The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1929-01-24

Delegate Gray of Baltimore City,
arose and protested against the
Speakers childish course in exclud-
ing from committee assignments
practically all those city Democrats
who voted against his elevation to
the place he fills without greatly
adjoining. The Speaker had little
patience with him and made no reply
or defense of his course, having a
party majority behind him, not to
mention some wobbly Republicans.
Dan Joseph Does
A Good Days Work.
Delegate Dan Joseph, member of
the better government group at An
napolis, has, in my opininn, done a
very good days work by calling pub
lie attention to the fact that some of
the Police Magistrates in Baltimore
City have been very slow in making
settlements with the State for fines
collected, thereby bringing nearly all
the delinquents right up to the cap
tain's desk within twentyfour hours.
Of course each delinquent had
some sort of excuse but the fact is
that there is no excuse. The magis-
trates are paid their salaries monthly
and do not get fees. They collect the
fines in cash. They are required by
law to settle quarterly though l see
no reason why they should not be re-
quired to settle before they receive
their salaries each month. Mr.. JOS
eph has a bill to make them settle
every ten days, but that is too much
trouble: payday is the right time.
The fact that police magistrates
(some of them) have been thousands
of dollars behind at times in settle
ments for fines has been town talk
ever since the early days of the Rit-
chic administration when things be-
gan to run loose financially.
Of course, some will be highly in
dignant at Dan Joseph, but he had
the goods and he did only his duty.
1t is pity no one had the courage to
take up the matter before. | recall
that summer before last Automobile
Commissioner Baughman supplied a
car and a chauffeur and sent dep
uty State auditor to look up the &C
counts of certain magistrates in
Western Maryland in relation to fines
in automobile cases. Several days
were consumed in the mission but
the trip netted some $4,000 or $4,000.
1t is such looseness in administra-
ton that has led to scandals in the
Richie regime, and it seems queer
to me that the Governor takes so lit
tie interest in such matters. In the
roads case, when it became public, he
said he was much cut up but l have
not heard that he is cut up about the
procrastination of any magistrates.
Pays State Visit
After Eight Years.
In the spring Of 1920 Governor
Richie, his face flushed, called at the
office of the State Roads Commission
in the Garrett Building and attended
meeting of that body. He had just
superseded the Harrington Roads
Commission with little or no cere-
mony, having picked a Commission
of his very own at the same time that
he by Executive decree combined the
offices of Chairman of the Commits
sion and Chief Engineer of that same
body.
He told reporters something about
what he intended to do. He was going
to change the bookkeeping system, he
was going to bring in an auditor
from the State Auditing Department,
he was going to see that things were
done more to his liking. He was 60
ing to do this and he was going to do
that-stung by newspaper criticism
of his scant consideration of the Har-
rington Commission.
After attending that one meeting
the Governor went away, having ap-
parently set the State Roads house in
the sort of order that he preferred.
From that time on the Roads Com
mission was run as the Governors
very own.
Last Monday morning the same
Governor went back to the Roads
Commission office and attended a
meeting-this after more than eight
years absence during which the State
Executive had found plenty of time
to make many visits to New York
City, visits to Boston, Chicago, Ken
sas City, San Francisco, Houston and
many other places in search of sup
port for the Presidential nomination.
At last Mondays meeting the Gov
ernor was supposed again to be set
ting his house in order. This time the
States strong box had been looted
while many thousands of the States
dollars had been spent in parades and
folderol for this same Governors glor-
ification. The Governor had thrown
out his own Commission and given
them a send-off composed of fine
words which, of course, butter no