Governor of Maryland
Crothers' tenure as governor was notable for its reform aspects. He created the State Roads Commission in 1908 to improve Maryland's road system; he pushed through a Corrupt Practices Act to create more accountability for campaign funds; and he supported the direct election of U.S. Senators (though that actually passed into law after his term). Crothers also pushed for the creation of the Public Service Commission and the State Bank Commissioner. He supported pure food laws, better care for the mentally ill, and increased taxes for collateral inheritance and automobile licenses.
He tried to reform the Baltimore Board of Police Commissioners, initiating an extensive investigation that led to charges against them. Crothers removed the three supposedly corrupt members and tried to fill their posts with chosen replacements while the originals awaited trial. However, the Maryland Court of Appeals determined that the governor did not have such power, neither to remove them or replace them before their time in court. Crothers still tried to bring the charges against them, but nothing came of it.
Crothers also supported the 1910 Digges Amendment to the Maryland Constitution, which would have used property qualifications to disenfranchise African Americans. He also barely refrained (following a public outcry) from supporting a bill which would have effectively passed the bill's requirements into law even before the people ratified it. The Amendment was rejected by the people of Maryland.
Crothers's actions led to some problems with Maryland's other politicians, including members of his own party, near the end of his time as governor. Crothers was sick when he left office in 1912, and eventually died at his home in Elkton on May 25 of that year.
His great-grandson James Crothers became a local politician of note in New Jersey and later, Brooklyn.
Read more about this topic: Austin Lane Crothers
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