|
Kent County, Queen Anne's, Somerset, and
although some of those sound like small
communities, so did Baltimore City by a
few thousand majority.
At a time as Ave are going to have a low
turnout, do not let the wonderful docu-
ment we have drafted hang up on a pocket-
book issue. Many of you will argue we
have to pay realistic salaries. You are
giving the legislature the right to set the
salary of public officials hereafter. Do not
confuse the issue over something which
can best be emotional and does not affect
the pocketbook of the incumbent governor.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan, do
you wish to respond on behalf of the
Committee?
DELEGATE MORGAN: Mr. Chairman,
I think the governor should be the highest
paid man in the State, and when the
judges of the Court of Appeals get ,$35,000,
I think that the governor of the State
ought to get at least $40,000. I really
think he ought to get more than $40,000,
but it just seems to me that $40,000 is a
very reasonable salary for the governor
and if the people of Maryland are going
to turn down this constitution on the
$40,000 salary of the governor, why then
I do not think that the people have very
much confidence in the electorate of Mary-
land. I am all in favor of the $40,000 fig-
ure and I hope this amendment is defeated.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment?
Delegate Mitchell.
DELEGATE MITCHELL: Mr. Presi-
dent and Fellow Delegates, I think it
would be shameful to set up a new struc-
ture for a strong executive branch of gov-
ernment and an improved judicial branch,
and a strong legislative branch and not
face the hard question that in Maryland
we have paid our public servants such
ridiculously low salaries that we have
opened wide the doors to corruption. It is
as simple as that, and we must give leader-
ship to the people of the State if we want
clean government as well as efficient gov-
ernment. We have got to pay our public
servants according to the jobs which we
expect them to perform.
Further, as far as the salary to the
chief executive of the State, if we do not
pay a decent salary then we are going to
discourage men of modest means with
superior ability from running for public
office. I think it is a disgrace to now say
|
that after we have spent all of these
months and weeks in devising a new struc-
ture to improve the efficiency of govern-
ment, to cut down the salaries so that we
leave to the next generation the doors open
for the corruption we want to clean up, is
a disgrace which I think we do not owe
the state leadership. We have all been
elected to this Convention on non-partisan
and non-political grounds, and it is our
responsibility from th'at standpoint to give
leadership to the citizens and the voters
of the State.
I hope we will vote down this amend-
ment and begin to pay the public servants
of Maryland such salaries that they will
not have to go outside of their office in
order to exist.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are you ready for
the question?
Delegate Boyles.
DELEGATE BOYLES: Thank you, Mr.
President. I will say just a few words. I
oppose this amendment and speaking for
myself and the five other members of my
family, I will be glad to contribute the
extra three cents in tax dollars the six of
us will have to contribute to pay this extra
fifteen thousand dollars. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hard-
wicke.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE : There are
certain transitional reasons that we need
to put this amount in here and that is the
constitutional prohibition against raising
or changing the salary of an incumbent
when he is in office. Unless we do it this
way, it would be very difficult for the
legislature to do it at all with regard to
the incumbent.
Secondly, I think we occupy a peculiar
position with regard to the people of the
State of Maryland. We are more or less
their direct representatives. It is easier and
more non-political for us to take care of
this matter than it is for the legislature to
attempt to do it.
For that reason I think the amendment
should be voted down.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Kathleen
Robie.
DELEGATE ROBIE: Mr. President and
ladies and gentlemen, I will not belabor
this issue, but I would like to point out
that I do not believe the man in the street
would be able to see the sense of our
putting forth a document giving the
|
