The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-01-15
BACKED BY THE Ii. "a o. RAILROAD
COMPANY.
Some Damaging Extracts from the
Congressional Record.

themselves independent Democrats, con
troled, as they are known to be, by the b. 4
0. Railroad Company, led by John X. Cowen,
the receiver president of that corporation,
and Supported by their organ, the Baltimore
SIM. in forcing the retirement of Governor
Lowndes from the senatorial field and max
ing, as they thought they had done, the way
clear in the Republican councils for the cleo
ton of Judge Louis +. McComas to the United
States Senate, has been the subject of much
comment in political circles here. The meth
DDS resorted to by the great corporation re-
ferred to for the accomplishment of Its pur
pose has been freely criticised by both Repub-
cans and Democrats. The attitude of the
Baltimore Sun, which has assumed the role
of Republican organ, in severely critcSing
the Baltimore city delegates who bolted the
Republican caucus to prevent the cOnsumma-
ton of this scheme, has excited lively ridi
Guile because of the laughable contrast it pre-
SCENTS with the former attitude of the same
organ, when 1t pretended 10 be Democratic,
in its unsparing condemnation OF the rule of
king Caucus and its adulation of the pa
triots who had the independents" to defy
his edictS
Judge McComaS. having thus been put Tor
ward a. the successor Of Senator German. it
will no doubt be Il matter Of timely interest to
MARYLAND Democrats and all other conserva-
tive citizens and especially to the members
of the Legislature. who will be called upon TO
ratitv the above decree. 10 have reproduced
from the Congressional Record some Of the
gems OF patriotic thought contained in that
Slatesman'S noted speech III the Fitty-lrSl
Congress in advocacy of that now admittedly
wicked measure. the Force Bill.
i few brief extracts from that noted speech.
such aS the limited space of this article will
permit. follow They will serve to Illustrate
tie rcckle>SneSs of his statements aHd the in
temperance OF his conclusions. as well Il, the
inconsistency into which he involved himself.
and will throw much light upon his character
aud caIIbrc as Il statesman.
After making Il sweeping condemnation OF
the fairness of congressional elections III the
South. and strongly juStilying the wholesale
expulsion of Democrats from that Congress
in order to make a Republican majority. he
adducod the following alleged fact from his
own state in support Of his position. He said ::
Mr.. Speaker. in the fifth district of Mary
land Mr.. Mudd was elected. but the ccrili-
cate. c0Hhu,y 10 the 0ctU0I iordi djSiri"i r.
"l.nx. WAS given to his opponent.
The records of the Mudd- Compton contest
prove this statement to have been absolutely
erroneous and without foundation. The qUe>-
ton then ariSeS-I$ ii member Of Congress
who would thus recklcssly and for partisan
purposes upon the floor "t that body prefer
an mtoundcd charge OF such extraordinary
gravity against the GovernSr of his own state
fit man to represent the State of Maryland
in the nircd States Senate?
Then. rs Il further Justification for the
coercive partisan methods contemplated 10y
the Force Bill, Mr.. McComas took his text
on the Australian ballet law enacted by the
li,,,,
which he spoke as follows:
In MARYLAND the scheme 10 rob the Rcpub-
Iican counties of local home rule has gladu-
ally centralized the power rghtfully belong
ing to the people i'll the control of officials of
the dominant Democratic party. Public sen
tmcnt, goaded by sense Of frauds in cleo
tionS. demanded an Australian ballot law.
The last Democratic Legislature gave some
SORT of Australian ballot law. but deity cheated
the people by robbing the counties of their
right of self government by robbing the peo-
pie "f the counties of the right to choose their
own Judges Of election. Where is my elo-
qucnt friend from New Jersey Mr.. McAdooJ
who has Just talked of that right rs an inner.
cnt personal right?
Mr.. Herbert. Will the gentleman permit
me to say that this bill authorizes the sending
of supervisors. who are to be the Judges of
another to he the Judges Of election in coun-
ties where they have never set foot before.
Does the gentleman Justify that on his plea of
home rule?
Mr.. McComaS. tell the gentleman that
when the people at home are robbed of the
right To Judge Of the election Of their local
officers and that right is placed in the hands
OF a partisan Governor. it is good time for
the Federal Judiciary, partisan. holding
their offices for life to be possessed of the
power under some law to put men to watch
the action of such partisan officials. and that
they may not take away honesty in national
elections when they take from the people
the power of local home rule as has been done
in Maryland.
Here il is to he observed that the particu-
lar feature Of the Maryland election law TO
which Mir. McCOmaS took such serious cXcep-
ton, and upon which he justified heroic action
by the Federal Government. was that feature
OF the Australian law authorizing the appoint
ment of the boards of election Supervisors
lnew tnctionaries first brought into existence
by the Australian SYSTEM by the Governor of
the state. The authority Of the Governor for
the appointment of these officers extended to
all the counties of the state. as well as Balt-
more city, and was not limited to the half
dozen counties then controlled by the Repub-
licans, as implied by Mr.. McComas sweep
ing remarks.
But to illustrate the fragrant inconsistency
OF Mr.. McComas position upon this point it
has only TO be recalled that when. in 1896.
the Maryland Republicans found themselves
in control Of the Governor and Legislature
and undertook TO enact an election law. they
not only invested their partisan Governor
with this same power Of appointing election
supervisors, which Mr.. McComas so severely
condemned but, by trick in their law, and
through the cOnnivance of Republican State
Senators, gave the DempcratS no representa-
ton al all upon the boards of Baltimore city
and III several of the counties. No breath of
protest has been heard from Mr. McComas in
regard to this action of his own party. 1t is
at the hands of Legislature elected under
that law that Mr. McComas is now seeking
election to the United States Senate:
After having thus misrepresented his own
state Mr. McComas directed his invective
against the election laws of South Carolina
with the same method Of reckless statement.
boldly asserting that an Eight ballot box
law had been invented by the Democrats for
the purpose of cheating the negroes out of
their votes But the falsity of his statement
was promptly exposed by Mr. Tillman, of
South Carolina, who said:
MT. speaker, 90 not ike TO hear my
state slandered and the existence of laws
alleged to be of force there that are not of
force and never have been of force and never
will be with our consent. Sir the eight bal
lot box law which you criticise so severely
was the election law of South Carolina from
shortly after the Revolutionary war down @
the Civil war, and we merely re-enacted it
since the Democrats recovered control of the
state.
Somewhat disconnected by this prompt
relutation, Mr.. McComas gave up his plan of
further REORGANIZATION and contented him
self with the following sweeping condemna
ton of the old slave holding states, against
which he admitted the Force Bill was directed:
81 will not weary You by recounting the
other old slave states which have taken home
rule away from the people to secure pure
white mans government and exclude the
blacks. While the national government has
been sitting idly by all over the south has
occurred reactionary movement toward the
medieval restrictions of slavery. By the
south | mean every state wherein until the
war slavery poisoned its institutions and non