From Anne Arundel Town

The Chamber of Commerce of the U. S. assembled last week at Washington (see p. 25) for its 14th annual meeting. The meeting endured four days. More than 30 speakers were on the program, but of the 30 odd, there were only three politicians whom the business men chose to address them. One of them was Herbert Hoover, who is, not excepting the more generally recognized Secretary of the Treasury, the chief economic policymaker of the Administration--the former mining engineer, brilliant in his business, but with no talent for the handshaking and good fellowship which go to make the ordinary run of politicians. He spoke on "Currents in Business." Another speaker was Representative Ogden L. Mills, one of the financial experts in the House, a leader on the Ways and Means Committee, able, wealthy, polished, impatient of loose thinking as of myopic finance. He spoke on "State and Local Taxation." The third politician was not chosen from the Republican ranks, is not in the arena of national politics although standing in its doorway--the Governor of a state--Albert Cabell Ritchie of Maryland.

What he had to say was captioned, "The Relation of the States and the Federal Government." Under that title he expounded to the business men assembled that aspect of his political philosophy most likely to interest them. For he is a state rights upholder, a believer in decentralization in government, incidentally an anti-prohibitionist, but primarily a supporter of the idea of individualism in government. He declared :

"I would like to see the time when business writes a charter of American business freedom, a bill of rights of its own, to protect itself both from government and from some of its own temptations. ... If we mean anything by liberty and equality of opportunity, we mean not only that business must be free from undue interference and oppression by the government, but also that it must be free from undue entangling alliances with the government. ... If you complain of too much government in business, I answer that the solution is twofold: put more business into government and more self-government into business. . . .

"If business suffers from too much government, it is itself to blame. It has not developed self-government as it can and should. In old efforts to secure special privileges and what it conceived to be more effective security, it has helped to concentrate power in the Federal Government. I oppose that because I oppose undue concentration and usurpation of power wherever manifest, and because I think Washington cannot frame economic laws that are sure to be sound or self-operating or that can fit the diversified conditions of this diversified country. . . .

"If business ignores the States or is indifferent to the political fibre and vitality of the States, it weakens the political foundations on which its whole structure rests. It should therefore work to leave to the States what the States can do better or as well as the central government. The best political, and therefore the best economic, security business can have today is to keep political power diversified.

A few days later the active Governor of Maryland appeared in Detroit at the semiannual banquet of the Banker's Club of that city, making bold to call their attention to politics for the sake of the material and financial welfare of the country:

"I say your real protection lies in not concentrating all power at Washington, but in strengthening your States. In union may be more strength, but in diversity are growth and more safety. Do not put all your eggs in one basket politically any more than you would financially. A given Congress may do foolish things at a given time, but in 48 States the wise will always be a brake on the foolish. . . .

"With this appalling growth of overcentralization as something alien, as a medieval dispenser of power or of privilege; or as a policeman; or as a remote series of bureaus whose inspectors, spies and regulations, like the gentle rain from heaven, fall alike on the just and the unjust."

Though this doctrine is not startling,* the doctrine and the man, which can hardly be separated, have made a considerable impression. Ritchie is not merely one on a list of 48 Governors. Not only does business call him to speak to it, but politicians look on him with an appraising eye. Only recently he was called to Massachusetts and opened the campaign of former Senator David I. Walsh for reelection. If he continues to grow in public esteem, he will be a great deal more than a favorite son when the Democratic National Convention assembles in 1928.

There are several circumstances which may make a Governor prominent. One is to be Governor of a state large in size, population and wealth. Another is to be Governor of a politically dubious state, thereby showing an ability to control its electorate in the event that it should be necessary in a national election. A third is to espouse a startling issue or cause. Still a fourth is to have outstanding personal peculiarities which excite the mirth or good will of the country at large. Ritchie of Maryland has none of these circumstances in his favor to any great measure.

He hails from old-world Annapolis--Anne Arundel town/- that was--originally a Protestant settlement in a Catholic colony, still bearing its old street names (Cornhill, Prince George, Hanover, Charles, Fleet, Chancery), still rearing its old Georgian houses above the blue waters of the Chesapeake, and living in its quiet old-world way with only the bustle of the Naval Academy to disturb its tranquility. To be sure Maryland is a doubtful state politically, but that is not likely to mean much even to politicians, since it has only eight votes in the Electoral College. And Ritchie comes from Maryland, which has never furnished a President. He was born, however, in Virginia, at Richmond. His mother is a Cabell. His father was a professor and a jurist.

The things that make Ritchie prominent are several. His record in Maryland is unparalleled. As the public counsel of Baltimore, he first established his name, fighting a public service corporation. His next step was to become Attorney General of the state. In 1919 he was elected Governor. In 1923 he was re-elected by an extraordinary majority. No other Governor of Maryland ever served two terms. His campaign for re-election was as a state rights exponent and anti-prohibitionist, but he had a record to point to--reduction of the state tax rate by 25%, the inclusion of 85% of the state's employes in the Civil Service (merit system). In addition he has cultivated public esteem by frequent appearances on the platform. He has a frank business-like way that has carried him far. Besides--an extraordinary phenomenon in a politician--he is a dashing bachelor, and is exceptionally good looking. A Baltimore paper gave a handsome man contest, and the Governor won it, but his bearing is so far above vulgar considerations that today, more than six years after taking office, the people of his state do not refer to him as "Al." To top off his personality he is a bear for work, a master of the state's business by ceaseless, long-houred application. It is little wonder that he should have achieved eminence through his strange combination of characteristics--Adonis and the bear.

The list of Democratic Presidential possibilities for 1928 is already in the making and Ritchie's name is on it. On July 26 the Governors of the states will hold their annual meeting at Cheyenne, Wyo., as a compliment to Governess Nellie Taylor Ross. Governor Ritchie is to go, and the chief objects for discussion as now laid down are suited admirably to his platform: one is the increasing invasions of state rights by the government, the other is the question of economy in state governments as parallel to economy in the national government. Among the 48 Governors there are certain to be several who will figure in the politics of 1928. Although Senators draw more attention between elections, there has in all history been only one (Harding) who went straight from the Senate to the White House, but in recent years Governors have journeyed to that destination with comparative frequency--if they have something to offer their party.

Governor Ritchie, it appears, will offer favor with the business community and a few things besides: Wetness, ability and a handsome bachelor face.

*What is considerably more startling is to hear the ancient Democratic doctrine of state rights echoed from the mouths of two Republicans who spoke last week at Williamsburg, Va. :

"No plan of centralization has ever been adopted which did not result in bureaucracy, tyranny, inflexibility, reaction and decline. Of all forms of government, those administered by bureaus are about the least satisfactory to an enlightened and progressive people." --Calvin Coolidge.

"As I read our history, the safety and strength of our institutions are due not so much to the powers granted to the Federal Government as to those reserved to the States. . . ." --Ogden L. Mills.

/-Anne Arundel was the wife of the second Lord Baltimore. Its present name was given it in 1694 in honor of Princess Anne, daughter of James II.