The globe-independent., 1946-02-07
How Come!

Sweeney appointed two committees
an executive and a general COM
mittee-to explore the field of pos
sible War Memorials and, when their
studies were completed, to recon-
mend to the Mayor and Council the
type of Memorial they felt was best
suited to this community; the best
site for such memorial, and the
Approximate cost of same.
The two committees Immediately
went to work. They consulted with
varioush civic organizations and
with architects and engineers. They
examined various sites on which a
memorial might be built and then,
having arrived at the conclusion that
the most suitable War Memorial
would be a civic auditorium, they
decided that such an auditorium
would cost in the neighborhood of
three or four hundred thousand dol
lars.
With these facts assembled, a joint
meeting of the two committees was
held in the City Hall on Tuesday
night, October %, 1945, at which a
motion was offered, and passed
unanimously authorizing the execu-
tive committee to report the findings
of the two committees to the Mayor
and Council.
With the presentation to the May
or and Council of the findings of
the committees, their work would
have ended, for the Mayor and
Council, as the elected representa-
tives of the taxpayers of the City
of Hagerstown, whose tax money
would be spent in the erection of
memorial, would then consider the
recommendation and, after coming
to decision, publicly announce such
a decision to the people they were
elected to serve.
But the fact remains that, although
the executive committee has not yet
reported it's findings to the Mayor
and Council in either an open Coun-
ell meeting, or in an executive ses-
sion of the Council, and although
there is nothing spread on any of
the minutes of the Mayor and Coun-
Gil to the effect that that body has
taken any official action on the
qu @uon of erecting suitable War
Memorial, the executive committee
is still very much on the job.
1t has been common knowledge
. for some time that the committees
choice for a memorial site was a
plot of ground on the Dual Highway,
but it was not until the story broke
in the local daily papers last week,
that the news leaked out that nego-
: tiations for the purchase of this
tract of land had been carried on;
that these negotiations had reached
dead end because of price, and
that someone Gust who, is not clear)
has now decided to erect the me-
mortal in the City Park, Or as the
| daily papers expressed it, ION some
: less suitable site"
) Now, Mr.. Mayor and Council,
what the taxpayers would like to
know is, what is this memorial that
is to be erected in the City Park or
, on some less desirable site?
Is it Civic Auditorium?
If it is, when did you gentlemen
decide that Civic Auditorium was
to be built? and how come that
if you gentlement have so decided
you haven't seen fit to let the tax
payers, who will foot the bill, in
on your little secret?
, Frankly, we do not believe that
you gentlemen have arrived at any
decision as yet-in fact we will GO
further than that and venture the
prophecy that you gentlemen will
not take any action on the question
of War Memorial for the City OF
Hagerstown, until such time as the
Executive War Memorial Committee
! officially makes it recommenda-
tions to the Mayor and Council
and that, after you have received
those recommendations, you will
E give them thoughtful and earnest
consideration before arriving at any
decision-a decision, which, when
arrived at, will we are sure, be i'm
mediately made public.