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DELEGATE MOSER: I would agree for
the benefit of Delegate Penniman that we
both contend the same thing. I just want
to make that clear.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Schloeder.
DELEGATE SCHLOEDER: As to sec-
tion 3.02, line 18, talking about natural
boundaries, the boundaries included in the
subdivision shall be followed as far as prac-
ticable, and then both on line 22 and 23 it
says that the number of persons repre-
sented shall be substantially equal.
I wonder if you could explain to me a
little bit about the relationship between
practicable and substantially equal.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: One has to
do with people, that is the substantially
equal clause; and the natural boundaries
have to do with place and lines. The pur-
pose of inclusion of the natural boundaries
and political subdivisions was to try to
force insofar as possible, those who draw
lines arbitrarily now to go back and forth
to county lines, to go to a river and leave
a river — in other words, to try to let the
public within a given area know that a
political subdivision line or a natural geo-
graphic condition was a line which it could
depend upon in determining where they
were, districtwise.
DELEGATE SCHLOEDER: Mr. Chair-
man, let me just ask one thing more.
When you talk about the number of per-
sons being substantially equal, would that
mean with relation to the political subdivi-
sions or the boundaries of the political sub-
divisions remaining practicable?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: No. All
this intends to do is to suggest to those
who draw the lines that they ought not to
depart from them in including within the
district a number of people who are sub-
stantially equal in number, that if they
have the choice between leaving a boundary
line and not leaving it, that they ought not
to leave it. Otherwise, you could get a
computer to do it, and pay no attention to
this at all.
DELEGATE SCHLOEDER: Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sickles.
DELEGATE SICKLES: Mr. Gallagher,
in your answer to Delegate Adkins with
respect to section 3.02, and your agreement
to accept instead of the word "territory,"
"land area," I wonder if your answer would
still be the same if you thought about
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Little Smith Island that sits off the coast
from the Eastern Shore quite substantially
away from the coast of the mainland, so
that by no stretch of imagination could
you say it was adjoining the land area. It
is one of our assets, but I do not think we
should keep them out there under-repre-
sented or over-represented.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: One side
will have to include Smith Island. Using
adjoining rather than contiguous, there
seems to be an advantage in using "ad-
joining." "Contiguous" seems to be less
certain than if you use the word "adjoin-
ing."
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sickles.
DELEGATE SICKLES: Perhaps I mis-
understand. I thought you were going to
agree to the substitution of the word
"territory" for the words "land area."
THE CHAIRMAN: What section are
you addressing your question to?
DELEGATE SICKLES: Section 3.02,
line 17.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Our inten-
tion was to prohibit those who draw lines
from jumping a body of water from one
side to the other. That is the evil that I
think Delegate Adkins was seeking to
eliminate. I think we can do that much
without excluding Smith Island or Light
Island, which is similarly sited.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any fur-
ther questions?
DELEGATE SICKLES: No, except
that I hope you do not forget Smith Island
in your deliberations.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Chabot.
DELEGATE CHABOT: Mr. Chairman,
I would like to pursue that a bit further.
Did you mean that you could or could
not go across the river?
There are many counties in the State
that are completely separated from other-
wise adjoining counties.
THE CHAIRMAN: I understand that
there was no body of water within the
State of Maryland that was not included
in a county. The county lines may go to one
side or the other, but there are no rivers
outside the county.
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