Emerson C. Harrington (1864-1945)
MSA SC 3520-1479
HARRINGTON AS COMPTROLLER
Harrington's term as Comptroller proved to be a challenge. The state
under the administration of Republican Governor Phillips
Lee Goldsborough continued with Progressive Era reforms. Child labor
laws were extended statewide, a compulsory education law
was passed, women were limited to a 10 hour workday, road building and
oyster conservation programs were expanded, and funds
were provided for the "indigent insane."1
All of these programs and initiatives increased the workload of the Comptroller's
office, but the problems lay in the finances of the
state. While the sale of state bonds and bond issues paid for the
construction of the new facilities and infrastructure, their
maintenance remained the responsibility of the Treasury. However,
while the costs of maintenance increased, the Treasury's
revenue levels were remaining relatively constant. This prompted
Harrington, in his annual report in 1914, to call on state
lawmakers to "practice economy" and seek "increased revenue from indirect
source or sources... now escaping taxation."2
The state continued with its expansion programs and within an 11 year period
(from 1909 to 1920), the state debt increased by 21
million dollars.3 The financial affairs of the state proved
to be a big campaigning point for Harrington's opponent in the 1916
Democratic gubernatorial primary elections, Senator Blair Lee. Lee
blamed the deficit on the poor management of finances by
Harrington. Harrington defended himself by saying he called attention
to the state's finances early and did everything he could do
as comptroller. The defense seemingly worked--he defeated Lee for
the nomination and eventually won the general election.4
The Lee incident was not the only time Comptroller Harrington and other
state officials would be at odds. In 1912, a bitter battle
ensued over a controversial move by Harrington involving Howard County's
John F. O'Malley. O'Malley had been voted by the
Board of Public Works (consisting of the Governor, the Treasurer and the
Comptroller) to succeed the late George Ash of Cecil
County, but he chose to serve out his post as chief clerk in the Land Commissioner's
Office until the expiration of the term of
Commissioner Thomas A. Smith. Later in the legislative session, however,
O'Malley was arrested and charged with offering a
bribe to a delegate in return for a vote against the Local Option bill
of the Anti-Saloon League. The charges were later dismissed
by the grand jury. O'Malley then wanted to take the post of State
Auditor, but the State Attorney-General ruled that since
O'Malley hadn't taken the oath within 30 days of the election, he had to
be re-elected by a majority of the members of the Board of
Public Works. Governor Goldsborough, a Republican, voted against
O'Malley, while Treasurer Vandiver voted for O'Malley. It
was now up to Harrington to decide whether O'Malley would hold the post.
At this point, Harrington refused to re-elect O'Malley.
Newspaper accounts report that despite enormous pressure from all sides,
Harrington never budged.5
In 1913, another controversy that put the spotlight on the accuracy and
honesty of state finances compelled the Comptroller's
office to institute a new system calling for "greater care in the checking
of the vouchers and bills of the various departments."
Previously, various state agencies and boards presented vouchers and bills
to the Comptroller's office which were, in turn, paid
without protest. However, in the summer of 1913, the Governor dismissed
Game Warden Franklin E. Cox, charging him with
irregularity in his accounts. The Governor then claimed that if Cox
had submitted bills to the Comptroller's Office for expenses he
had not incurred and was paid for those fees, then he was guilty of obtaining
money from the state under false pretenses. The case
was then referred to the Anne Arundel grand jury.6
The situation with Cox propelled Harrington into action. Soon thereafter,
he returned several of the vouchers and bills to the state
agencies, saying they had not been "O'K'd" or were not properly itemized.
The Baltimore (Evening) Sun reported that in one
case, the unpaid bill amounted to $2500. While it is unclear what
the new system of greater checks entailed, the paper is quick to
point out that had Cox received money from the state in error, Harrington's
bond would have been called upon to pay back the
State any amount not covered under Cox's bond.7
HARRINGTON AS GOVERNOR
In 1916, E.C. Harrington made a successful bid for the highest seat in
state government--the governorship. One of Harrington's
most enduring acts as governor involved the creation of the Commission
on Economy and Efficiency in the State Government,
better known as the Goodnow Commission. Named after its chairman,
Johns Hopkins University President Dr. Frank Goodnow,
the commission's mission was to submit to the Governor recommendations
on the form of the Executive budget as well as matters
concerning the efficiency and economy in the administration of state government.
Based on the recommendations of the Goodnow
Commission, the General Assembly adopted the Budget Bill Amendment to the
Maryland Constitution. The Amendment allowed
the governor to present a budget to the General Assembly that Assembly
members could then only reduce, not add appropriations.
If the Assembly wanted to add spending, it would have to accompany the
proposal with a revenue-raising plan. According to
newspaper reports, the state budget system was considered one of the best
in the state at the time and was a model for the national
budget.8
Harrington's tenure fell in the midst of the First World War and he took
an active part in military readiness. In 1917, when the
country entered the war, he called a special session of the General Assembly
to appropriate funds to ensure Maryland's
contribution to military readiness.9 The Assembly set
aside 2 million dollars for war purposes and established a Maryland Council
of Defense which was responsible for coordinating some 200 different organizations.
Harrington's "work or fight" slogan pushed
forward the enactment of a compulsory labor law compelling able-bodied
men between 18 and 50 to perform some useful service
during the war, without regard to standing or wealth.10
Harrington's administration also saw the adoption of the State Parole System,
creation of the State Law Department, formation of
the Conservation Commission and organization of the Annapolis Clairborne
Ferry system linking Maryland's eastern and western
shores with the highways system.
Governor Harrington also had the unenviable task of dealing with the women's
suffrage issue. Although the issue never gained
much support in Maryland, by 1919, the National government was considering
an amendment to the Federal Constitution enabling
women to vote. Despite the pleadings of Attorney General A. Mitchell
Palmer and suffragists, Harrington refused to call a special
session of the General Assembly to vote on the 19th Amendment.11
Perhaps the most controversial move by Governor Harrington, one that continues
to have repercussions today, involved the
murder trial of John Snowden, an African-American convicted of murdering
a pregnant white woman. The case fueled racial
tensions in Annapolis. Snowden maintained his innocence until his
execution and a large public outcry arose, including from 11 of
the 12 jurors who convicted Snowden, asking the Governor to commute Snowden's
sentence to life imprisonment. Harrington
never did. Snowden was the last man to be publicly hanged in Annapolis.
More than 80 years after Snowden execution, Governor
Parris Glendening pardoned him in 2001.12
Although the state underwent a great deal of change under Harrington's
leadership, his administration has been described as one
dominated by the larger than life personality of its Attorney General and
future 4 term Governor Albert C. Ritchie.
Return to Emerson C. Harrington's introductory page
© Maryland State Archives