Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-05-02
BY GENE GOODWIN

ln6y are. JuUkC OUkl1l Ibdy~
mond Fletcher, who has been
sitting as the county's second
Circuit Court Judge since jan
uary. 1855. under an appoint
ment of Gov. McKeldin; Samuel
w. H. Meloy, United States Com
missioner at Upper Marlboro.
and William Beall Bowie, Upper
Marlboro attorney.
The fourth candidate, who
filed only in the Democratic pri-
mary, is Frank l.. Anderson OF
East Riverdale.
Maryland law permits cross
filing in primaries for Circuit
and Court of Appeals judgeships
because such elections are sup
posed to be nonpartisan.
If one candidate wins both the
Democratic and Republican pri-
imaries on May z, he. of course.
will be automatically elected and
his name will not have to appear
on the general election ballot
next November.
Judge Fletcher is the only
Republican of the four, having
served as chairman of the
G. o. P. Central Committee in
Prince Georges from l946 to
1854. When Gov. McKeldin APP
pointed him to the second judge
ship created by a 1854 constitu-
tional am endm emit. Judge
Fletcher became the first Repub-
lican to sit on the Prince
Georges Circuit Court bench
since the turn of the century.
Here. in alphabetical order,
are brief biographical sketches
of the candidates:
Frank l.. Anderson, 40, is a
Washington lawyer who lives at
1920 Fifty-seventh avenue, East
Riverdale,
He hit the headlines last No
vember when he resigned as
judge of Prince Georges County
Orphans Court, to which he had
been elected a year earlier. be-
cause he said he couldn't afford
to hold the $936-per-year posi-
ton unless he was allowed to
practice law, too. He said that
when he ran for the office. he
was not aware of State law,
later called to his attention,
which prohibited him from prac-
ticing law while serving as an
Orphans Court judge.
Mr.. Anderson worked for the
Federal Government, in various
agencies. from 1881 to 1851
Since then. he has been engaged
in the general practice of law
in Washington and Maryland.
BY attending night classes. he
earned a law degree from South
eastern University in 1910 and
an accounting degree from Ber-
jamin Franklin University in
1947. He is a native of Boston.
is married and has a 19-year-old
daughter attending Cornell Uni
versity.
When asked why he is the
only one of the candidates who |
filed only in the Democratic pri-
mary. Mr.. Anderson said. Il
wouldn't have chance on the
Republican side
William BeaII Bowie, 43, is
making mis- first bid for public
office.
A practicing attorney in the
county for 10 years, Mr.. Bowie
emphasizes his trial experience
In his campaigning and claims
to be the only one of the four
aspirants who has represented
clients before Maryland's highest
court, the Court of Appeals.
He lives on the Largo-Marl-
boro road, about half way be-
tween those two communities,
and his law Office is in Upper
Marlboro. He is town attorney
for Upper Marlboro and Glen
arden. He is married and mas
three daughters. ages Is, 8 and z.
An examiner in chancery for
the Prince Georges Circuit
Court. Mr.. Bowie was graduated
from the University Of Maryland
and got his law degree from
GEORGETOWN University in 1899.
During 1941 and 1912, he was
an attorney-investigator for the
Department of Agriculture. Then
he went into the Navy as an
Ensign and served three years.
mostly In the Pacific and Asiatic
theaters.
John Raymond Fletcher, SIS.
was State Senator from Prince
Georges County from 1851
through 1854. He won the post
by defeating L. Harold Sothoron.
now bidding for Congress. in a.
1850 Republican landslide in the
county. He lost 1t in the 1854
election to Senator H. WinshipI
Wheatley, IT., when the Demo-
Gratis staged a comeback and
reclaimed all the Offices they had
lost.
Gov. McKeldin, a Republican,
named Judge Fletcher to the Cir
cult Court bench shortly after
his election defeat. In his cur
rent campaign, he emphasizes
the tradition of retaining sitting
judges.
A native Of Washington, Judge
Fletcher moved to Prince Georges
County % years ago. He lives now
at 1904 Cheverly avenue, Chew
erly. with his wife and l7-year-
old daughter. He was Mayor of
that community from 1887
through l945. which launched
him into county politics.
In 1862, while still a State
Senator. he was one Of 10 candi-
dates for the Republican con.
rressional nomination In the 5tt