Evening star., 1953-03-08
L letter ReviVes Battle
Over Montgomery
Planning Group

i CCTUay OeLWGcu LLlG MaTy1aQQ-
National Capital Park and Plan
/ ming Commission and the Mont
gomery County residents who
want to abolish it.
The commission general coun-
I sci, in effect, accused a spokes-
man for the anti-commission
bloc of not telling the truth
during a debate the two had
earlier last week.
His opponent retorted last
night that the lawyer himself
1 was to blame for the miSunder-
/ standing.
The commission member is
j. Bond Smith. His opponent
was Frederick Gutheim, member
Of the Upper Montgomery Coun-
ty Planning Commission and a
leader in the first to wrest con-
troll Of planning away from Mr..
Smiths group.
Smith Releases Letters.
Maryland's General Assembly
is considering three bills that
would wipe out the Maryland
planning agency.
Mr.. Smith yesterday released
copies of letters he wrote to and
received from the National Capt.
tai Planning Commission.
His letter noted that he had
debated the legislation with Mr..
Gutheim last Monday before the
Homewood Citizens Association.
He wrote:
During the debate I referred
to the letter addressed on Feb
ruary 16 last by your commits
sion to the delegations of Mont
gomery and Prince Georges
counties, the concluding para
graph of which follows:
"'In view of the factors out
lined above, our commission was
unable to escape the conclusion
that enactment of the pending
legislation would be a backward
step.
Letter Was Withdrawn"
set was duly instructed to con-
vey this view to the General AS
sembly with the hope that it
would be received in the friendly
and constructive spirit in which
it is offered"
'Mr. Gutheim thereupon stated
unequivocally that the said let
ter of February Is had been
withdrawn and suggested that
if I wished to confirm that fact
I need only make inquiry of your
commission.
Immediately after the close
Of the debate the Homewood
Citizens Association voted unan-
imously to oppose the abolish
ment Of the commission so that
Mr.. Gutheim'S statement was
not regarded by the members
of the association as determina-
tive of the question.
"The discussion of the pro-
posed legislation is, however.
continuing and Mr.. Gutheim and
and other representatives of the
Montgomery County Council will
doubtless repeat in these dis
cuSsionS the statement that Mr..
Gutheim made that your COM
missions letter has been with
drawn"
Views Have Not Changed.
Mr.. Smith asked the National
Capital planners to say whether
they actually had withdrawn the
letter.
Blair Lee III, executive officer
of the National Capital group,
wrote that the February 16 let
ter had not been withdrawn and
the National groups views have
not changed"
Mr.. Lee added:
1T occurs to me that Mr.. Gut
helm may have confused this
communication with an earlier
letter dated February 10, in
which the chairman advised the
delegations that the commission
desired an opportunity to express
its views more fully after study
ing the three bills.
"The letter of February 16
was mailed several days before
the public hearing at Annapolis
and was intended to serve in
lieu of direct testimony. It was
the desire of the chairman that
the commissions views be made
a matter of written record to
prevent any possible misunder-
standing
Gutheim Releases Statement.
Mr.. Gutheim released a state
ment of his own last night. It
said:
"The National commissions
letter of February Is was not
read at the hearing at Annapolis
on February 1S.
'Mr Smiths reference to this
letter was my first knowledge of
it. 1t was certainly a gross
exaggeration to construe this
letter as a blanket Endorsement
of the present organization of
the Maryland commission.
II am confident that the Ma
tional Commission will not op-
pose any reorganization which
xsafeguards the Federally aided
park program, and which will
strengthen and energize local
and regional planning.
II am sure the National COM