He subsequently joined the law firm Lane, Bushong, and Byron in his hometown, where he also served on the vestry of Saint John's Church.

[2] When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Lane joined the 115th Infantry Regiment as a captain and served in France during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

Since Lane had formed a friendship with Albert Ritchie, the Governor of Maryland, he was placed on the ticket and won the seat by a large margin over his Republican opponent.

[5] Subsequently, another black man, George Armwood, was arrested and charged with raping a white woman in the adjoining Somerset County and was being held prisoner by police in Princess Anne.

[6] However, a mob overran the police and kidnapped Armwood, badly beating, stabbing and mutilating him before the hanging, then burning his body in front of the nearby courthouse.

[2] The Maryland State Police and militia were called out by Governor Ritchie to assist, which resulted in further mob violence and arrests on the Eastern Shore, which damaged Lane's reputation.

Major highway improvements which had been deferred by World War II were also put in motion by Lane,[2] which were funded by the enactment in 1947 of Maryland's first state sales tax.

Additionally, his unpopular sales tax to fund road improvements had caused significant dissent in the state and was used by McKeldin to pull votes away from Lane.