TO show that 'he would have none
of them, referring to the PRO
greSsives. He also infcrs that the
reason for the introduction of the
bill i'll the Legislature was because
the Organization" faction had
lost control of the Board OF County
Commissioners.
The real issue then, as Major
DOW seems to put it, is apparent
ly and primarily one between the
two factions of the Democratic
party. If this is the actuating mo-
tive behind the petitions for refer
endum now being circulate d
throughout the county, it will
throw some light OH the opposition
to the measure and the voters will
weigh the objections accordingly.
1T is one thing to seek referen-
dunn from the standpoint of the
public or civic interests, after a
law has passed the Legislature and
been signed by the Governor with
out any protest being made, and
quite another to make a political
football" of such a referendum.
There can be no valid objection
to invoking the referendum on a
matter of special public interest,
such as the one in question, and
Major Douw, who says he is the
person who is most responsible
Tor the movement ~ and those
allied with him, are not open TO
criticism for exercising their privi-
lege i'll this respect. However.
they can have no ground to COM
PLAIN if attention is called to the
lateness of the day for first max
ing their objections, or to some of
the apparent reasons for doing so
even at this time. The important
point at this stage of the proceed
ing is that the people of the county,
at the outset of the campaign for
referendum, see the issue from all
possible angles
The Evening Capital is now, as it
always has been, anxious to aid in
throwing full light on public ques-
tions, and its columns are always
open to those who have views to
express thereon and desire to take
this means of doing so.-regard-
less of whether these views coin
eide with ours or not. We are,
therefore, unable TO see the point
of Major Douw's inquiry: How
many knew the act in question had
been introduced and passed until
the movement for a referendum
was inaugurated"
The inference from this seems to
be that there was not due amount
of publicity given the act at the
time 1t was introduced or during
its progress through the Legisla-
ture. This inference is entirely in
correct BY way of illustration of
the emphasis laid on this particular
act, we are reproducing, in an adj
Joining column of this issue. the
front page article appearing in the
Evening Capital on Wednesday.
March Is. 1922, which was the day
the bill was introduced in the Leg
islature. Subsequent to that date.
IT was also made the subject of edi-
torial comment and frequent ref
erences in the news columns of
both the Evening Capital and the
Weekly Advertiser. Every one
knew then, as now, that discussion
of the bin was welcomed through
both naDerS-