Evening star., 1953-03-31

Montgomery
School Primary
Bill SheIVed
County Delegation
Rejects Proposal
As Impractical
BY . s,aff cerr..psnd.p. Of The s,ar

BY O Ssaff cersspsndeni Of The Siar
ANNAPOLIS, Mar. 31.-A
bill to create q school board
primary election in Montgomery
County has been shelved as i'm
practical.
The county's House deIega-
ton voted to kill the bill yes
terday after hearing objections
to it from Miss Rose Dawson
and Ward w. Caddington, chief
clerk and assistant chief clerk,
Of the Board Of Election Super
viSorS.
They said it would be diff
cult to set voting machines to
allow independents to vote for
school board candidates with
out voting for other partisan
candidates whose names also
would be on the machines.
Independents are prohibited
by law from participating in
Democratic or Republican pri-
mary elections, but the school
board bill would have allowed
them to vote for board candi-
dates' who would run as nom
partisans.
Large Field Feared.
Purpose Of the bill was to mar
row the field Of candidates for
the seven school board seats. Ten
sought four vacant seats in the
first school board election last
November. Delegates fear the
aeld may run as high as so next
year.
Delegate kathryn ]. Lawlor,
Republican, of Montgomery, took
the House floor to urge her col
leagues to help her get an as
seSsment bill out Of the Senate
Finance Committee.
The measure would allow coun-
ties to put new assessments on
the tax books annually, thus al
lowing the debt limit to rise with
increasing the aSsessable base.
She pointed out that the bill
passed the House February 9
and has been languishing in the
Senate Finance Committee ever
sinceS. She said when the Mary
land Association of County Com
m1Esioners voted on the bill, only
Calvert County voted against it.
And you know who the chair
man of the Finance Committee
is" she declared, referring to
Senator Louis L. Goldstein.
Democrat, Of Calvert County.
Would Limit Borrowing.
Montgomery officials have said
that unless the bill is passed,
their borrowing limitation would
be frozen for three years Begin
ming next January and their
school construction and other
capital improvement programs
would be jeopardized.
The House rejected by voice
vote a motion by Delegate j.
Douglas Bradshaw; choirman of
the all-Republican Montgomery
House group, that q local bill
concerning annexation by. Rock
vile Of about 200 acres along
Route 240 south Of the city be
referred again to his delegation.
The House Speaker had sent
the bill to the House Judiciary
Committee when it came over
from the Senate after final pas
sage there.
Speaker Explains Action.
Speaker John Luber explained
to the House that he had re-
ferred it to a standing commit
tee because it removes the
would-be annexed area from the
Washington suburban sanitary
district"
House Majority Leader John
w. Logan quickly added: "And
also the (Maryland-N National
CapitaD Park and Planning
Commission"
Senator Anders r. Lofstrand,
jr.. Republican, of Montgomery
who sponsored the bill, said the
removal of the area from the
jurisdiction Of the two bi-county
agencies is a technicality since
Rockville is not covered by them
and has its own planning and
water and sewage services.