Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-08

Assembly Votes
Recess Until
Monday Night
205 Bills introduced
At First Session
In Annapolis

| In Annapolis
| BY the Associated Press.
| ANNAPOLIS, Jan. 8.-Committees
Of the Maryland General Assembly
today began work on 205 bills intro
duced at the first general business
session following organization Of the
two houses.
Both the Senate and the House
were in recess until 8 pm. Monday
despite repeated gubernatorial state
ments that the Assembly should stay
on the Job until the work at hand
was completed
Although there was no official
word, it was believed that Gov
O'Conor had requested sessions of
both houses today, but Senate Pres
ident Arthur H. Brice of Kent set
the stage for adjournment when he
said that any session the upper
chamber held today would be mere
show.
| Mr.. Brice said the Senate would
be able to do little If any work
before the printing Of bills already
| introduced, and the House of Dele
gates quickly followed the Senates
lead in recessing
Bill Stirs Controversy.
Speaker Thomas E. Conlon of
Baltimore said the House had in
tended to meet today, but adjourned
"out of spirit of cooperation with
the Senate.
Meanwhile, heated controversy
appeared to be developing about
one of the bills on which commit
tees Of both chambers began study
today.
1t was House bill No. 98-one of
the last of 100 legislative council
and five independent bills intro
duced in the lower chamber yester-
day. 1t provides for building and
loan board to police the States
building and loan associations, and
members of the House quickly pre-
dicted stormy future for it.
Maryland is currently the only
one of the 48 States without build
ing and loan control act, and the
measure introduced yesterday bore
the stamp of approval of the leg
islative council.
Similar Bill Failed.
Veteran lawmakers based their
predictions of controversy over
the measure on their recollections
of similar bill introduced at the
1941 session. That one was pigeon
holed in committee.
The bill provides for the appoint
ment by the Governor of three nom
salaried building and loan board
members and director of the
building and loan program who
would receive 5000 year and
would be responsible to the board.
The bill would also provide for
State auditing of building and loan
company books and would place re-
Strictions on lending practices.
Another bill introduced in the
House would fix the highway speed
limit in the State at 40 miles per
hour, although both President
Roosevelt and Gov. O'Conor had
recommended 35-mile limit. House
Republican Leader J. Milton Dick
of Allegany said that If Federal
officials had made proper investi-
cation, they would have set the
4O-mile limit = = ."
Other Repealers Introduced.
Another bill which legislators be-
lieved might provoke much discus
sion was Senate proposal to repeal
the Declaration of Intentions Act.
Maryland is the only. State which
has such an election law, which
provides that new residents of the
State shall declare their intention
of becoming citizens year before
they become eligible to vote.
Similar repealers have been in
troduced in previous sessions, pre-
cipitating much controversy.
Among other bills introduced in
the Senate were proposals to repeal
all county and Baltimore City laws
relating to sale of property for nom
payment of taxes, to create chronic
disease hospitals when funds were
provided for construction, to per-
nit State prisoners to work on
farms, to control weights and meas
ures outside Baltimore City, and to
provide continuous assessment of
property in all counties except Balti-
more City and Frederick County,
which now nave such laws.
ORGANIZATION COMPLETED.
A House resolution was offered by
Delegate J. Howard Jonson, Demo-
crat, of Wicomico requesting that
the State Roads Commission grant
free passage over State-owned toll
bridges and ferries to pedestrians in
the armed forces.
Floor Leader John S. White of
Prince Georges suggested, however,
that the resolution be referred to
the Ways and Means Committee
since there was some doubt as to
its cOnstitutionality.
Organization of the Assembly was
completed yesterday, the second day
of the l943 session, with appoint
ment of committees AS was ex-
pected, Senator James j. Lindsay of
Baltimore County was appointed
Senate Finance Committee chair
man, and Delegate White was
named to mead the House Ways and
Means Committee.
Would Restrict Firms.
The building and loan bill pro-
poses an effective policing of the
States building and loan associa-
tons, with, its supporters assert,
the intention of putting them on a
! sound financial basis throuqhnllt