Evening star., 1945-03-18
Civil Service,
Other Bills Hit
In Montgomery
Foes Express Views
To Legislators at
Silver Spring Hearing

Strong opposition to several of the
Montgomery County bills pending
in the State legislature was voiced
yesterday by Charter supporters and
representatives of the County League
OF Women Voters at hearing be-
fore the county legislative delega-
ton IN the Silver Spring Armory.
Principal criticism was leveled at
proposals for appointment of a
county supervisor and establishment
OF a county merit system.
James v. Bennett, director of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons and a
member of the Charter Committee
Board Of Directors, said that q
fundamental defect of the civil serv-
ice bill is provision for appoint
ment of civil service commissioner
by the County Commissioners for
a four-year period.
Subservient 20 Commissioners,
This means that he will be COM
pletely subservient to the commits
sioners and unable to install and
operate a true merit system for
county employees Mr.. Bennett de-
clared.
He suggested appointment of an
unpaid board of citizens to admin
lister the act and to appoint a civil
service commissioner.
He also recommended that such
system include. all county en-
ployes, adding that under the pro-
posed bill county roads supervisors
the chief of police, the assistant
county engineers and clerks in the
Bethesda and Silver Spring county
buildings would be among those
exempted.
The bill setting up a county SUPER
visor was described by Dean James
j. Hayden Of Columbus University
Law School as full of contradic-
tions." Dean Hayden also is a men,
ber of the Charter Committee.
Powers Conflict.
For example, he said, the county
supervisor is authorized to direct the
work Of the county purchasing
agent, while in another bill the pur-
chasing agent is given definite power
to purchase supplies and equipment
on his own authority.
Dean Hayden recommended that
the county supervisor should have
power to appoint the purchasing
agent and should be responsible for
his work. Without such authority
he said, the supervisor Is merely
a shadow"
Similar opposition to the civil
service system and county super
visor bills also was voiced by mem-
bers of the League of Women Voters.
Representatives of the group also
opposed bill providing for two as
sistants to the supervisor of school
property and the bill for a pur-
chasing agent, who, they contended
should be under civil service.
Fred p. Lee, charter supporter,
termed the bill broadening the
powers Of the County Commission
ers, Charter evasion legislation. "
He said the bill should give the
Commissioners power to issue bonds
and should give the county full
home rule.
Lee Defends Bills.
The bills were defended by 1t.
Col. E. Brooke Lee, chairman of
the County Postwar Planning Com
mittee; j. Bond Smith, attorney
to the Maryland National Capital
Park and Planning Commission.
and by Police Court Judge Einar
Christensen.
With regard to Mr.. Benefits
objection to the appointment by the
Commissioners of a civil service
commissioner, Col. Lee pointed out
that the President appoints the
Federal civil service commissioners.
and no objection has ever been
made to that"
ut must be understood Col. Lee
asserted, "that nearly all of those
who have spoken in the opposition
have been for the last three years
and still are supporters of the
charter, movement in this county.
The terms of the recent charter
largely discontinued voting by
county citizens for their own ofiicials
and would have placed the principal
powers of local government in the
hands of life-term bureaucrats.