Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-14
Indignant Protests Against the New
Maryland Election Bill.
DEMOCRATIC ILLlTERAfES MAY VOTE
No Comparison With the Massa-
chusetts Restrictions.
HASTE" SCORED

r
the consideration of the Gorman-Poe cleo
ton bill the adverse comments upon the
project to remodel the suffrage system for
the benefit Of the democratic machine
grow in emphasis and plain speaking. The
Baltimore American, answering the sugges-
ton that the democrats propose merely to
follow the Massachusetts, example by limit
ing the suffrage to llterates. says:
ut certainly is shame that such fine
old commonwealth as Massa chusetts should
be shouldered with the responsibility for
any such outrageous election law as the
democratic bosses propose to put on the
statute books of Maryland. The New Eng
land measure. with its educational qualfh-
cations. bears about the same resemblance
to the law now at Annapolis that an hon
est man bears to a crook. If a Massachu-
sets legislature. either in regular or in
extra session. ever attempted to foist such
a law upon the people of that state there
would be a revolt among the people that
would shake old Bunker Hill monument
from its base to it's summit.
mo, that law is not of the New England
brand. 1t is a Maryland article. turned cut
from a Baltimore factory, run by demo
cratic bosses who have in years gone by
put on the statute books laws with more
snakes In them than the good St. Patrick
ever drove out of Ireland. Let the bosses
be at least decent in this matter. Stop
making Massachusetts a scapegoat for this
iniquitous measure. Let the country know
that it is of home manufacture. machine
made and intended for the suppression of
the suffrage and the perpetuation of the
power of the BOSSES.
No Comparison.
The Philadelphia Press, commenting on
the disturbance over the border. takes the
same line of argument:
The attempt is made to assert that the
Maryland democrats in cutting Off the
iliterate vote are doing more than the
Massachusetts republicans have done for
years. Those who make this argument are
either misinfOrmed or malicious When it
was provided by clause in the Ma 5sa-
chuSetts constitution that voters must be
able to read it was also provided that this
qualification should not apply to any Hitter
ates who were then voters. Such men We're
permitted to vote as long as they lived but
all new voters were warned that they must
be literates. Again, the Massachusetts bal
lot law contains no provision allowing
county boards OF supervisors to arrange
the names of candidates for every office
under the designation of the office as they
please The Maryland bill does contain such
provision and under it democratic super
visOrs can place the names Of democratic
candidates first and the names of other
candidates of other parties in a different
order in different countless and have demo-
cratic illiterates coached accordingly be-
comparison between the situations in Massa-
chusetts and in Maryland, and those who
try TO draw one in order to excuse ex-Sena-
tor Germans attack on the suffrage only
advertise their poverty In argument"
Indecent Haste"
The Baltimore News thus protests
against the indecent haste of the demo-
Gratis in rushing the bill through the legis-
lature.
NO honest man can pretend to deny
that the purpose of the bill is the practi-
cal disfranchisement of illiterates and no
honest man can deny that such dsfran-
chisement is in violation of the purpose of
the constitution of the state of Maryland.
To make the change honestly, it ought to
be bi ought about by an amendment of the
constitution. The plan by which it is to
be effected-if effected at all-is the enact
ment of a DISTINGUISHING law. through a
strict party vote in the senate, without a
single vote to spare. the legislature being
called in extra session for the purpose,
and the issue having never been before the
people at all when the legislature was
elected.
This is bad enough and repellant enough
to all notions of fair play and responsible
politics. But the managers in charge of
the democratic members of the general
assembly are not content with this. For
some reason, doubtless considered s,Ifi-
cient by them. they have felt that there
would be an advantage in rushing the bill
through in the shortest possible timy. Ac-
cordingiy, they do not balk at demanding
the previous question and ordering a vote
in the house of delegates before the minor
ity have been given a sembiance of chance
adequately TO present their objections. So
outrageous was the proposition that seven
democrats besides the FIVE who voted
against the bill-twelve democrats in all
voted against the application of the gag
yesterday. The indecent haste with which
the bill is being put through is in perfect
harmony with the false pretenses upon
which the whole scheme is based.
How Democratic IIliterates May Vote
There is no lack of exposures Of various
methods whereby. under the proposed law,
democratic election supervisors can permit
illiterates of their party to vote while pre-
venting republican illterates. One such
scheme was explained by Mr. VIM. Rey
nolds In an argument against the bill be-
fore the Senate committee. He said:
The provision Of the proposed law which
authorizes the supervisors of elections in
every county and in Baltimore city to
range the names of candidates for every
office under the designation of the office in
such uniform order as they shall deter
mine for their counties or city would en-
able them Gf democrats) to place the
names of the democratic. candidates first
under the name of the Office in every case.
and the names of the candidates of all
other parties in a different order for every
county ana IN a 011efent order under every
office in the same county; so that any man
unable to read could easily vote for the
whole democratic ticket by marking the
first name in every list Of candidates under
each office, but could not mark his ballot
so as to vote for either the republican or
the prohibition or the social labor ticket
because he would not know how far down
upon the list or in what order the candi-
dates of these other parties were placed"
The Baltimore News, commenting on this
exposure says:
Every senator who votes for the enact
ment of this bill with this provision in it
votes for a measure of barefaced rascaltty
The most shameless OF them will be unable
to pretend that this device serves the pur-
pose either Of secrecy in voting or of in
dependence. 1t is meant to make 1t pos
sible for absolute illiterate to vote the
straight party ticket Of the dominant party
without any trouble, while to vote any
other straight ticket or a mixed ticket will
require intelligence and care That bill
professedly framed in the interest of honest
elections should contain such tricks as this
ought to be enough to turn the stomach of
an honest man."
The Stencil Scheme.
The American publishes an article Illus