Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1951-01-04
Our County Is Tops"


newe stories and editorials based copyrighted story
in Minnesota paper telling about National honors that
come to county 1t seems that Montgomery County,
along with Richmond, Va, has been named team"
of IL a-American communities for 1850 result of
outstanding accomplishments in providing good gov
eminent for their citizens Montgomery is the first
county to make the team which is the second selected
by jury of veteran municipal experts at the recent
national conference on government of the National
Municipal League in Buffalo, N Y. The first such
in ST. Paul, MINI.
rghted article in Sundays issue of the Minneapolis Star
and Tribune are Hartford Conn.,, Kansas City, Mo-,
Montclar, N j. New Orleans, Phoenix, Arz. Portland,
Me-, Cincinnati, Toledo and Youngstown, Ohio
The article quotes league officials saying it is
coincidence that more than half of the alAmerican
cities have a council -manager form of government.
particular baby of the league according to the arti
Gle, the city manager system now governs than
1000 Cities towns and counties throughout the United
States
Montgomery is the first county in Maryland to
adopt charter form of government, providing for
council manager setup This is what the league has to
say about it, Montgomery County in many respects is
like no other place in the country For thing the
county government rules both urban and rural areas
THE two most heavily populated places, Silver
Spring and BethesdaChevy Chase not Incorporated
and don't want to be- For another thing, Montgomery
County is dormtory for Washington D. C. If you
work in Washington it's quite possible you sleep in
Montgomery County" +. Is n
"A charter reform board was named in the early
I94Os and got new charter on the ballot in 1914.
The voters rejected it" 81 s.. s.tr IS r
s,k new charter board tried again in 1915 and put
the charter two years later The charter slate of
seven candidates was swept into office and became
!. Montgomery Countys first home4rule council. tl
t@s The article continues: las county manager the
council named Irving G. McNayr tall, friendly South
ern-drawler who looks like former football player
and is" The countys financial policy, Mr. McNayr
found, needed study and change. He and the council
set up five year building program and $50 million
school building program raised teacher pay established
ctzenss advisory committees for various departments
and completed 5000 offstreet parking spaces in Silver
Spring and planned 1000 for Bethesda Chevy Chase
in 1851" he5 2. ss<a
Two wears apo business men in Silver Snr;po hoaon
talking about incorporation a city The Bureau of
Public Administration of the University of Maryland
studied the proposal and reported in effect that the
residents OF that community could not be better off
than they are under the county government
Mr. McNayr, who, at 81, is of the youngest
county or city managers in the country, is native of
Massachusetts. He graduate of the University of
Alabama, where he played freshman football and was
q member of the university's boxing squad
esf. i am very happy for Montgomery County," he
said when informed of the leagues action. ut is
council"
The Sentinel is delighted to see the county in
which it has been published continuously for 90 years
nationally recognized outstanding one We have
known right along that the county is outstanding The
Sentinel also recognizes and applauds good publicity
However with due respect for Mr. McNayr and the
first County Council the Sentinel cannot refrain from
pointing out that Mr.. McNayr held his job as County
Manager I'm effect if not title) under both Democratic
and Republican rule before the Charter Council was
elected; that Democratic Board of County Commits
sioners initiated the off street parking; a Republican
Board started paying off bonds they came due in
stead OF reinancing; and Montgomery had already
onsted Westminster County n Y. from first place in
the Nation in its standards of living
-. None of these things, and others we could men,
tion seem to have figured in the report of the municipal
experts.
So Now don't get us wrong-we realize that the run
nng OF Montgomery County is big business
and it should be run with that fact in mind We
would not want to it returned to horse and buggy"
government-but surely credit should be given
that party which had dominated it since the county was
set up in l776 and under which it had already become
outstanding in many things.