The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1929-08-29
Setting Portland Right
On Presidential Prospects

]
On Presidential Prospects
We have to go far from home to
learn the news sometimes and we are
reminded of this fact when we learn
that the Portland (Maine) Press Her.
aid recently published an editorial in
which it was stated that Governor
Richie stood high enough in the
Democratic party to be considered for
the nomination for President in 1882.
Thereupon Marylander residing in
that neck of the woods promptly
wrote a letter to that paper in an eff
fort to set the editor straight and l
here give it in full so that he who runs
may also read:
Editor of the Press Herald:
/ In your editorial in a recent issue
Gov. Richie over estimated his poll
teal power AS a resident in Mary
land for five years Gall of which time
Gov. Richie was in office | am some
what familiar with his political career
in the State of Maryland.
1t has been claimed by his admirers
that he can have any office within the
gift of the people. AS to Maryland,
where he was elected Governor by re-
peatedly increased majorities, his pop
ularity seems to be waning. 1t has
been said that Baltimore could be
! counted on to roll up enough support
to overcome the opposition in the re-
mainder of the State. Nine Of the %
counties in Maryland are strongly
Republican. In the last city election
in Baltimore Gov Ritchie's candidate
was defeated and Republican elected
Mayor. The Governor also said he
would hand the State over to Smith
in the last Presidential election. He
failed in this.
Lately the office of the Commission
/ er of Motor Vehicles has shown defel-
cations in its finances to the extent of
more than 100000. Democrats in
Baltimore say that Gov. Richie is
politically dead in that city. Without
Baltimore he cannot win in Maryland.
The great deterioration in his popu
/ larity has been caused principally by
the efforts of his machine to white
wash the highway department scandal.
People who have been paying a gas
tax for good roads have not been get
ting the latter 100 percent, according
to the tax they have been paying.
As to Gov. Ritchie's wetness you
have stated it correctly. 1t has been
said on good authority, and widely
quoted, that he not only thinks and
speaks wet, but that he looks wet and
is wet on some occasions.
Former Oriole.
| notice that the writer erred in
mentioning the office of the Commits
sioner of Motor Vehicles when he
! plainly meant the State Roads Com
mission, the latter department being
directly under the Governors thumb
while the Motor Vehicles office is not.
Conowingo Provides
Police Headquarters
Some Hartford county citizens and
perhaps others are wondering bit
about the apparently close connection
| between the State police force under
/ Commissioner E. Austin Baughman
and the Philadelphia Electric COM
pany the Pierpont Morgan corpora
ton owning the Conowingo dam.
Not long ago it was announced in
/ Hartford county papers that a new and
/ fine police station at Conowingo had
been occupied by the State police as
headquarters for that section. 1t is
/ stated that the building is located on
the property Of the Philadelphia Flee
trio company and that it's cost was
something like $4,000. AS the OWL
ers of the dam have recently been
fighting the assessments levied against
their property for taxation purposes
it is apparent they do not care to give
/ the State anything more than they
have to, hence there is curiosity as to
why the company should build the
State a police station unless it be for
the special purpose of having the
State police the dam as a special
enterprise.
To date there has been no eXplana-
ton Of the arrangement that has been
made between the State police and the
owners Of the dam-and the public
does not know whether they were
entered into by direction of the Gov
ernor or not. Of course it is not a
secret that the Governor took intense
interest in jamming the Conowingo
project through the Public Service
Commission in 1926, indicating that
his relations with the Pierpont Nor
gan enterprise must have been at that
time very close. Probably the Cover
nor knows all about the arrangements
for policing Conowingo and if he per-
sists in his candidacy for a fourth
term he will undoubtedly be given
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