The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1901-09-20
REPUBLICAN PROMISES.

Io| u ytHtFHttoA OtHHu u J0F worse
DISTINGUISHING election tar than the IN
-1mericaH Tar are are pledgcd to re-
peal"
The new ballot law is thus character
lied as "l0l-American, but We are not
told what "un-American" means in
this connection. That i very con-
venient way in which to deal with
great question, because by not defining
the expressions employed, the trainers
of the platform are left free to adopt
such meaning as may suit their pur-
poses at different times. In what par
tlcular is the ballot law ml-American?
And what j. an Ua-American election
law? The law at which this indefinite
accusation is hurled l. not even cor
rectly desc ibeG 1t i not correct to
call it an election law, for it deals
mainly with the form of the official
ballot without interfering, except in
one or two minor details, with the
election law. In the sense that it has
some relation to election it may be an
election law, but its principal purpose
was to regulate the form of the ballot
without disturbing the dt tails of the
elerti law. But whe en- is it 'un-
Americana Does it require an educa-
tional qualification? 1t d es not say
50, att if il be conceded, n maintained
10y the persons who opposed its adop-
ton, that ii does in effect prescribe
such qualification, then we still fail
to zee how that circumstance makes
the law ",nj-Amcrican - We do not
admit that the new ballot law adds any
qualification, to those which are con
taiu,d explicitly or implicitly within
the Stale Constitution. But proceed
Ing upon the assumption that it does
a.d that il was intended to do 80, how
does that f,ct catl>4 the law to be jl,-
America? That the addition Of new
quaitic. tjuuS would cause the law to
be- uncon,titati nal we can readily ste,
but to Toe n-Americn is quite another
thing, II we understand the office of
the prefix "un' whom coupled to an
adjective it Is to designate the absence
of the quality deuol,d 10y the naked
adjective An election iaw which is
un-Ape,ican is co sequently law
which d q not plsSe>s the qualities
possessed by an American elect II law.
But if any America election law pre-
scribe, educational qualifications, then
il is evident that au election law pre-
seriting educational qualifications is
nat un-Am rican ia that particular
Are there any American election laws
which do prescribe an educational
qualification? Speaking with exact
ne-s, there i no such thing as an IN
American election law, because there
IS II such hing as its opposite, viz:
An America election Law which pre-
scribes the qualifications of voters.
There are numerous laws, organic and
statutory, IN America, which define
and prescribe these qualifications tut
they are It laws Of America as ma
tion-they are not national law s-but
they are separate laws of the several
States of the Union, dealing With
subiec, over which the States as States
alone have control Election laws,
which prescribe the qualifications of
voters, are, therefore, state laws, and
hot Americ Il laws further than that
they are The laws adopted by American
States. If, then, in any of the Amer.
lean S'ates-aud we viii narrow it to
the states Of the N and exclude
the States of Central and South Amer
ica-.tere are lection laws which PIE
scribe Al educational qualification for
voters, and if such laws can be called
American laws it Is certainly not ac-
curate TO say that the Maryland law
Is un-American because il does the
same thing We need - no farther
than the State of Massachu, etts to find
an answer to the whole suggestion of
the latform, for in Massachusetts
there is an educational qualification
prescribed 10y the organic law. so an
educational qualification docs exist in
America. Is adoption in Maryland,
il it has been adopted, could not there
fore be un-American. If such a law
is un-Americau in Maryland it must
be equally un-Americau in Massachu-
sets, but we have never heard the
Massachusetts law criticised i'm that
way. The right of suffrage is regu-
lated by the several States in accord
ance with the internal poity of each
state, The qualifications Of voter
vary in the different States. Laws
fixing them are not identical, but
widely divergent. There is no uni
form system which can be said to
be an American system, and of
course there cannot be law in con
tlict with that system, and therefore
there cannot be an W7-Amercan cleo
ton law, "Un-American election law
Is merely catch-penny phrase.
The platform after much self-elori-
tication and selfcommendati II FIR the
great good claimed to have been done
to the State 10y the Republican party
during its four years Of control from