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urers. Now this is a compliment to the
present system. The reason is that the
treasurer has constitutional dignity. He
is elected by the legislature. It is an honor
to serve the office. The monetary rewards
are incidental because the treasurer has
only been paid $2500. Maryland gets the
best at bargain prices.
I urge this convention to adhere to the
present system and to place the state treas-
urer in the constitution so that he will be
available to act as a legislative representa-
tive if the legislature so determines.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any ques-
tions of the minority spokesman?
Delegate Robey.
DELEGATE ROBEY: You mentioned
the fact that the treasurer is indeed the
representative of the legislature and he,
therefore, sits on the Board of Public
Works in that position.
I would wonder if you could explain to
me now in your position as president of
the Senate the intricacies involved in how
the treasurer communicates with the lead-
ership of the legislative branch and how
the treasurer reports back to the General
Assembly the actions he has taken on the
Board of Public Works?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: Well, communi-
cation is by telephone, generally speaking,
and the minutes of the Board of Public
Works are a matter of public record. They
are available.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Robey.
DELEGATE ROBEY: The second ques-
tion I have in this area is this: usually
it is the practice that the treasurer is the
president or head of a large bank in Balti-
more. Do you see any conflict of interest
in the fact that he has this dual capacity?
THE CHAIRMAN : Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: I do not see any
conflict. One of the problems of govern-
mental life is that if you obtain a person
who knows something about a subject in
public life, he is always victim of the
charge that there is a conflict of interest.
If you put in the office of insurance
commissioner one who has knowledge of
it, he is charged with having conflict of
interest. I think this is an unfortunate
thing.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Robey.
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DELEGATE ROBEY: Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Boyce.
DELEGATE BOYCE: Delegate James,
you have spoken to the effect that the pres-
ent man is qualified and the two prede-
cessors were. You say you are getting him
for a very cheap price. I wonder if you
are really accurate? Has there been any
survey made by the legislature or the gov-
ernor or anyone in the state of Maryland
as to what the loss of interest was if the
bank balances were put out in government
securities?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: I served on the
legislative commission which in reviewing
this situation found that investment in
government securities was a losing proposi-
tion and it was better to diversify state
investment. As a consequence, with the co-
operation of the treasurer and legislature,
we invested the interest on state invest-
ments in the retirement system saving the
state several million dollars a year. So
investment in government securities would
not necessarily mean a higher rate of in-
come.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Boyce.
DELEGATE BOYCE : You have not an-
swered my question yet.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: I thought I did.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Boyce.
DELEGATE BOYCE: Has any study
been made of what the cost was to the
citizens of Maryland to get such a qualified
person by taking bank deposits and in-
vesting them in government bonds?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: No, but it would
be my view that it would be the function
of the treasurer to keep as many of the
accounts invested as possible. There are
twenty-two bank accounts. You have to
decide how fickle you are going to be.
I do not know that any particular legis-
lative investigation has been made of this
point. It may be that more funds in fact
could be invested. However, that would be
a decision that would be made by the
treasurer.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Boyce.
DELEGATE BOYCE : Thank you, Dele-
gate James. That is an answer.
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