Evening star., 1948-10-24
By ]. B. Zotmon


Montgomery County is expected to
60 Republican next month for the
second time In four years, and q
referendum on adoption of q county
is expected to result in its
That's the concensus Of county
political leaders as well as rank
and file members in the two major
parties.
Political observers point out Gov
Dewey carried the county by 5000
votes when he ran against President
Roosevelt in 1914. Without the lat
ter's magnetic personality, they say
the Democratic Party has even less
chance this year.
j. Bond Smith, chairman of the
Democratic State Central Com
mittee for the county, said he is
confident" his party will do better
than in 1914, but he added he was
unwilling" to say President Tru-
man would get a majority of county
votes.
Voter Apathy Cited.
Il think F. Byrne Austin Demo
cratic candidate for Congress from
the 9Th district will get a much
larger vote than President Truman, =
Mr.. Smith said.
Mr.. Austin is running against
Representative Beall, Republican,
of Frostburg, who is seeking a
fourth term.
Claiming there is widespread
apathy among the voters, Mr.. Smith
said a small turnout would affect
adversely both the national and
congressional tickets.
He added he had found practically
no States Rights sentiment among
county Democrats and that the
question had not been brought up
at party meetings.
AS for the controversial proposal
to substitute a charter from OF
government for the present COM
missioner system, Mr.. Smith refused
to hazard guess on chances Of it's
adoption.
This is regared as significant by
the politically wise, who point Out
the Democratic organization cam
paigned strongly against the charter
in the 1914 election. At that time
the home rule" plan was defeated
by vote II 1858 to 14,048.
last year, however, E. Brooke Lee
longtime Democratic leader in the
county, advised the voters to adopt
the proposed charter drafted severaI
months before.
Has Taken No Official Stand.
The Democratic organization ha.
taken no official stand in the matter
although many party members have
expressed their intention to vote fol
the plan. ,. 10.
County Treasurer John B. Dia.
mond, Of Gaithersburg. who has
been active in Democratic affair.
since 1926, said rural voters have
expressed little or no interest ir
the presidential race but are against
a charter.
People in my area believe they
would lose the advantage in repre-.
sentation they now have if a charter
is voted in," he explained.
Under the present system, three
of the five commissioners represent
rural districts with the remaining
two coming from the Silver Spring
and Bethesda areas.
Anders r. Lofstrand, jr. chairman
of the county's all-Republican dele.
CATION to the General Assembly and
a member of his party's States Gen.
trail Committee for the county, diff
fered with Mr.. Smith on the anti
cipated voter turnout.
He said he expected at least as
many votes to be cast as in 1916
when about $1,000 persons went to
the polls. He also predicted Gov
Dewey would carry the county by
5000 votes and that the charter
would win.
II think most Republicans will
vote for the charter, but I believe
it will get a smaller total vote than
in the presidential and congres.
sional races" he asserted.
County Has 1881 Voters.
The total number of qualified
voters in the county is 51,88l. OF
this number. 34,199 have registered
at Democrats and 14,s73 as Re-
publicans. Those who declined tc
state any party affiliation number
2,784, while Is registered with mis-
cellaneous parties, such as Socialist
Progressive and so forth.
While the registration figures
would appear to favor the Demo-
Gratis. they are no accurate index
of the actual vote. Two years ago
when the Democrats had a similar
advantage over the Republicans al
far as registrations were concerned
the voters elected every Republi-
can running for a local office.
Also coming out strongly foi
charter are the Montgomery County
Committee, Americans for Demo-
cratic Action ,and the Montgomery
County Progressive Party. Both
have comparatively small members
but are tightly knit and have helped
in door-to-door solicitation OF
voters in the charter campaign.
Will Allen, Bethesda executive
secretary of the ADA committee
said his group would swing about
5000 votes for charter. Mr.. Allen
unsuccessfully sought the Demo-
cratic nomination for the House In
the primary last spring.
Col. Norman B. Ames, president
of the County Charter Committee
is confident Of victory. Like Mr.
Lofstrand, he predicted q large
turnout In the general election.
Although he refused to estimate
the margin of victory expected for
the charter, he said sentiment ap-
pears much more favorable than
four years ago.
Woods to Speak on Rodio
At Arlington Dance
Robert Woods of Pearisburg, Va.
- q