The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1903-04-17
MOONS PHASES.
THE NEGRO INLOCAL POLITICS.

THE NEGRO IN LOCAL POLITICS.
As factor in municipal politics,
the weight of the negro is already
beginning to show in the Baltimore
political campaign. In a recent in
terview Ex-Governor Brown stated
that he would like to see all of the
city work in the hands of white
people and that he deplored the en-
ployment of colored labor whenever
it was unnecessary. The Baltimore
American in a recent article accepts
this as one of the issues and publishes
a table of statistics tending to show
that the negro voteis on the decrease.
To the mind of any reasonable per-
son, this would seem absurd when
we consider that the negro popula-
ton multiplies much more rapidly
than the white 1t is doubtless true
that the registration books would
show a different fact, but this is simply
because the Democrats have lately
been more alert in keeping the list
purged of criminals and dead men on
whose names it is easy to either re-
peat or substitute. With the average
white person there is much truth in
the refrain "All coons look alike to
me-" and it is frequently hard to
recognize familiar faces among the
colored brethren as their general ap-
pearance is very similar. This is
even much harder in the city where
the daily contact with the negro is
not so frequent by those who are
charged with the details of registra-
ton. Municipalities are overrun
with a floating negro population
which gravitates imperceptibly from
one place to another and all that the
average Republican politician has to
do is to keep the names upon the
books for some one to vote upon.
The voters of Baltimore City GER
tainly cannot forget the City Hall in
the days when Master was the chief
executive. Those of us who have
had occasion to visit the place on a
matter of business distinctly recall
the gang of worthless negroes hang
ing around the buildings and infest-
ing its corridors. The same is true
of the State House at Annapolis dur
ing the Lowndes regime. Many
times it was matter ofphysical i'm
possibility, especially when Mudd
was Speaker of the House, to get
anywhere near the galleries of either
the House or Senate on account of
these unwelcome statesmen. That
these things will have their weight
no one can gainsay. We do not be-
lieve that the average Republican
has any more use for the negro or
does not love him any more, ofcourse,
we do not include Mr.. Roosevelt in
this list, than a Democrat, but it is
an utter impossibility for them to be
kept in control when their party is
in power. The insolence to which |
the white people are unnecessarily !
subjected, sgreatly augmented every
time there is Republican victory,
and the race, always more or less
lawless, becomes much more so when
they feel that their own party is in
the saddle. The files OF the daily |
papers covering Mr.. Masters official
career will prove this statement.
Hardly day passed that the news
papers did not chronicle some in
dignity which had been heaped not
only upon inoRensive white men, but !
also our women. While these in
dignities were not of grave criminal
character, yet they were of an ex-
tremely outrageous nature.
Mr.. Wachter, the Republican nomi-
nee, occupies similar position to
that ofex-Mayor Master. Helargely |
owes his,present position to just such |
a vote as supported the former, and |
should he be elected, the old-time
negro lawlessness may be expected.
Many a self-respecting white man
will cast his vote for the Democratic
nominee for no other reason than
that of attempting to hold the negro
in his place.