Evening star., 1941-03-21
Brookings Report
Inspires Introduction
0fS New Bills
Measure TO Authorize
Prince Georges Hospital
Is Put Into Hopper
~ Staff Correspondent of The Star

ANNAPOLIS, Md, March 21.-
The Montgomery County delegation,
or four-fifths of it, dropped eight
bills inspired by the Brookings In
stitution's report into the legislative
mill yesterday.
AS usual, they bore the names of
Delegates James w. Gill, delegation
chairman; Stanton G. Peelle, jr.; E.
Brooke Lee and Ruth Shoemaker,
the organization Democratic men,
bers of the county's representation.
Missing was the name of Delegate
Charles G. Jones, anti-organization
Democrat, who Monday put in three
bills of his own, two of them en-
bodying recommendations of the
Brookings report.
Hospital Bill introduced.
From the Prince Georges County
delegation came bill to authorize
the county commissioners to issue
100000 in bonds for a county hos
pital urged by many county civic
groups.
One of the bills labeled Gill ct al"
established a new legal setup for
the county, raising the salary of the
counsel for the board of county
commissioners from $4,000 to $4,000
a year and giving him an assistant
at no more than $1,000 year. The
bill provides that the new legal office
shall serve as counsel not only to the
county board but also to the board
of zoning appeals, the board of
supervisors of elections, the county
welfare board and the county treas
urer, all of them part-time positions.
Supplants Jones Measure.
Elimination of special counsel to
the election board will make Mont
gomery County the only one in the
State without this post. No change
was provided for the counsel to the
liquor control board or the counsel
to the Maryland-N National Capital
Park and Planning Commission.
Mr.. Jones bill, which the Gill
et-al measure supplants, would have
paid the county attorney $4,000 a
year with a secretary at 1900 and
abolished all part-time attorneys.
The other two measures sponsored
by Mr.. Jones would have abolished
the liquor control board and the
post of executive secretary to the
president of the county board.
Another Brookings-inSpired meas
ure would make the county account
ant the county auditor, empower
ing him to pre-audit accounts and
disapIrove expenditures not in ac-
cordance with the approved budget,
subject to being overruled by special
resolution by the county board.
Public hearings on the county
budget, another recommendation Of
the Brookings report, would be re-
uuired under another bill introduced,
while school board approval for
location of libraries would be pro-
vided in accordance with another
recommendation.
Provides Semi Annual Inventory.
Other bills would require a semi
annual inventory of all county prop
erty. require that bids be asked on
all contracts amounting to $500 in
any quarter of the fiscal year, and
set up more stringent procedure in
land purchases by the county or
school board.
The Brookings recommendation
for e probation officer for adult
prisoners was met in the bill pro-
viding office space for a State pro-
baton officer. Such probation Off
GERS are now available to counties
from the State Probation Depart
ment, wherever office space is offered
by county.
The Montgomery delegates also
sponsored legislation to raise the
salaries of deputy clerks in the Sill
yer Spring and Bethesda suburban
districts from $2,40O to S2,7OO a year
and to authorize $1,000 to the Mont
gomery County Home Demonstra-
tion League.
Ralph w. Powers, Prince Georges
delegation chairman, said the hos
pital bond bill was merely permissive
and would authorize the commits
sioners to build the hospital should
It be needed during the next two
years.
Indications were that the S2,OOO.-
900 bond issue for improvements to
roads, parks, street lighting and
other community phases of Prince
Georges County activity would not
be introduced at the present session,
but no definite commitment was
forthcoming from delegation men,
bers.
The delegation also sponsored
measure to authorize a salary of
s480 a year to the town treasurer at
Laurel, and one to authorize a $780,
600 bond issue for a sewage disposal
plant at Laurel.