The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1937-04-15
TO CALL LEGISLATURE TO
PROVIDE FOR new TAXES
Governor Announces He Will
Veto Relief Bill Passed By Gen
eral Assembly In Regular Session
OBJECTS TO PROVISIONS

Governor Harry w. Nice announced
he would veto the relief bill passed by
the recent legislature and call the as
sembly back into special session. He
acted just one week after sine die ad-
journment of the ninety-day regular
session.
Date for beginning of the special
session was not set. It probably will
begin next week, however.
Nice based his objections to the re-
lief bill on grounds it would not raise
sufficient funds and that it legalized
and taxed book-making.
The legislators estimated their bill
would produce $5,O60,O00 yearly. The
governor announced he was econ
vinced' it would raise only 1856, 0O0
There was little or no common: or
the relief bill until Monday. Since
that time, however, various leaders OF
the state have given out public state
ments assailing the legislation Of
bookmaking and charging that the
bill would not raise sufficient funds
for relief.
The Board of State Aid and Chair
ties had requested $6,400,000 yearly
in state funds for relief and allied
purposes.
Whether the governor will call fol
any preliminary study of the situation
before the session actually begins re.
mains to be seen. 1t is known that
at one time he had considered the adj
Instability of asking members of the
Senate Finance and House Ways and
Means committee to meet before the
session and talk things over.
Persons close the governor do moi
believe that he will ask any special
group or commission to make any
study of the relief problem and recon-
mendations to the legislature. He
named such a committee prior to the
March, 1886, relief special session, and
the legislature promptly rejected the
commissions report.
A special session cannot last longer
than thirty days. Present taxes fol-
relief expire June 1.
The governor has no power to limit
deliberations of a special session tc
any one subject or subjects. In his
statement, however, he said public
interest requires that this extraordi-
nary session shall confne itself to the
enactment of an adequate relief
measure"
This coming special session will be
the third special session within year
One was held in March, 1886, anc
another last December.
1t will be the fifth session since
January, 1885. Observers here fell
that set a legislative record of some
sort for Maryland.
Nice has acted on few of the bills
passed by the recent legislature. He
said he would not be able to act or
them as promptly because of the
special session as he would have beer
able to do otherwise. Whether that
means he planned to use the unsigned
bills as a sort of "club" over the legis.
lature was not known.
However, it is known that most Of
the legislators now have before the
governor "pet" measures which they
wish very much for him to sign.
The text of Governor Nice's state.
ment was:
"Since the adjournment Of the gen.
eral assembly, have given serious
thought to, and study of, the provis'
ions of Senate bill No. 331, chapter
1872, known as the relief bill.
II have bought and received advice
from the most competent sources
available to me as to the estimated
revenue from the items incorporated
in the bill, l have had the advice o1
Drs. S. N. Devault and w. P. Walker
of the school of economics of the Uni
versity of Maryland, who are recog,
nized authorities on taxation.
"The bill is unsound because:
First, the bookmaking and Other
gambling provisions do not conform
with the fundamental principles anc
moral standards of the people of oul
state. am convinced that the people
of Maryland do not approve the fur
Their liberalization and enlargement Of
the gambling laws. I am not unmind'
full of the fact that in my budget mes,
sage l included the licensing of book
making among a number of sources
from which revenue might be obtained
In so doing, I was wrong.
Second, it must be remembered
that the minimum requirements fol
ehef in this stete, as fixed by the
Board of State Aid and Charities, The
tate's own agency, was $6,400,O00