Evening star., 1927-11-02
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
NEEDED FOR MARYLAND CITY"
Charles B. Calvert Asserts Power of Legis-
lature to Create Separate Tax Area
or Independent Unit Is Limited.

Maryland Reports, page 247, in which
the court approved the doctrine ir
the DAILY case.
Independence Is Questioned.
''In the proposed incorporation OF
Maryland City, if nothing more were
contemplated" said Mr.. Calvert to-
day, than to abolish the existing
municipalities, subject to all vested
rights of property, and to reincor.
porate them with additional territory
into a new municipal corporation,
with the usual delegated powers mot
in conflict with the constitution,
there could be no valid legal objec.
ton. under the constitution and law
of Maryland.
proposed by those who favor the new
and larger city, it is proposed to grant
to it Independent legislative, judicial
and administrative powers, such as
now possessed by Baltimore City and
by the counties of the State, then
there do exist certain serious consti.
tutional and legal objections not to
be surmounted except by an amend
ment to the constitution of the State.
1.-The powers above referred to, as
belonging to Baltimore City and to
the counties, exist by virtue of pro.
visions in the constitution Of the
State, and in the proposed plan they
cannot be conferred by the Legisla.
ture, with or without a referendum,
except by constitutional grant of that
power to the Legislature"
Attention is also called to Article 13,
section I, of the State constitution,
which would limit the territory to be
taken for the new city. if it should
be granted the powers of a county,
to 400 square miles. and to not less
than 10000 inhabitants. While there
is sufficient population in the proposed
city area for new county, it COM
prises only little more than 10
square miles. The constitution also
stipulates that when a new county
is formed, that portion Of the county
or counties remaining after the new
county is formed must not be less than
400 square miles in area.
Declaration of Rights Cited.
1t is further contended that the pro.
posed plan to give the new city such
an independent tax power as is now
possessed by Baltimore City or the
counties would "unquestionably vic.
late Article Is of the Declaration of
Rights part of the Maryland constitu.
tom limiting the power over taxa.
tion." This question was directly be-
fore the Court of Appeals Of Mary.
land in a case that arose in Prince
Georges County, namely, the County
Commissioners against the Commits.
sioners of Laurel, reported in 20 Mary.
land Reports, page 443.
In this. case the Legislature passed
an act authorizing the county commits.
sioners to direct the county treasurer
to pay the commissioners of Laurel
the amount Of the tax levied on real
pl vperty within the limits of the town
of Laurel, to be used for improvement
Of Laurel roads and "such other inn
provements as they should deem
proper"
eve are all of the opinion" the
court found, that the law is equally
unconstitutional so far as a. proposes
to affect the county levy"
The doctrine Of the Laurel case, 1t
appears. was later reviewed and sup
ported in a Chevy Chase tax case.
where an attempt was made by an act
of the Legislature to exempt a Ger.
tain section Of Chevy Chase from
taxation imposed on the balance Of
the territory affected by the act. This
was Curtis vs.. Mactier, reported in
115 Maryland Reports. page 1856.
Constitutional Amendment Needed.
"lt is my conclusion from review
OF the provisions Of the constitution
and the law Of Maryland, as adjudi.
Gated by the Court of Appeals Of the
State" said Mr.. Calvert, that the
proposed incorporation Of Maryland
City, with such powers as are pos.
sessed by Baltimore City, as to indie.
pendent legislation Except as to the
grant and exercise Of ordinary and
usual municipal powers), a separate
judicial system and a separate admin.
istrative system, and the use of the
tax power, as now possessed by the
State and county, or by either the
State or county, would be in contra.
vention Of the constitution Of Mary.
land, or, in other words, that such
power cannot be granted by the Leg.
islature Of Maryland without consti.
tutional amendment.
Il further suggest that, as a mat
ter Of well established and deeply
grounded policy of the State, such an
amendment to the constitution would
have rather remote chance of sue
cess if submitted to the vote of the
people of the State, even after legis-
lative sanction Of such amendment. as
required by the constitution-that is,
its submission by a vote Of three
fifths of all members elected to each
OF the two houses by yea and nay
vote"
Committee to Continue Work.
The special committee created by
the Chamber Of Commerce of Hyatts-
vile to inquire concerning public sen.
timent in the various communities
upon consolidation will continue its
work, endeavoring to gather more ac-
curate data on the economic. political
and legal aspects of the question.
The continuance of the committee was
authorized at brief business meet.
ing Of the chamber last night.
One of the principal objections
which the committee must answer
grows out of the fact that the move.
ment started in Hyattsville. Many
persons in the other communities look
upon 1t as plan to aggrandize that
town-in other words, to make Hyatts.
vile the center of the new city. It
appears to some residents In other
towns that a group Of politicians
whose interests are mostly those of
self" and the town of Hyattsville are
the prime movers. Color to the latter
view has been lent by requests made
to the Baltimore & Ohio railroad hv
some persons interested in HyattsvilIe
to know the attitude of that companv
upon proposition to close most of
the smaller railroad stations within
the proposed city.
Citizens PROFOUND Queries.
"What could such a move mean"
many persons are asking, "except an
attempt to centralize business ar
Hyattsville?"
Alan Leighton Of Cottage City ia
one of many in that section who wane
to know what communities o,ts;da
HYaftSYilla would uain h,, H. -.-N