The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-07-11
ADVERTISING RATES.
REMITTANCES;
THURSDAY, JULY II, 1901.
Maryland'S New Census.

nAdA A0AAA 4NNW NNhSuSs
The census just completed under
State authority in Maryland fails sig
nally to sustain the wholesale charges
of partisan manipulation which have
been brought for a year past in that
commonwealth against the Federal
enumeration of 1900. The Federal
census takers, it was contended last
winter by the Democratic State ma
chine, had entered into a conspiracy
to pad the population returns in
known Republican counties, while
denying to known Democratic coun-
ties any legitimate or natural growth.
Acting on the theory that grave in
justice would be done to Democratic
interests by any reapportionment of
representation in the House of Dele
gates under fraudulent Federal CEN
sus, the Democratic managers forced
last winter an extra session of the leg
islature, at which a new enumeration
was ordered, to govern the prospect
i've reallotment of seats in the lower
legislative branch. The results of
the State census have now been an
nounce6, and it will be confessed by
any impartial critic that in the main
they only establish the integrity of
the original count.
In two counties in Southern Mary
land-St. Mary's and Anne Arundel
the attention of the Federal authori-
ties had already been called to the
padding of census returns, and pros
ecutions were begun in the Federal
courts against several offending
enumerators long before the results
of the new State census could be
known. 1t was to be expected that
in these two counties material de-
crepancies between State and Federal
figures would appear. In only one of
them, however, does the margin of
difference turn out to be really ma
terial, Anne Arundel having 5,21S
more inhabitants under the first
count than under the second. But as
many hundreds of transient berry
pickers were added to this county's
population in July, 1900, who had
not arrived for their brief working
season in May, 1901, it may be easily
taken for granted that the discrep-
ancy now disclosed was not due Who'll
ly or mainly to partisan fraud. The
population of the State as a whole is
found by the second army of enumer-
ators to be about II 900 below the to-
tai announced last year by the Fed
eral authorities. But as the Federal
enumerators received fixed sum for
each name reported, and the State
enumerators were paid by the day
for their labors, it is easy to imagine,
as the Baltimore Sun suggests, that
the State agents, having no special
1nducement to collect all available
names, did not return the fullest pos
sible roll of the States population.
Only trifiing readjustment of rep
resentation III the House of Delegates
will result from the later census. By
virtue of the Federal enumeration
seven counties gained seats in the
lower branch of the legislature. These
were Anne Arundel, Charles, Kent,
Montgomery, Prince Georges, st.
Mary's and Washington. All these
but Montgomery and Kent are usual
ly Republican. Under the State CEN
sus Anne Arundel, Kent, Charles and
st. Mary's fall a few hundred in pop
ulation below the limit set for addi-
tional membership. Dorchester, how
ever, gains a delegate; so that four
new seats will have to be distributed. |
OF these one will go to Democratic
county, Montgomery; one to debat-
able one, Dorchester, and two to nor
mally Republican ones, Washington
and Prince Georges. Under the new
census it will, therefore, be practical
ly as difficult as ever for the Demo-
cratic machine to capture this fall
that legislative majority through
which it hopes to insure Mr.. Germans
return to the United States Senate.