Evening star., 1940-09-01
Brookings Survey
OF Montgomery
Setup Nearly Done
Study Under Way lS
Months; Report to Go
To County Board

The long-awaited survey by the
BrookingS Institution of the gov
ernmental setup of Montgomery
County, in preparation for more
than 18 months, is expected to be
completed late this month, DR..
Lewis Merriam, head of the depart
ment of political research, an
nounced yesterday.
The report, on which numerous
members of the institute staff have
worked since actual research was
started in the summer of 1899, will
be made to the Board of County
Commissioners and will provide
subject matter for discussion by the
Montgomery County Civic Fedora
ton, the League of Women Voters
and various other civic organizations
this fall.
During the next few weeks, the
delegates to the Maryland Legisla-
ture and civic groups will be for
mulating plans for legislation to
be introduced at the coming session,
a survey indicated yesterday.
DR.. Merriam said that two portions
of the report, those on revenue and
finance administration, had been
delayed, but were now in the final
stages and that only the general
summary, which will include rec
concentrations based on the survey,
remains to be done.
Those Who Made Survey.
Henry P. Seidemann, chairman of
the institute, covered the finance
section of the survey and Charles
Deering, highway economist of the
staff, already has completed the por-
ton devoted to roads. Arthur Mills
paugh made the survey of the police
department and DR.. Laurence
Schmeckibier did the zoning survey.
Daniel T. Selko, specialist on public
finance, was assigned to the revenue
survey and David Spence Hill, for
mer president of the University of
New Mexico, was retained to make
the report on the county schools.
DR.. Merriam said that no advance
announcement would be made of the
survey and that the report would
be made to the county board, which
retained the institution for the
project in December, 1888. The in
stitution agreed to make the survey
for $4,000, although similar surveys
for State and municipal govern
ments have cost several times that
amount. Many members of the in
stitute staff live in or near Mont
gomery County and under the terms
of the agreement no definite date
was set for completion of the report,
making it possible to do the work
between their other assignments.
Federation Plans.
That the report would receive at
tention by the Civic Federation was
indicated by announcement of Presi-
dent o. Merton Kile yesterday that
committee appointments would be
announced within the next 10 days
or two weeks.
The principal business of the fed
Grafton, which resumes it's meetings
in october, will be formulation of
legislative program for presentation
to the county delegation to the Leg
islature, Mr.. Kile said.
AS soon as committee chairmen
have been named a meeting of the
Executive and Advisory Committee
will be called to outline a program
for the fall meetings, Mr.. Kile said.
Meanwhile, a conference will be
held early this month at which
legislation will be discussed by State
Senator Robert Peter and the county
delegates, the county commissioners
and Joseph A. CantreI, special coun-
sci to the County Board, for draw
ing up bills for the next legislative
session. The date is expected to be
set this week.