Evening star., 1948-12-02
Montgomery Charter
Put Into Operation
Without Difficulty
By John Y. horner

Montgomery County operated to-
day with new governmental ma
chinery.
1t became the first political sub
division of Maryland to use char
ter, change being watched closely
throughout the State.
The shift came quietly and there
was no interruption of official busi-
ness. This was in contrast to what
has gone before and what will fol-
low.
The charter movement, initiated
10 years ago and widely resisted,
once met defeat at the polls but
finally won approval in a refer
endum last month.
The voters directed that it be
made law of the county today. They
thus replaced the 170-year- -old COM
missioner form of government.
Commissioners Become Council.
The five incumbent commissioners
now automatically constitute the
first Montgomery County Council.
How long they will continue as such
is moot.
The charter schedules a special
election January so the voters can
pick seven new councilmen. The
Council is supposed to take Office
January 10 and then put into full
operation the charter machinery,
under control of a county manager.
-Four of the commissioners-all
Republicans-have appealed to the
courts to block the election, claiming
it would be unconstitutional and
therefore would cast doubt over the
legality of all Council transactions.
The commissioners contend they
should continue as Council for
the two years remaining in their
unexpired terms.
The issue boils down to whether
a charter legally can provide for a
special election when the Maryland
Constitution specifies that county
Offices be filled at quadrennial gen.
eral elections-the next of which
Is in 1850.
Hearing Next Thursday.
First court arguments on the
commissioners injunction suit will
be heard by three judges in the
Circuit Court at Rockville next
Thursday. Regardless of the ruling
there, however, the case will be car
ried to the Maryland Court of Ap-
peals for final determination. Con-
testants have agreed to expedite the
case in order to have the issues set
tied before the special election date.
While the charter hackers lawyers
express confidence that the courts
will permit the special election,
there appears to be growing belief
among disinterested attorneys in
Rockville that the law favors the
commissioners.
These attorneys, who decline to be
quoted, for obvious reasons, point to
the constitution and the Public
General Laws of Maryland. These
must be read together, they say.
Article XI-A of the constitution
reads IN part: "* If q majority
of the votes cast for and against
the adoption of said charter shall
be in favor of such adoption, the
said charter shall become
the law subject only to the
and Public General
Laws of this State"
Article XVII of the constitution.
adopted to reduce the number of
local elections. provides that elec-
tive county officials be elected only
in every fourth year, beginning in
1926.
Article 25-A Of the Public Gen.
eral Laws states that the mem
bers of the County Council of any
county adopting q charter under
said Article XI-A shall be elected
on the general ticket by the
qualified voters Of such county as
the members of the General As
sembly are or may be elected under
the provisions of the law of the