The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-04-12


school fund of the State, which is ap
portioned upon population, would bt
distributed upon an unjust and unfair
basis
"The frauds in the census Of Mary
land were vigorously denied by the
Director of the National Census at the
time Governor Smith issued his prOcla
nation, but that official has since been
forced to admit that frauds have beer
committed, and a small number of his
officers have been arrested and await
trial before the United States Court
For Governor Smith to have failed tC
take action would be dereliction Oh
his part to perform high and sacred
duty
Fortunately for the people of Mary
land our Constitution authorizes q
State census to be taken by authority
of the General Assembly. That could
only be secured by convening that body
in session, which was accordingly done
The Legislature has ordered State
census, which will be taken. 1t must
however, embrace the whole State, sc
we are driven to very great expense
in order to enumerate the population
of Maryland to expose and correct the
fraudulent national census in several
counties. 1t was necess a"y to have
tue census before the next election o
members of the House of Delegates, az
otherwise the Governor would have
been compelled to issue his proclana
tion and the representation would have
been fixed on the Federal census re-
turns.
':While it is true State census will
be an expense to the people OF the
State, the mere question of cost ought
HOI W ue COIlSltteIeu NuSu Gue ltII dHu
equal representation of all the people
of the lawmaking branch of the Gov
ernment is at stake. This is one of the
foundation stones Of the Republic
and no more serious assaults could
have been made upon the sovereignty
and integrity Of the internal govern
ment of Maryland than these perverted
census returns, which were intended tc
give undue representation to certain
counties in the State The real con
spirators who are at the bottom o
these perverted census returns live in
Maryland, and they had but one object
in view-to upjustly increase theil
political power.
CORRECT REGISTRATION.
"The second matter, equal in i'm
portance and outlined in the Cover
nor's call, was to amend the Registra
tion and Election law of the State sc
as to secure the actual bona fide resi-
dents of the State full, free and fail
opportunity at each recurring election
to control their own affairs and to ex.
clude from the voting lists large mum
bers of persons who do not actually re-
side in the State, but return to vote at
election.
TO PREVENT BRIBERY.
The third subject mentioned was
to amend the Election law so as to
prevent opportunities for corruption
by the purchase of votes. AS the Gov.
ernor well says, the practical working
of our Election law, passed in 1896
demonstrates the imperative necessity
of the prompt alteration of some of its
features in order to reduce the oppor.
tunity for purchasing votes to mini
mum, and, so far as possible, prevent
it altogether by securing the absolute
secrecy OF the ballot
REDIsTRIcTING THE CITY.
Fourth In 1898, a new charter fol
Baltimore city was framed by a com.
mission composed of some of its most
distinguished citiz'ns, Republicans
Democrats and Independents. Parti
sanship was to he entirely ignored in
the framing of this charter, the only
Object being to secure government
for the city Of Baltimore which would
place it above partisan politics.
"a shrewd and intense Republican
embraced the opportunity to change
the boundaries of the wards of the city
and to rcnumber them, and at the same
time to change the lines of the Legis
lative and Councilmanic districts, max
ing the first Legislative district com
posed of Wards from to as newly
numbered, the Second Legislative dis
,rict f,om 9 to lG, as newly numbered
and the Third Legislative district from
II to "a as newly numbered
"When this provision was inserted
in the Charter the Democratic mem
bers of the commission, consisting o
Ex-Governor Whyte, ex-Mayor Ferdi
nand c. Latrobe aid the present Mayor
Thomas G. Hayes, supposed the wards
were numbered in the same manner 4:
they had been since the first Charter
for Baltimore had been frametk They
had no idea the manipulation had gerry
wandered the town 10y changing ant
REMEMBERING the wards so as to give
an unnatural division and better Re
publican result. These distinguished
Demo ccrats certified to the Democrat:
in tho nUiS Ioturn who voted for tbt