Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1962-01-11
Byron's Column

Governor J. Willard Tawes and all of his
cronies face big political troubles.
The savings and loan mess in Maryland
has caused great grief not only to the thou
sands of persons who trusted their savings
to uninsured outfits but also to the political
leaders who could have prevented much OF
what has happened.
1t will take more than series of state
ments by Governor Tawes to convince the
voters of this state that he did all in his pow
er to protect the people against INSCRIPTIONS
wheelers and dealers in finances
Voters are smart. They know what is
going on. And they become especially alert
when people start fooling around with their
money
Voters in Maryland know that Governor
Tawes is a Democrat. They also know that
the Maryland Senate has great Democratic
majority. So has the House of Delegates.
They know that Governor Tawes. as leader OF
his Party, could get his legislative program
enacted into law. There isn't much doubt
about that.
The public in Maryland knows that Gov
ernor Tawes and his leaders could have spon-
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many of the tragic financial losses suffered
by many unsuspecting persons.
1t is important that the true facts of this
mess be given as much light as possible.
Tawes and his crowd have operated in the
dark too long. And while it is true that Gov
ernor TaweS made some moves when his
back was to the political wall, this does not
excuse him or his cronies for neglecting the
people for so long.
Governor Tawes did appoint the Case
Commission in the summer of 1860 to look
into this matter of the savings and loan in
dustry. He did support the Case bill to regu-
late and supervise the building and loan asso.
Citations in the 1861 session. And when the
Case bill was challenged by a referendum
petition, he did call a special session to re-
enact it with an emergency clause.
But as Blair Lee has said "All of this
was a ceremonial locking of the barn door a
year or so after the horse was stolen"
Blair Lee, Chairman of the Montgomery
Delegation to Annapolis, was one of the first
to recognize Tawes as a weak Governor and
one seemed wound UP with all sorts of in.
fIuences. He broke with him soon after the
1858 election.
1t doesn't take a genius to know that
Tawes and his leaders could have done some
thing about the savings and loan mess long
before they were forced to do something half
way.
Blair Lee was there. He knows the his
tory. He said it was quite apparent in 1859
that fast-buck operators had moved in on
Maryland's unprotected and unregulated build
ing and loan field Three of them were under
indictment for mail fraud. The Tawes-con.
trolled Legislative Council referred the matter
to study committee of its own
''More important" Blair says 'the Mary.
land Savings and Loan League was confer.
ring with its members and with some of the
state-chartered associations. In the words of
its president the League finally arrived at
some proposals for legislation which we felt
would cover the most important points and
at the same time be satisfactory to, would
say, 9996 of the operators in Maryland"
These points included periodic financial
statements, residence requirements for incor-
porators of new associations and restrictions
against second and third mortgages.
"The Leagues points were embodied in
a bill introduced in the short session of 1860
by former Delegate (now U. S. Attorney Jos.
eph ID. Tydings as House Bill SO. Nowhere is
the moral sickness of the Tawes administra.
ton more clearly revealed than in the prodigi.
Gus efforts to defeat the Tydings bill and its
ultimate veto at the hands of Governor
Tawes."
This is matter of record And there are