The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-04-04

/ diency had trained their representa-
| tives in the Legislature to believe that
| it W right to gain party advantage
at the expense of the dearest rights OF
the people.
SEWER BILL LIKE ELECTION BILL.
The sewerage bill resembles its i'll
featured brother. This measure, so
vitality affecting the people of Balti-
more and involving the expenditure
of many millions of dollars, becomes
a personal question. We were in IA
yor of bill to enable the city of Bal
timore to construct a sewerage sys-
TEN, and a proper bill could have
been passed with opposition. We be-
lieve that we represented the people
OF Baltimore, irrespective of party,
when we strenuously opposed making
this great work a part of Il political
deal and practically placing into the
hands of one man this great power as
reward for his aid in taking from
many thousand freemen their right
to vote, for the benefit of the other
party to the deal. We believe that
the Commission should be broad
gagged and non-partisan. 1t is ask
ing too much of our credulity to ex-
pect us to believe that Commission
selected as result of a political deal
will be kept out of politics. No valid
reason can be given why the Com
mission should not be composed of
men of experience in large and varied
enterprises. 1t must be borne in mind
that mistake in judgment might be
as serious in it's consequences as an
unworthy motive.
THE COSTLY STATE CENSUS.
I'VE earnestly and consistently ia
vored veritication of the census and
were ready to aid in every effort to
have the same placed above suspicion.
We advocated leaving the whole mat
ter to the discretion of the Governor,
and that he be given full power to
satisfy himself of the correctness of
the census, even If an entirely new
enumeration of the population of the
State was necessary. We believe that
the Governor would have found that
this could have been accomplished
without expense to the State. The
act of Congress authorizing the tax
ing of the Twelfth Census provides as
follows: Whenever it shall appear
that any portion of the enumeration
and census provided for in this act
has been negligently or improperly
taken, and is by reason thereof in
complete or erroneous, the director of
the census may cause such incom-
plete and unsatisfactory enumeration
and census to be amended or made
anew, under such methods as may, in
his discretion, be practicable The
only publication of the census men
toned in this law is the volumes re-
ferred to in Section Z, and the direc-
tor is allowed until July l, 1902, to
make it. These volumes haye not yet
gone to the printer The census bull
letins are merely tentative, and invite
criticism. The returns made to Con-
gress last December merely for Con-
gressional apportionment and We're
not final for any other purpose. In
December, 1901. President Jefferson,
in a message to Congress, after the
census had been returned to it, sub
stituted corrected return for Mary
land. We were not shown that the
Governor made the slightest effort to
secure from the Federal government
what the law requires it to give, nor
was the Democratic party willing to
get it. before incurring such an ex-
pense, so bent were they on party
spoils.
BALTIMORE CITY GERRYMANDERED
1.-The gerrymandering bill for Bal
timore city is another example of the
motives of the men responsible for
the extraordinary session. The Leg
islatiye districts are no longer to be
compact and composed of contiguous
wards, SO that the sentiment of the
people in the several sections of the
city may be properly represented in
the Legislature.
''At the session of 1898 the Republi-
cans insisted that the rate for State
taxation could and should be reduced,
and were only prevented from so do
ing by the firm opposition of the
Democrats and their threat to block
legislation in the closing days of the
session. In 1900 the Republicans like
wise insisted on such reduction, but
the Democrats were only willing to
begin it in 1901. Notwithstanding
their statements that further reduc-
ton was impossible and their deter
mined efforts to prevent it, the pres
ent managers of that party are will
ing, without creating additional
sources of revenue or revenues or
evincing willingness to follow up
officers who fail to account properly
with the State, to spend over 800, 900
of the peoples money far partisan