Evening star., 1941-02-14
HomeGuard Bill
Signed;
Outlines Plan
Baltimore to Get
; ButtuIions and
Rest of Stute 6
By the Associated Press.

ANNAPOLIS, Feb. IA. - Gov.
O'Conor signed the emergency State
guard bill today and announced at
the same time that he contemplated
establishing three battalions of
guards in Baltimore and six more
in the counties.
Making public the first detailed
plans for the organization, Gov.
O'Conor disclosed the guard would
comprise one regiment of approx
mately 1900 men plus attached
medical units. with headquarters at
the 5th Regiment Armory in Balti-
more.
Experienced military personnel, he
continued. would be invited to officer
the regiment. under colonel who
will be IAN officer of proven ability
and with satisfactory military
background
Room for All Expected.
"I believe" he added, however,
"there will be room in this organiza-
ton, in one capacity or another, for
all who wish to serve"
The Governor said one battalion
of guardsmen would be assigned to
the lower Eastern Shore, another to
the upper shore, a third in Hartford,
Baltimore, Howard and Carroll
Counties. a fourth in Southern
Maryland, and fifth in the counties
adjacent to Washington, and sixth
L., JNoe+or,, NTory1ap6
In each of these sections, I intend
to invite a qualified person to take
the command and to organize the
battalion" he explained.
With Guard headquarters at the
5th Regiment Armory, he continued,
administration of the regiment will
cost the State practically nothing y
Duties Discussed.
"In a like manner, the armorles
throughout the State will be
made available and be used
without additional cost until such
time as the National Guard units
return from Federal service"
He emphasized that the Guards
training would be built around its
duties in safeguarding property and
handling emergencies.
The duties would include special
work in connection with supple
mentation of the State police if need
arose, he added.
The home guard bill was the first
major legislation of the 1941 Cen
eral Assembly to be enacted into
law.
Meanwhile, legislative leaders
looked at Assembly files today. con-
suited with committee chairmen and
announced that, beginning Monday
night, the Legislature goes on a
fve-day week.
Instead of reconvening Tuesday,
after the weekend recess, the As
sembly will come back a day ahead
of time to tackle mounting piles of
legislation.
1t was understood the speedup or
ders originated in the Governors
office.
Tax Bill Up for Final Vote.
Administration leaders, however,
could find no fault at the moment
with the progress Of Gov. O'Conor's
legislative program. His tax bill
comes up for final passage today,
Of the three other model defense
bills he sponsored, the Explosives
Control Act passed the House yes
terday, the anti-sabotage bill was
due out of the Senate Judicial Pro-
ceedings Committee today with a
favorable report and the property
protection measure likewise was ex-
pected out of the House Militia
Committee in the near future.
All down the line, administration
bills had the go-ahead signal,
The House defeated two attempts
yesterday to amend the tax bill and
adopted a favorable Ways and Means
Committee report by voice vote.
Oyster-Defense Tangle.
Oysters and national defense be-
came entangled at a hearing before
the Senate Chesapeake Bay and
Tributaries Committee, attended by
scores of watermen from Southern
Maryland and the lower Eastern
Shore.
At issue was legislation by Senator
Elwood Die, Republican. of Somer-
set to open the Potomac River to
handscrapers. Somerset County
spokesmen urged its passage and
Charles and St. Marys Counties
watermen fought it vigorously.
What appeared to be a deciding
factor-along with the tentative un-
favorable report the bill had received
prior to the hearing-was warning
from Comdr. Swepson Earle of the
Dahlgren (Va0 Naval Proving
Ground that increased boat traffic
on the lower Potomac was opposed
by the Navy.
Gun-testing at Dahlgren, on an
88,000-yard range extending down to
the rivers mouth, would be trebled
in the next months, the officer said,
and fleets of oyster boats within the
area would seriously hamper opera
tions.
Tax to Pay Teachers Likely.
Considerable interest centered
here on reports a special tax-or a
combination of special taxes-might
have to be levied to pay for equal
ization of white and Negro teachers
salaries.
Administration sources said it ap-
peared that county-State financ-
ing plan would have to be adopted,
with the State levying the taxes to
avert an unbalanced budget. One
revenue source mentioned was tax
on half-mile tracks which now pay
no money to the State.