Evening star., 1949-03-31
Bill Sent toLane
Repeating Voter
Intentions Act
Approval Would End
Need for Declarations
By New Residents
Rv 7nfnon
By J. B. Zotmon
Stor S'off Correspondent,

ton repeating the 47-year-ole
Declarations of Intentions Ac
was awaiting the Governors sig.
nature today.
Final approval of the measure
last night in the House eliminated
attempts over 20-year period tt
remove the law from the State.
statute books.
If signed by the Governor, il
means that new Maryland resi-
dents no longer will have to de-
clare their intentions to vote al
least one year prior to an election
in order to be eligible to cast
their ballots. One years resi-
dence in the State still will be
required, however.
Earlier, the House advanced to
the final passage stage a Senate
approved bill to repeal the Jim
Grow law. while the Senate de-
feated an attempt to permit the
Montgomery County Council to
refuse to guarantee payment OF
Washington Suburban Sanitary
Commission bonds.
Montgomery Exception Rejected.
The Senate also passed and sent
to the House the Governors bill
to set up a $50,000,00O State credit
pool from which counties and
Baltimore City could borrow for
school construction.
In passing the declarations oil
intentions repeater by a vote OF
II to Al, the House rejected ef-
forts by Delegate William H. Nc
Grath. Democrat, of Prince
Georges County. to exempt his
county and to send the bill back
to committee.
Delegate A. Gordon Boone
Democrat, of Baltimore County
charged that Mr.. McGrath's pro-
posal to exempt Prince Georges
was designed to make the bill un-
constitutional.
Mr.. McGrath argued, however
that many new residents of his
county maintain their legal resi-
dences in other States and that
he was merely attempting to
protect my county from these
people who would vote in two
separate places if this law is re-
pealed."
Law Held OutmOded.
Other delegates claimed that
Maryland is the only State hav-
ing such law.
Although the House voted SO to
48 to reject an unfavora BILE COM
mittee report on repeal of the
Jim Crow law, final passage is still
far from assured since at least 62
votes-a majority of the 123 dele
gates-are needed for such action.
Among those supporting the bill
was Montgomery Delegate Dewitt
S. Hyde, Republican. who said:
"Demagogues have used this
subject to exploit minority groups
and to discredit this Nation in the
eyes of the world. Laws such as
this are definite handicap to us
in the battle of ideologies now
going on. 1t is nothing but an
''irritant."
Davis Pushes Bond Option.
The attempt to give Montgom-
cry County the option of refusing
to guarantee payment of Washing
ton Suburban Sanitary Commits
sion bonds was made by Senator
Roy Tasco Davis, Republican, OF
Montgomery County.
1t was in the form Of an amend
ment to a bill to exempt the COM
missions water bonds from its
IA per cent bonded debt limitation
A similar move was defeated in the
House last week. At present. both
the Montgomery County Council
and the Prince Georges County
commissioners are required to
guarantee payment of principal
and interest on commission bonds
With a voice that trembled
Senator Davis appealed to the
Senators mot to place this cross
of gold on us from Bethesda to
Damascus"
Sees Heavy Burden.
1--WE do not stand in the way
OF progress" he declared. But
the commission already has S40,-
100000 in bonds outstanding and
when you tell my county it must
guarantee payment of all future
bonds issued by the commission.
you place a heavy burden on our
credit
He emphasized the guarantee
ing by the counties of commission
bonds issued in the past would
not be affected.
II have confidence in our Coun-
ty Council that st will not be
arbitrary" he told the Senate
Il assure you they will be fair and
just and reasonable
Then, turning to Senator L
Harold Sothoren. Democrat. o1
Prince Georges County, Senator
Davis said: If you don't have thai
same confidence in your county
commissioners, vote against thi!
amendment.
Senator Sothoron insisted. how.
ever, that it is essential for botf
counties to guarantee payment o.
the bonds "in order to divorce tht
commission functions from po'
litical expediency."
Vote Is 16 to IL.
1--WE must keep cheap, petty
demagogic politics out of tht
Washington Suburban Sanitary
Commission" he asserted. Ito con.
tinue the orderly development Of
our two counties"
The vote against the amend.
ment was Is to IL. with one Dem.
ocrat, Senator Hubert P. Barton
of Baltimore, siding with the Re-
publican minority.
Earlier, the Senate adopted q
favorable committe report on g