Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-19
The Maryland Election Law.

The new Maryland election law was tried
at Frederick the other day, and the re-
suit was somewhat surprising. The Hitter
ates were not at the disadvantage 1t was
Intended that they should be. Many OF
them mastered the difficulties of the bal
lot and recorded themselves correctly for
candidates of their choice. Several old
negroes ex-slaves who had never learned
to read. declared that the new ballot gave
them no more trouble than the old had
done. The democrats elected the mayor
and the republicans the city register, so
that both parties had reason to feel that
their efforts to get their votes in had sue
cecded
The New York Evening Post which at
the time of its passage criticised the new
law severely, apologies for that attitude
in the light of the Frederick returns, and
sees great good flowing from the education
al requirements of the statute. And yet
tory of the situation:
Names upon the ballot are arranged
alphabetically for each office, the name
of the candidate in every instance being
followed By the name of his party. This
is in a sense an educational test. bnt II
was Droyed at Frederick yesterday that
the fIIiterate black republican or the Hit
crate white democrat can be instructed so
as to distinguish his candidate Tor eacn
office BY the appearance of the word de-
scribing his party-aS, for instance, that
democratic has a round letter the fourth
from the start. and that republican has
one letter which drops in part below the
iine.'
So then IL comes to this. Illiterate DEM
ocrats have but TO remember that a letter
appears IN the word introducing their cam
didates which is round, like bulls-eye.
while republican iliterates have but to
observe that in the word introducing their
candidates one of the letters drops In
part below the line" Is that education?
Is IL likely to lead to education? All could
hope to see education follow, but is such
result likely? Are unfortunate men VINO
have been Stigmatized by this law reason
ably to be expected to apply themselves
very diligently to study when they may
Justify themselves for the suffrage by a
little exercise of memory and mother wit,
such as the Evening Post describes? And
are the men who voted in this way at
Frederick the other day any better citi-
zens. or any better qualified to judge, as
between candidates, than when they voted
under party eTnblems in November last?
Have not indeed the letter 90 and the
letter p" become in effect party emblems?
It will be the very poetry of justice If
this law. which originated In trickery,
shall fail of its real object through trick
reading of the ballot!
1t is related of the famous Richard Tur-
Din that after one of his exciting holdups
he was asked why he led such a life. He
replied in a pleasant way: My friend he
said. ''yOu sometimes hear me spoken OF
as a highwayman and bad man. Such
words do me great injustice. l am acting
purely in the interests of the English peo-
pie. They need to be aroused. Their fight
ing spirit is dropping 1 have observed 1t
with pain and surprise. We are a mill
tary people, and we must keep on edge. So
/ have decided to make the roads unsafe,
and force everybody to carry arms. l want
to see the English blood up once more
D. Mr. Turpin, who finally pulled UP at the
end OF a rope was a man of humor. But
not of heartier humor than that possessed
by those who see education and good gov
eminent as the object of the Maryland
election law.