The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1929-02-21
Brooke Lees Committee
Has a Job Cut Out

Since the verbal assault on Witness
Butler before the Governors own
committee in Baltimore last week by
LawyerBaetjer the public has SEEM
ingly lost much of its interest in the
doings Of that body. On Tuesday
the session was held in the chamber
of the Supreme Bench and not enough
persons were interested to fill the
seats in this small room. The i'm
preston had gotten around that this
was a sort of administration defense
proceeding so engineered as to bring
out nothing damaging against any
higherups. On top of this was a re-
port going the round to the effect
that the Governor had been visiting
one of the members of the committee
at night.
So public eyes are now turned to-
ward Annapolis where Brooke Lees
hand-picked committee is holding oc-
casional sessions and where it is
hoped by the more optomistic that
one of the three lawyers or some non
union member of the minority party
will be able to drag out some new
facts despite the efforts of Lee to
soft pedal everything that may hurt
higher-up.
The Brooke Lee committee has
heard the States Attorney of Balti-
more City, Governors Chairman Mel
ligan, Auditor Croggon, VIM. Purnell
Hall and so on, but has to date
drawn out nothing particularly new.
A subcommittee headed by Dele
gate Joseph, has made some head
way in regard to the Government
property turned over to the State
Roads Commission after the war.
Mr.. Joseph seems to have stirred up
this matter without orders from the
committee just as Delegate Cobourn,
an anti-Lee member of the House,
dragged out the Marlboro report
after a fiery speech on the floor in
which he suggested the impeachment
of the Governor.
At this writing it appears that the
Lee committee will do little and it is
evident what sort of a report Lee
wants to help him in his campaign
for political honors. He is already
being boosted as the man who is help
ing the State administration out of
a hole.
State Roads Office
Still in Mess
The office of the State Roads Com
mission is still in such a condition or
lack of condition that two more
months may be required to get it in
proper working order.
From time to time discharges are
being made, said to be for the good
of the service, and already a new
auditor has been installed. The dis
order there is said to have extended
to almost every section even though
the stealings by employees were con-
fined chiefly to the main office and
nearby territory.
The disregard of statutes which
has distinguished the Executive De-
partment in some matters evidently
went right on down through the State
roads and contributed to the loose
ness the new Commission is finding
there.
Baetjer Appears to Be
Crown Counsel
Twice since the Governors own
committee has removed its hearings
to the Court House l have peeked in
to get a line on the proceedings and
l must confess they Jared me, Mr..
Baetjer, named by the Governor as
counsel, or assistant or what not to
the committee of which J. ]. Nelli-
gan is chairman, seemed to be act
ing as a sort of crown counsel to
keep the scandal away from higher
ups l regret this very much as |
have had such a high regard for Mr..
Baetjer's legal ability and analytical
mind | had thought he was sitting
there to delve deeply into the facts
and not to argue with the witness.
1t was painful to hear him lay down
a proposition about bidding on road
work-a proposition that was the
very reverse of the usual practice.
1t must have been very trying to
Witness Butler to try to get his testi-
mony in under such conditions and l
suppose Lawyer Tippett realized his
difficulties.
And there was Chairman Michigan,
too, with a remark tending to show
that he did not think the witness
knew what he was talking about
when explaining the way contracts
were awarded. And it came out that
the examination of contract prices
and overruns made by the Michigan
committee and reported in December
covered only two years.
Brooke Lees Committee
Now Hot in the Collar
am told by an outsider that some
of the members of Speaker Brooke
Lees State Roads investigating COM