The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-12-19
HOW THE ELECTION WAS CARRIED.

The report of the Executive Com
mittee of the Reform League contains
much interesting matter, but the por-
ton of greatest immediate import
ance to the people of Maryland is
that which exposes the way in which
the extra-session election law was
operated to disfranchise many thou
sands of voters. Different methods
were adopted in different places, but
always the method was such that the
Republicans were sure to bear the
brunt of the ballot destruction.
The very number of rejected bal
lots is, in itself, sufficient indict-
ment of the election, and of the pass
age of the law which paved the way
for such an election. In Baltimore
city the number of rejected ballots
was about 1000, in the counties about
$1,000. Think of it An army of
$4,000 citizens who went to the polls
and deposited their ballots was wiped
out as completely as if they had been
locked up in their houses and kept
there till the election was over. The
thing is preposterous. Even lift came
about without any downright evil
intent, the throwing out of SO great
number of votes would evidently re-
duce an election which there was any
reason to believe was going to be a
close Que to a struggle between OPP
posing party representatives at the
polling places, instead of an ascertain
ment of the peoples will. But there
was evil intent, and deliberate dis
reimbursement of Republican voters,
without distinction of color, by meth
DDS arranged in advance by the Dem
ocratic politicians. That this was so
is shown clearly enough by the Re-
form Leagues exhibit of the facts,
and some idea is also obtainable of
the extent to which the dishonest
methods operated.
1t might at first blush be supposed
that any scheme to throw out ballots
otherwise than by downright fraud
could not be worked to the special
advantage of either party, because,
as soon as it was started, the judges
of the opposing party could retaliate.
Under the law, it takes a majority of
the judges to accept a ballot, and,
since the judges are evenly divided
between the parties, if the Democrats
began to play the game of throwing
out Republican ballots on frivolous
pretexts, the Republicans could re-
taliate by throwing out Democratic
ballots for the same reasons. But the
Democratic plot took this fully into
account, and it was only in Republi-
can precincts that they pushed the
throwing game hard. OF course,
in precinct in which the great bulk
of the votes was Republican, the
Democrats might well afford to lose
their share of votes thrown out on a
fiimsy tecnichality, if they could de-
prive the Republicans of the much
larger number which they would lose
upon the same basis. The Reform
League presents a statistical exami-
nation of the number of rejected bal
lots, which shows that the percentage
of such ballots steadily increased as
the groups of precincts examined, or
the counties considered, were of a
more Republican composition. To
show that it was not the negro vote
particularly that was aimed at, the
instance is cited of the Eleventh pre-
cinct of the Thirteenth ward of Balti-
more city, in which there are not half
dozen colored men registered. This