Nasim Moalem--
18 June
Learned ecpclio (2 hours)
Toured Law Library (1/2 hour)
19 June
Scanned and linked newspaper article relating to Gordy in the Gordy sources page (7 hours). Still need to scan and link "Gordy to Quit Fight" and "Office on Modern Business Basis" articles and well as 2 others (mustache story and Kinsolving editorial).
21 June
Scanned and linked 1937 tax law on ecpclio. (2 hours)
NOTES
about 2hours
From the Journal of the Proceedings of the House...April 22, 1937. The Speaker says that a special session has been called because "strong public sentiment has been aroused against the Tax Bill which we enacted in the regular session so recently adjourned" (6). apparently a tax on bookmaking was a controversial stickler. The Speaker says there is much opposition to the governor's proposal of a gross receipts tax. he says, "it was considered in the session just ended and didn't have a chance. It has no better chance now." (8). Governor Nice reintroduces a bill asking for a gross receipts tax but says he had reduced it to 3/4 of 1%. The purpose of the taxes according to Nice was to produce money for relief programs for the next two years--the social security and relief problems of the state.
Looking at newspaper coverage of that time...starting with the Evening Capital
4/23-page 1--Nice admits his gross receipts tax idea won't pass.
there's lot of favor for the entire old relief bill according to the paper.
4/28--income tax of 1/2 of 1% approved by the Senate...but the fight was over the beer tax--opponents wanted it reduced to 75 cents from 1 dollar.
****NOTE MUCH CHECK ON THIS******apparently, the regular session adopted a constitutional amendment to impose an income tax ...but it wouldn't take effect until voters accept it in the november elections of 1938.****
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24 June 2001
Found more background info on the law of 1935 and 1937 from
The Old Line State . The 1935 Bill was developed because the state needed tp raise an extra 5 million dollars to match a Federal grant for relief to the poor. Then House Speaker, a democrat from Baltimore, Emanuel Gorfine introduced a bill calling for the first retail sales tax in the history of Maryland. The bill passed the House by a slim margin but was killed in the senate. Gorfine then changed the retail sales tax bill to a gross sales tax--"thus eliminating the requirement that the levy be passed on to the consumers. The whole cost would, instead, be absorbed by the sellers of the taxed commodities"(434). The bill also had the support of Senate President Lansdale G. Sasscer of Prince George's County. The law would be effective for only one year unless re-enacted, which it wasn't. Although Governor Nice was blamed for the gross sales tax, it was never his idea and he was never consulted by Sasscer or Gorfine.
The 1937 income tax law was passed during a special session of the General Assembly. The Governor had vetoed the previous bill and so was forced to call the session to introduce a new bill that would "produce relief revenues sufficient to finance for the next two years, the social security and relief problems of the state." (HOuse and Senate Journals, Extraordinary Session, April-May 1937, p. 21). Although he hot a lot of heat for the gross sales tax, he reintroduced a minor version of it in the special session...but even he realized that was doomed to fail (see the newspaper article notes above).
Additionally, the Governor had vetoed the previous bill namely because of the legalization of bookmaking. Although the Governor had initially seemed pleased with the idea, the uproar over the anti-gambling contingent and the Church forced him to reconsider (especially since he was planning to run again).
26 June 2001
Scanned and linked "Comptroller's Office put on modern basis" (1 1/2 hours)
From the Evening Capital:
Maryland voters were to decide on election day whether to accept a constitutional amendment permitting a graduated income tax. The Capital writes, "[Voters would decide to] make constitutional the passage by the legislature of an income tax, classified, graduated, progressive and for the allowing of reasonable exemptions. This is an amendment to the Maryland Bill of Rights, not the Constitution Proper" (Sept 30, 1937). The proposed graduated income tax amendment was voted down that year as was another proposed amendment legalizing lotteries.
From The Southern Maryland Times :
Complete unofficial figure for the graduated tax amendment vote was 99,757 against, 82,047 for. The new governor (O'Conor) would need to find a new source of revenue.
april 16,, 1937 edition--the 1st relief bill was vetoed by the governor because it legalized bookmaking. Nice also said that the bill only brought in 3.5 million per year, 2 million 15 thousand less than what was needed. Although the paper is quick to point out that Nice himself was the one who recommended legalizing bookmaking, and then vetoed the bill on account that it was not living up to the moral standards of the people of the state (because of the legalization of bookmaking). The paper also noted that this was the 5th special session in 2 years (during Nice's term).
The Maryland Manual has the final official tally for the amendment vote---99,314 against, 79,562 for.
Found more info about the 1937 income tax law from the Evening Capital Newspapers:
It was the first income tax in Maryland history. (may 7, 1937 article writes that the whole (new) relief bill passed in the last few hours of the special session called by governor nice. The paper writes that "The House of Delegates rammed a taxation program through the Senate--over the opposition of Senators who in the past 4 sessions had controlled things legislative." The income tax portion of the bill "emerged as a serious contender" only in the last few days of the special session. In fact, one hour before the session was slated to end did the senate finally concur with the House to the whole bill (including a very controversial pinball machines tax). The final senate vote was 14-13 in favor of the bill. The paper writes that the income tax itself was discarded at one time in favor of an additional 2 cent tax on real estate. Then a day before the closing of the session, the real estate tax was scraped for the income tax. The tax was seen as a huge loss for majority floor leader Senator J. Allan Coad (who had been majority leader since 1935). He was bitterly opposed to the income tax and its eventual passage was seen as "toppling" him. The tax was expected to bring in 1/3 of the estimated 5 million dollars the relief bill needed to bring in, but there was some doubt, especially in the comptroller's office (May 8th article) as to whether the bill would raise enough money for the relief fund. Nice signed the bill, although again he raised his "personal" objections to the tax on the pinball machines, seeing it as a legalization of bookmaking. Additionally, this tax was NOT the one that was to be put on the ballots as a constitutional amendment referendum. This tax was a FLAT .5 of 1% tax--the other one involved a progressive tax.
Also--I tracked down Gordy's will, just out of morbid curiousity. It is very straight forward. He left everything to his wife and even had his business (Gordy insurance company) giving her a "salary/pension" of 3,000 a year after his death. It is on microfilm under cr68-3 jah#3 page 553.
27 June 2001
Scanned and linked Gordy's will. Scanned a copy of a corporate tax return from the comptroller's files. Looked through the comptroller's correspondence records for more feedback on the taxes of 1935 and 1937. found nothing really of interest. Copied The Capital newspaper accounts about the 1935 and 1937 bill.
28 June 2001
Scanned and linked some of the Capital's newspaper clippings about the 1935 and 1937 bill. Still need to complete those. Also, went through more of the comptroller's correspondence--found more tax sheets/reports and a letter of Gordy's to a person asking for employment--thought it might indicate the workload the office took on after the 1937 income tax bill passed.
9 July 2001
Scanned more newspaper clippings and correspondence of the comptroller's...MUST POST TO SITE.
10 July 2001
Linked the scanned images and correspondence to Gordy's sources.html page. (1/2 hour)
Looked through the Governor's correspondence files of 1920-1938--found some interesting things:
**Nice was in favor of a sales tax in 1935...which then got modified by the legislature into a gross receipts tax. although Nice didn't support it, he eventually did sign it into law. Letters and telegrams poured into his office begging him to veto the bill, calling it an unfair tax. Although some were in favor of the gross receipts tax, the overwhelmingly majority of the letters preferred the proposed 2% sales tax to the 1% gross receipts tax. Additionally, the Governor Nice had a specific file set up entitled "proposed Tax Sources" where letters sent to the governor with ideas aboout how to raise money were filed. Interesting to note--within these letters many people called for a tax on gambling, which Nice may have then used to recommend to the legistature--only to get lambasted by the public for "legalizing" bookmaking (this may explain his apparent reversal on his proposed gambling tax).
**Also, Nice got so inundated with complaints against the gross receipts tax that he started sending out form letters (rather terse) explaining that the idea was not his and he was not responsible for its implementation.
**In 1934...Maryland was forced by the federal government to put up 1/2 of the costs of the state's relief activities--maryland's share totaled 9 million dollars. According to the Baltimore Sun, Ritchie at the time (june 2) immediately went about trying to see how he could raise the funds. Despite recommendations of sales tax, income tax or lottery...relief rolls were cut and bonds were issued to fund the rest.
11 July 2001
put notes on ecpclio comptroller chronology...finished up Gordy/tax laws researchh.
12 July 2001
Started research on Harrington. Skimmed through his annual reports and the bio info on him so far. Am looking through comptroller's correspondence now...looks like the state's finances were in bad shape--debt and low revenues and late payments.
16 July 2001
Did tour of the state house.
18 July 2001
Went to UMCP...found the Baltimore Sun index and several stories on E.C. harrington, including a bio/editorial on his life. Tried doing searches through other newspapers, but they didn't have indeces so it proved harder than it was worth.
19 July 2001
Continues Baltimore Sun search. Also looked at the Baltimore News American, but they only had a file on E.C. Harrington, Jr.--Harrington's son, who eventually became state tax commissioner.
31 July 2001
Baltimore Sun June 5, 1912: "Harrington Man of Grit"
This editorial/biography serves as an endorsement for Harrington as the Democratic candidate for Governor. The paper describes his early childhood was on a Dorchestor farm with "comfortable living and clean thinking, but little else." Harrington is credited with having an indomitable will--a gift "that is almost as easily established as the fact that his life work has not been handicapped by the gift of beauty."
Harrington's story is presented as a good, but poor boy pulling himself up by his bootstraps, sticking to his guns, and getting the girl everyone dreams of (who coincidentally was a student in the high school in which he served as principle).
One of Harrington's most controversial moves involved Howard County's John F. O'Malley. O'Malley had been voted by the Board 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. However, later in that legislative session, O'Malley was arrested and charged with offering a bribe to Delegate Smallwood, of Prince George's County, to vote against the Local Option bill of the Anti-Saloon League. A legislative committe investigated, and although the testimony had been somewhat contradictory,recommended that the case be rederred to the Anne Arundel State's Attorney's Office and the grand jury. The charges were later dismissed by the grand jury. O'Malley at this point wished to take the post of State Auditor, but the Attorney-General (Poe) ruled that since O'Malley hadn't taken the oath within 30 days of election, he had to be re-elected. At this point, Harrington refused to re-elect O'Malley. Despite enormous pressure, Harrington never budged.
1-2 August 2001
Worked on writing biographies of Gordy and Harrington...worked on writing the histyory of the 1935 and 1937 tax laws.
7 August 2001
Finished Gordy and tax laws bio...worked on Harrington...need to add his years as governor.
