Ritchie, alone among them all, declined to send troops to the
mines and took the position that the situation should he met
by mutual agreement and not by the bayonet. The strike was
finally settled by mutual agreement.

Governor Ritchie was elected President of the Maryland
State Bar Association for the year 1922-1923.

In September, 1923, Governor Ritchie was renominated
without opposition for a second term as Governor, and in
November, 1923, was re-elected by a plurality of over 40,000.

In September, 1926, Governor Ritchie was renominated
for a third term, receiving a majority in the primary of over
81,500 and the unanimous vote of the Democratic State
Convention. He was re-elected in November, 1926, by a
majority of practically 60,000.

At the 1929 Session of the Legislature Governor Ritchie
recommended and put through the most extensive program
ever adopted in the State for highway construction, new
bridges and the elimination of railroad grade crossings. At
the same Session important legislation was enacted for voca-
tional rehabilitation, safety in industry, the education of
crippled children, and mothers' pensions.

In September, 1930, Governor Ritchie was renominated
without opposition for a fourth term, and in November,
1930, he was re-elected by a majority of practically 66,000,
the largest majority by far ever received by any candidate
for Governor in the history of the State.

Maryland has elected her Governors by popular vote since
1838, and ever since the Constitution of 1864 there has been
no prohibition against any Governor succeeding himself.
But no Governor of either party ever did so, and no Demo-
cratic Governor was ever renominated, until Governor
Ritchie broke both precedents by being nominated and
elected for four successive terms, with majorities of 165 in
1919, 40,000 in 1923, 60,000 in 1926, and 66,000 in 1930.

Governor Ritchie was Delegate-at-Large to the Democratic
National Convention in 1932.

At the 1933 Session of the Legislature, in addition to
sponsoring legislation for the sale of beer and for a Consti-
tutional Convention to act in the repeal of the Eighteenth
Amendment, Governor Ritchie accomplished a drastic re-
duction in the State Budget, the savings from which were
applied to financing a $12,000,000 State bond issue for un-
employment relief in Baltimore City, and to a very sub-
stantial reduction in local taxation in the counties. In
addition to this, the Budget submitted by Governor Ritchie
completed a reduction in the State tax rate during his ad-