The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-01-08

Another election proposal involves
the wider use of the voting machine
which has long been urged for Mary
land, following its employment in
New York and many other States.
No one expects the counties to favor
Statewide use, but the effort will be
to pass an enabling measure whereby
the city or any county can install
them if they wish to pay for them.
##*
The city administration will go to
Annapolis with a number Of other
plans. One is for $35,OOO,O00 water
loan for pushing the work which the
current drought demonstrated may be
needed soon. This existing loan will
take care of the Prettybo dam, which
is not to be functioning for another
year, the Montebello-Druidt tunnel and
main extensions. But the new money
is needed for work on the proposed
new dam on the upper Patapsco, for
its Franklintown filtration plant and
for all the other work which will be
needed as the city's population ex-
tends into Baltimore and Howard and
Anne Arundel counties.
The city is also after a S2,5OO,OOO
park loan, although silent as to what
in particular is to be bought; a ST.
100000 loan to house the Peoples
Court and Juvenile Court, $2,00O,-
900 Lexington Market building loan,
S1O,OOO,OOO school loan for new
buildings and REPAIRS and $1O,-
100000 paving, bridge, and grade
crossing loan. All of these, of course,
are only authorizations for the city
itself to borrow the money.
The Council-but not the admins
tration-is to present its own bill, as
usual, for authority to pass an ordi-
nance allowing movies and other en-
tertainments every day in the week,
This is another way of saying it
wants power to permit Sunday NOV
les, now denied it by the Blue Laws.
1t. at least, can count on opposition,
and lots of it. The Council, too, will
have it's own bill on city coming, seek
ing to get the control of building laws
in it's own hands. This, too, of course,
will meet with lively opposition from
those who doubt the Councils fitness
for determining what will be to the
city's architectural betterment.
The Public Service Commission will
ask for two measures. One of them,
identical with that which was Bit
terly and successfully fought by a
strong lobby two years ago, aims at
protecting public interests from the
holding companies which have be-
come so active in experimenting Of
the utilities in late years. It is a
rather moderate measure at that
which would merely require that a
holding company which controls any
operating company doing business
in Maryland maintain in Maryland
an agent authorized to turn over rel
evant papers on demand to the courts
or the commission.
At present, it is felt, the operating
companies are able to look innocent
and say they know nothing of the
master-company's affairs, and the
master-company can roost just out
side the State line and defy efforts to
make it reveal it's revenues and ex-
penses. Thus public bodies of inquiry
can get no information from either.
Beyond doubt the same lobby which
fought off this investigating measure
in 1929 will be on the ground with full
armament against the 1881 bill.
The other Public Service Commits
sion measures will seek to control the
highly confused taxicab situation pre-
vailing in Baltimore, so as to bring
some responsibility and to compel fly
by-nights to assume responsibility IN
case of accident or quit business.
Automobile legislation in a quite
different field is sure to be proposed
too. This Tins at some form of COM
pulsion which will make the high
ways less perilous, freeing them from
reckless and incompetent drivers with
no financial responsibility for the
wrecks they cause. Several plans will
be presented and there is a promise
of a fight.
Any theory that when women got
the vote they ceased to have special
political interests is promptly dis
missed by the ladies themselves. The
League of Woman Voters (whose most
active agent, Miss Lavinia Engle, this
year goes to the Capital not as lob
byist any longer but as delegate
from Montgomery county, is march
ing down with well-prepared pro-
gram, partly made up of defeated
1929 measures, partly of new ideas.
These new ideas would require a
three-year rather than a two-year
teachers course at the Normal School;
would compel children to complete
tbair elementary schooling even if