Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-02
Bonus Measure
Also Blocked as
Group Adjourns
BY CHARLES L. HOFFMAN
star Staff CORRESPONDENT

ANNAPOLIS, Mar. 2. - The
Maryland Senate, in its closing
hours last night, killed and pro-
vided a public burial ceremony
for a holly lobbied bill to in
crease by $500 the State contri-
button to teachers salaries.
The bill never came out Of
the Senate Finance Committee.
But shortly before the Senate
wound up its 1856 session at
1850 pm, Majority Floor Lead
err John Turnbull took the ros-
trum to speak on its demise.
Also permitted to die in the
Finance Committee. under an
old practice of the General AS
sembly, was House-passed bill
to provide for a referendum on
a bill that would have provided
a 1-cent increase in the sales
tax to finance an $50 million
veterans bonus.
Each year the Senate commits
tee kills a House bonus bill and
the House Ways and Means
Committee responds in like
fashion to stop Senate bonus
bill.
Faced Veto
The Teachers salary measure,
fought by Gov. McKeldin, would
have cost the State an additional
$11 million annually.
In a speech in Baltimore today.
Gov. McKeldin said he would
have vetoed the bill if it had been
sent to him.
The bill was pressed here by
the Maryland State Teachers
Association and P-TA groups.
and legislators were flooded with
thousands of letters and tele-
grams urging its enactment.
Senator Turnbull read four
page report prepared by the
majority of the committee, in
which he said the teachers SAL
airy question should be con-
sidered in relation to the sal-
aries of all other State employees.
The floor leader said the Gen.
leral Assembly this year had done
well by education by passing leg
Iislation that will cost the State
an additional Sill million. He
noted this increase was in adj
ldition to another measure pro-
viding for State loans up to SIS
million for school construction.
Guaranteed No Raise
Senator Turnbull said that,
even if passed, the bill would
not have guaranteed the teachers
a $500 raise but would simply
have provided additional assist
ance to the subdivisions, since
most of them have salaries above
the proposed $4,000 minimum
the bill proposed.
He added that State teachers
colleges are bullying at the
seams" Current salaries, he
said, apparently are not deter
ring our young people from pre-
pairing tor the teaching profess
sion."
/ Although the Senator as.
serted the Senate Finance Com
mittee members did not regret
the additional funds appro-
ipriated for education, they
also feel it is their duty to guard
against ruinous taxes, whose eff
feet would be to defeat the
basic purpose of public educa-
ZION to en-. be all citizens to
have a better life.
/ The House earlier had passed
the teacher pay raise bill with
only minor opposition but de-
feated an increased sales tax bill
designed to finance it.
Hits Bypass Method
! According to Gov. McKeldin's
Baltimore speech text, he de-
cried attempts to bypass the or
derby operations of government.
He said some attempts had been
made in the General Assembly
to do this.
! Most glaring of these was the
heavily lobbied effort to have
enacted an increase of about s1l
million in the States contribu-
!tlon to the political subdivisions
10 pay the salaries of their
school teachers" he said.
He said no one told him in adj
vance OF the pay increase re.
quest.