Evening star., 1945-02-18
Col. LeeDefends
Planners Work
In Montgomery
Dean Hayden Told
Proposals Will Give
Better Government

1t. Col. E. Brooke Lee, chairman o1
the Montgomery County Advisory
Committee on Postwar and County
Planning, last night charged that
James j. Hayden, dean of Columbus
University Law School, has issued
an 'unduly derogatory statement
concerning both the recommends
tions of the Postwar Planning Com
mittee and the general result OF
government in Mont omery
County"
Dean Hayden, member of the
Charter Committee, recently issued
statement presenting the minor
ity views of county residents, in
which he opposed the procedure en-
ployed by the Planning Committee
He asserted the method used is a
patchwork process of changing
government in the county" and
added that the Study Committee on
County Government was dominated
by persons who are either con-
nected with the Democratic organ
ization or on the county payroll.
Calls Program Comprehensive.
Replying to Dean Hayden, Col
Lee declared the Planning Com
mittee's proposals represent a COM
prehenSive program of county gov
ernment improvement. These rec
concentrations, he said, also repre-
sent a refusal on the part of a
planning committee of more than
700 representative citizens to con-
cur in Dean Hayden's recommended
tions and the plan of the Charter
and Civic Federation leadership
that the County Commissioners be
deprived of all executive and ad-
ministrative powers.
He said the committees actions
also answer, proposal that opera
ton of the two-party system be
barred in future county elections and
that the direct primary system be
abolished in the county.
The only other definite recon-
mendation of Dean Hayden's group
that was not supported, Col. Lee
contended, was demand that the
county civil service include tenn
porary employees.
Cites Charters Defeat.
To understand the arbitrary, un-
compromising and sweeping nature
of the demands of the top charter
leadership for the elimination of the
executive and administrative powers
and responsibilities of the County
Commissioners and for non-partisan
elections with the abolition of the
direct primary system, it should be
understood that for the last sc
months they have been supporting
a county charter which the county
voters rejected last November by
more than 1900 votes.
This charter proposed to only
allow future county voters to cast
their ballots for an unpaid county
council whose total direct executive
and administrative powers when
elected, incident to the entire per-
sonnel of the county government,
would have been to appoint the
county manager" Col. Lee said.
Col. Lee said that following an
election of a county council under
the charter, no administrative or
executive wishes of voters would
necessarily have been accomplished
other than the possible discharge OF
the then sitting county manager.
Would Have Life Tenure.
All other policy determining Off
cials and spenders of public ia,
money, he said, would have con-
tinued under charter with life tenure
in Office under a constitutional civi
service Setup.
This represented, he stated, e
complete willingness on the part O.
the top charter leadership to almos
entirely disenfranchise all the voter
of Montgomery County +*.9
Replying to Dean Hayden's charg'
that the committee is dominated b,
organization Democrats, Col. LIE,
said that not more than 20 per cen
of the general committee are activ'
Democrats or direct associates of thu
Democratic county administration
Thirty per cent of the committee
he said, are active Republicans o.
leaders in the charter group or tn,
civic federation. Another 10 pc
cent are anticharter leaders anc
the remainder are Independent
county residents.