300 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

they have passed one house, when they got to the other house by
virtue of the development of discussion on them either have been
amended to be more workable or discarded.

Q. What about a lieutenant governor, as was discussed at a meeting?

A. Well, I think it's a wise system that seems to be in effect in most
states, the idea of an elective lieutenant governor. I'm sure that the
removal of elective offices for the Comptroller and Attorney General
will generate a great amount of resistance and discussion. But I do
feel that probably this is in the best interest of an efficient executive
branch.

Q. We have a short ballot system in Maryland, now, I think, com-
pared to many states. Why shorten it more?

A. I don't think our ballots are very short.
Q. Statewide, I mean.

A. I don't think it's just a matter of shortening the ballot. I think
it's a matter of centralizing the executive power and the executive
responsibility in one person, which I think is desirable. I'm very
fortunate as a Republican governor with a Democratic Comptroller
of the Treasury and a Democratic State Treasurer comprising a ma-
jority in the opposition party in the Board of Public Works that we've
been able to work fairly effectively together. I'd be in a very tough
spot as the Governor if the Board of Public Works happened to be
completely hostile to me and didn't care about their own public
image, and they just wanted to embarrass the Governor by preventing
the enactment of his programs. I don't think this makes sense for the
Governor to be placed where he can be intentionally handcuffed by
the Attorney General and by the Comptroller of the Treasury and
the Treasurer.

Q. Governor, you seem to feel that the special session of the General
Assembly will handle this tax problem with quite a bit of ease. How
is this assessed by members of the Legislature, the leaders you met
with this morning? What is their point of view?

A. They don't seem to be very concerned about it, after all it's only
a routine housekeeping problem that is being taken care of, the ap-
propriation of the money to the subdivisions, which it had seemed
like everybody was in favor of. I wouldn't want to see about 35 or 40
county commissioners jump off the Bay bridge when they didn't get
this money. It would seem to me that there will be sufficient heat gen-
erated from the counties to assure the quick and expeditious passage
of the appropriations section.