Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1939-09-28

to or concurred with expenditures
and appointments which they now
attack as extravagant, but they
favored the things that they now
attack at the time they were for
Plummer for chief of police and
hoped to be able to build politi-
cal machine around the county
police force.
l am particularly surprised at
Mr.. Oxley's attack on the appoint
ment of Mr.. Roger ]. Whiteford of
Chevy Chase as legislative counsel
for the last session at fee of
$4,000. Many active members of
the United Democratic Organiza-
ton agree that Messrs. Oxley and
Jones were well aware of Mr..
Whiteford's appointment, and the
fee to be paid for his services, late
last November, and that they made
no public objection of any kind
until ten months later and after
the County Commissioners had re-
fused to make Clay Plummer chief
Of police. Mr.. Jones even assisted
in passing a bill through the Leg
islature which authorized the pay
ment of the County Commission
ers Of Mr.. Whiteford's fee and Mr..
Jones knew that Mr.. Whiteford
had been appointed and what his
fee was to be before he helped
pass the bill through the House of
Delegates. Mr.. Oxley states in re-
cent letters to county papers that
a committee representing the
Board of County Commissioners
did not call upon Mr.. Whiteford
and arrange both his employment
and fee. This is untrue because /
know from my own knowledge
that committee, headed by Presi-
dent Hampton of the Board of
County Commissioners, and con-
sisting of several other county
officials interested in the pending
legislative program, did call upon
Mr.. Whiteford in this connection
as agreed at a larger meeting
which Mr.. Oxley had attended.
Montgomery County is a public
corporation with taxable basis OF
approximately SIPS, OOO,OOO.00 and
as the last session Of the legisla-
ture approached the County was
faced with the requirement by
state law to make a general reas-
sessment of all of it's property.
There were then on the statute
books several county laws setting
up a special county method OF re-
assessment and actual reassess-
ments had been started under these
local laws in 1881, and 1888 but
never finished. Later the State had
amended the entire state assess
nent law and a most important
question that faced the Montgom-
cry delegation to the last Legisls-
ture was to produce the best pos
sible legal setup for the required
current reassessment of all the
property in Montgomery County.
Mr.. Whiteford was engaged prim-
arily to study this situation. He
made numerous trips to Baltimore
and consulted with the State Tax
Commission, the assessment Off
Gals of Baltimore City and of
other Maryland counties. Mr..
Whiteford finally advised the
County Commissioners and the
members of the Legislature that in
his opinion all existing local laws
providing for special methods OF
reassessment should be repealed
and that the current reassessment
should be made under the new
state statute, and that course was
followed.
After this Mr.. Whiteford drew
more than fifty bills for introduce
ton and passage through the last
Legislature and only one of these
bills is not now law, which is bill
incident to the county dispensary
system which was vetoed by the
Governor. Disregarding entirely
Mr.. Whiteford's work on the laws
incident to the reassessment,
which consumed a number of days,
Mr.. Whiteford's charge for bills
actually passed was approximate
ly 500 per bill.
The bills so drawn included the
police bill setting up the new coun-
ty police civil service and numer-
Gus other important and lengthy
bills. Mr.. Whiteford also drew or
redrew or passed upon bond issue
bills for the acquisition Of the
George Washington Memorial
Parkway, the recreational center
west of Bethesda, construction Of
the Whites Ferry Road, construc-
tinn of the Kensington Chevy