In each of three items – the “Mass of Humanity” photo, the “Huge Majority” news article, and the “Exceedingly Proud” editorial found in the January 31 Republican – it was prominently declared or noted that an estimated 500 citizens “more than filled the auditorium of Garrett College.”
Yet the (Baltimore) Sun newspaper article for the same event cited a figure of only 200 citizens!
It is frequently observed that the powers that be in Annapolis and Baltimore give short shrift to, and frequently don’t count, the voters, or the opinions of voters, in either western Maryland or “Mountain Maryland.”
It brought to mind during this, Black History Month, that when the Founding Fathers sought to form this nation, one of the sticking points was how to allot proportional representation to southern states where slaves formed a major part of the population, hut they had no votes. It was ultimately decided that slaves represented a fraction of a free man, and therefore an agreed ratio was established by which to determine the number of representatives for southern states.
This proportional representation may still be in effect today. It would appear the haughty Baltimore Sun has determined it takes 2.5 Mountain Maryland citizens to equal one Baltimore or Annapolis citizen! No wonder the voices of Mountain Maryland and western Maryland citizens are ignored in Baltimore and Annapolis!
Sincerely yours,
Douglas Scott Arey
Cumberland
21 February 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/02/21/western-marylanders-given-short-shrift/