Evening star., 1960-11-03
MARYLAND to the Polls

MARYLAND to the Polls
Politics in Maryland's 5th and 9Th
congressional districts Is marked as
usual this November by heated contro-
verSy, and the voters on Tuesday will
face an extraordinarily complex set Of
decisions at the Federal, State and local
levels.
In the most hard-fought and by all
odds the most unpredictable contest
the 9Th district congressional race-we
believe that Charles (Mac) Matthias
should be elected to succeed the incum-
bent Democrat, Representative John r.
Foley. Both Of these men are aggressive,
articulate campaigners, and both have
developed widespread support. Since
they have allied themselves with their
national parties on several major issues,
top-heavy 9th district vote for either
Senator Kennedy or Vice President Nix
on conceivably could decide the outcome.
Our support for Mr. Matthias is based
on a conviction that he is better ftted
to serve the 9Th district as a whole.
Mr. Foley, former labor lawyer, has
revealed in his campaign speeches as
well as in his brief congressional voting
record doctrinaire approach to legis-
lation in general (and to Federal spend
ing In particularly which, no matter how
sincere, hardly can be representative Of
the vastly divergent views and interests
OF the district, especially in heavily
populated Montgomery County. In "up-
county" sections Of the district, which
extends for nearly 200 miles to the West
Virginia border, different kinds of prob
lens and viewpoints exist. Mr.. Matthias,
Frederick lawyer and State legislator,
has indicated a particular sensitivity
to the completely Of these situations,
and he has been commercially slow in
handing out campaign promises. His
political philosophy Is generally conserv-
ative, and he has mind of his own.
We believe he would use it to serve all
OF the 9Th district without catering to
the extremes Of either right or left.
In Maryland's huge 5th district,
which includes Prince Georges County,
the congressional race has been pitched
to much lower key. There, Democratic
Representative Richard E. Lankford
appears to be well on his way toward
a fourth consecutive term in Congress,
and, on his record, we believe properly
so. His opponent, Carlyle (Jiggs) Lam
caster, Hyattsville lawyer and former
Prince Georges States attorney, has
produced nothing In our Judgment to
warrant a change.
Montgomery voters next Tuesday
also must decide several issues of a
purely local nature, including a heated
school board fight. In addition, all
Maryland ballots will contain 16 ques-
tions, Is of which propose amendments
to the State constitution. Several of
these are worthy of note, and in three
cases we particularly urge their adoption.
The first Of these, identified as
Question l6, supports ratification of
the Maryland-Virginia compact for the
joint regulation Of fishing in the Po-
tomac River This is a positive step
forward In the conservation of river
resources, and the first practical COM
promise toward ending the long and
bitter wrangling over fishing rights. Also
OF major Importance are Questions 13
and IA, the so-called "open space"
amendments, which permit the Legis-
lature to assess farms and other open
areas for tax purposes on the basis of
their use rather than their value If
Subdivided. While laSt-minute oppoSi-
ton has developed, we think these
amendments especially merit voter
approval.
Among the other amendments, we
think there is good reason to support
the following: Question 5, to allow the
Legislature to authorize urban renewal
projects in slum areas of counties and
cities; Question Z, to speed the condem-
nation OF land for public purposes in
Montgomery County by permitting the
land to be taken before a final price
is determined; Question 8, to create two
additional circuit court judgeships for
Prince Georges County and to permit
qualified members Of the Legislature to
be appointed to the posts; Question IL,
a similar amendment to create one
additional circuit court judgeship for
Montgomery County; Question 10, to
increase the line Of succession in case
OF a vacancy in the Office of Governor
during major disaster, and Question
IL, to enlarge the State Court of Appeals
from five to seven members to speed up
the hearing of cases.
Freewoy Speedup
With the new woodrow Wilson
bridge rapidly taking shape, it is graft
flying that District Highway Department