The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-06-04

~ IL L ~ VI ~ Il
into renewed allegiance naturally welcomed a
system which promised to place the illiterate
Negroes under the strict surveillance of their
partsans. But the trainers of the law so far
respected the just apprehensons of the South
crn MARYLAND Democrats that they bound the
ballot clerk, who was assist the illiterate
voter, with rigid oath not to disclose the
knowledge thus obtained, which he was
quircd to make and subscribe. The oath was
contained in subsection 1872 OF section OF the
Election Law Of 1890, and read follows,
Il will not attempt ascertain save in
cases and in the manner in which ! am author
lied by the law to do, for what candidate or
candidates any person shall vote. or has voted
or how any person shall vote. or has voted, on
any question which may be. may have been,
submitted to the vote OF the people. and il
such knowledge shall be acquired by in the
performance of my duty l will not directly. or
indirectly, by word act, divulgc reveal
the same aid in doing so. save when | may
be required to do so by law in some legal pro-
ceedng, and | will in all things faithfully exc
cute the duties OF my office of ballot clerk &C
cordng to the best of my knowledge. without
favor partiaty. help me God"
This oath, although 1t may not have eNcr-
c:scd very obligatory force the conscience
OF some of the partisan ballot clerks. yet the
penalties OF perjury. which its violation
imposed, served to deter them from making
any vindctive or puntory of Their knowl-
edge thus acquired. The colored voter, soon
came to understand this. ard so the unlltlown
and undiscoverable detection OF color>d tiers
from the Republican ranks in Southern Mary,
land continued under the operation of The new
law with the reSu1t of cuDfiu,ItI li-a -ttr q
Republican supremacy in that section q the
State.
Therefore. when the Republican p2rty sunt.
itself in control of the State gov ernment upon
Il c assembling of its Legislature in t'>@, Il,
necessity OF making the eection law tent
in strumcntality for the ma n:onancc Of tier
party supremacy the chief Thought IN NE
minds OF its astute partisans. To this end a
completely new election and registration !aw
was promptly introduced and Ultimately pas ed
To the accomplishment OF this partisan pur-
pose three several means lad been detcfm ned
upon:
l. To dispense with obligation to secrecy on
the part of those who marked tie ballots OF the
tcrates. and thereby subject the 5'.coo Negro
voters the surveillance of their white leaders
and thus to restore the old state OF affairs IN
Southern Maryland and solid.fy the Negro vote
throughout the State.
2 To revoke the restrictions imposed by the
registration law of 1890 upon the colonization
of Washington Negroes into the adjacent coun-
ties of Maryland
g. To subject the counties to a wholly unnec-
essary new registration of all voters. which in
1882 had proved to be such partisan advan-
tage to their party-by reason of the fact that
while many white voters neglected to register,
the Negroes all registered with superstitous
punctuality.
The draft of this important partisan measure
is understood to have been the work of Mr..
John c. Rose. of Baltimore. who appears TO
have had for his aid and adviser Mr.. Sydney
F. Mudd, of Charles county who became
Speaker of the House OF Delegates Rose
might be appropriately designated the Johnny
Davenport of Maryland. in compliment to his
astute. interchangeable and uncomfortable par
tisanship; but he ingeniously hides all these &C
complishments under the veil and garb of 4
devout "reformer,' under which hypocrtical
disguise he has most deceitfuy imposed upon
many well meaning gentlemen in Baltimore.
known as Reform Democrats. Mudd. on
the other hand. makes such pretensons. but
delights to boast of his superior skill in max
partisan deals ana turning ponticdl trlSks-
Fully equipped by practical experience in the
actual work of corralling and intimidating the
Negro voters and thereby maintaining Negro
domination in Southern Maryland he gave
the points of partisan advantage to be secured
in the election law to the resourceful Rose
who was depended upon to give them vitality
The subsection of the illterate Negro voters
to the unrestricted surveillance of their white
local bosses and thereby to the severe disci-
pline of their and their families thus
clearly appears to have been the principal pur-
pose to be accomplished by the reform cleo
ton law presented by the Republicans This
being the case, of more direct methods
and less fnesse and diplomatic subtlety than
Mr.. Rose might have gone directly at his
work by proposing amendments to the exist
ing law, striking out the oath of the ballot
clerks and all penalties bearing upon disclo-
sure of how the terates cast their votes. But
this would have revealed, even TO the apprehen-
sion of the Reform Democrats the ungany
coven foot of the partisan wolf beneath the
immaculate fleece of the innocent reform lamb;
and Mr. Rose is not accustomed to do his
work in that bungling way. Not at all. He
therefore brought forward a brand new election
law and registration law complete in all its
parts ana the entire lrllc c OF tne
code bearing that important subject and
completely dispensing with the old law. But
all the sections of this law will be scanned
in vain for any obligation the clerks who
mark the ballots of the illiterate. either by oath
penalty. not disclose the information
thus acquired. The stringent oath of the bal
lot clerk, above quoted from the act of 1890,
is conspicuous by the absence of every vestge
of it, while the penal part of the law will be
searched in vain for any penalty of disclosing
knowledge acquired in the election room. The
clerks who mark the ballots of the illiterates
take only the perfunctory oath to support the
Constitution, etc, required OF the Judges and
other officers.
Thus it is clearly made to appear that by
pealing the strict oath required of the ballot
stricton OF secrecy is removed from the officers
who supervise the voting OF the illlterates. and
the illiterate Negro voters of the State are
thereby subj ected to the strictest surveillance.
In point OF fact, proof can be adduced from the
Southern Maryland counties that this change
in the law impressed on the coored voters
in the campaign OF 1906 and they were thereby
intimidaed and solidihed at the last election.
Here we have presented to us the remarkable
anomaly, the astonishing paradox, of the $1,000
illiterate voters of the State who, in point of
fact constitute the only element of our voting
population that subject to the domination
OF controlling influence. being subjected to
the strictest scrutiny, the most complete
pionage and surveillance of the very influence
by which they are dominated and belonging
exclusively to one political party, under color
Of the Australian ballot system, the essential
principle and office OF which is exactly the
verse OF the function II is made to exercise in
Maryland elections. The question arises, did
any political party outside of the carpet bag
governments OF the Southern States ever make
such a shameful abuse of its power this?
Was any such audacious fraud this
DraCtICed a self reSDeCtlnp people bV
political party without prompt punishment be
ing visited upon it? The audacity Of this fraud,
in making the very machinery designed for the
emancipation of the dependent do duty
for his ensavement, is certainly complimentary
to the courage OF its authors; but mistake
the temper OF the good people of Maryland if
they are disposed to reward this particular kind
of courage.
Another notable feature of this extraordinary
trick in partisan legislation is the manifesly