The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1903-01-23
HIS FAITHIN HONEST POLL
TICS.

James E. Ellegood, who made a
clean and gallant, but losing, fight
against the forces of corruption in the
First Congressional district of Mary
land last fall, has not been made Bit
ter by his defeat, says the Baltimore
News. He still believes in reform.
and believes that his party is the par
ty to bring about clean politics in
Maryland. In letter in the Sails
bury Advertiser he gives his views
as to how the Democratic party of that
district can destroy political corrup-
ton. 1t is, in nutshell, by continu-
ing to put up clean men for office, dis
countenancing bribery and all other
crooked political practices and enfor-
cling the law.
Mr.. Ellegool a>sum that the ase OF
the Republican party in his district is
hopeless. It's success is due, he says,
to 4 combination of colored voters
ruled by corrupt politicians, and cor
rupt white men out for spoils. Ac-
cording to Mr.. Ellegood, negroes cast
1880 of the 5000 votes received in
the last election by his opponent,
while white men cast $500 of these
votes. OF the white Republican vo-
tiers he estimates that 5000 were pur-
chasable. 1t is rot necessary to pay
a negro to vote the Republican ticket,
according to Mr.. Ellegood; he does it
as an article of faith. The vote cast
for himself showed that there are in
the. district between 49, 0G and II 900
white Democratic voters, who take
interest enough in elections to go to
the polls and vote. This leaves about
10000 white voters with Democratic
tendencies who are unpurchasable,
but who have become so disguised
with politics as to refuse to vote. Here
Mr.. Ellegocd finds the field for the
political reformer, and the opportuni-
ty for the rehabilitation of First dis
trict Democracy. The party must
continue to put up clean men and
work along honest lines until it has
secured the confidence of these stay at
home voters When that time arrives
the politics of the district will be made
clean and the DEMO- racy Of the dis
trict will be triumphant.
Whether Mr.. Ellegood has made a
correct diagnosis Of conditions IN the
First district, we are not prepared 10
say. 1t is probably 1rn" that the
whole support of .Mr. E:tsood, or
practically his whole supper, was un-
purchasable. Whether the elems nts
in the adverse vote were such as he
asserts is open to some question. 1t
is questionable, too, whether all of the
stay-at-home vote is unpurchasable
Politicians freely assert that men
who arc purchasable stay at home if
they do not get their price, and this
might have had something to do with
a portion of the deficiency in Mr.. Ellie
goods vote. But, leaving the specific
facts in this case out of consideration,
Mr.. Ellegood has undoubtedly stated
the correct principle. Reform can
never be brought about by fighting
money with money in politics. If a
party persists in honesty until the
clean people of any community come
to believe i. honest, it must finally win
if capab'y handled. The majority OF
the people Of almost every community
believe in clean government, and the
party which can he trusted to give it
is certain of final triumph.