The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-01-08
TROUBLE ENOUGH
FOR ALL
By MARK S. WATSON In the Bal
timore Sun, January

One does not have to be grayhead-
ed to realize that the biennial show in
Annapolis, opening next Wednesday
for it's ninety-day session, is a wholly
different affair from that of pre-war
days. Like the illustrious Old Gray
Mare so often sung of at the old City
Hotel and elsewhere, it amt what it
ulster to be. It's a lot better or lot
worse, according to the viewpoint.
Much of the gaiety is gone, as, in
deed, it is gone from good many
other public gatherings, for reasons
which are by this time fairly familiar.
Much of the excitment is gone and the
rush and hustle and frenzied trading
and logrolling, largely because of the
creation of the budget system, where
by the Governor of Maryland lists the
known needs of the State machinery
and gets that prime piece of business
out of the way in intelligent and or
derby fashion early in the session.
Most of the brazen "bellringing" is
happily past, thanks to the creation
of the Public Service Commission,
whose supervision of the utilities of
the biennial alarms which were costly
to them and profitable to unscrupu-
lour legislators, for, incredible though
it seems, there were some even in
Maryland. ***
But the legislative species does not
change his spots completely in a dec
ade or two. Sometimes he does not
change them at all. Sometimes he
doesn't even hide them. So long as
there are opposing parties and oppos-
ing factions within the parties, and
city interests, and county interests,
and Shore interests, and Vets and
Drys, and ms and Outs, and all the
other conflicts which gladden. the
hearts of men (and women) just about
so long, and longer, will there be re-
vivals of the fights and the inefficien-
cies, the loyalties and the treacher-
les and the amending oddities which
undoubtedly existed in the first legis-
lative assembly and will continue to
the last.
How effective will be the biennial
session which opens at the State
House this week is anyone's guess.
The only certainty is that there will
be the usual furious rows and that
the last one will come close of the
ninetieth day, for legislators paid on
a per diem basis have way of find
ing something to do up to the consti-
tutional limit of ninety days.
$50
On several of the measures which
are certain to come up for action
fights are inevitable. Even where the
purpose of the measure is unopposed,
the manner of execution is cause for
dispute-an excellent example of this
being the perennial discussion of the
University Hospital, which once more
is greatly overcrowded and badly
housed and inadequately equipped.
The question is not at ali whether it
should have a new building and bet
ter facilities for it's highly important
work, but who shall pay for it and
when. This is one of the many meas
ures on which the Governor is to make
specific recommendation, probably in
his opening message.
Pretty much the same thing can be
said of the Bay Bridge. There are
few in the State who oppose the idea
of bridge or tunnel of ample traffic
capacity allowing swift communica-
ton from Eastern to Western Shore,
but there has long been hostility to
having to pay for it. This is the sit
uation with which tie Bay Bridge
Commission has been graphing for
months, preparing for the Governor
and Legislature the report which was
made public in mid-December.
The report found private capital I'M
able to build a bridge at this time
and the State itself not justified in
building it in the only way permitted
by the Constitution. A way out of
this dilemma was proposed, whereby
a new commission would be created
by the State, it's bonds tax free and
perhaps enjoying guarantee from
the State gasoline tax receipts (al-
though the tolls should be adequate
for interest and amortization), where
by it is argued they might sell on a
Az per cent basis. The difference
between this and 6h per cent bond
such as private capital might have to
issue, would perhaps be the difference
between success and failure; the COM
mission pointed out that 2 per cent
on $1O,OOO,OOO for thirty years, for
example, would be more than half the
$10,000,000 principal.
#*&
The bridge report, purposely pre-
scented well in advance Of the legisla-
tive session, may well bring on the
liveliest discussion of the session, not
alone because of the Importance of
the Bay Bridge itself, which was the
ORIGINAL n1rnOSe Init becauSe of the