The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-12-01

ernor's Constitutional power in the
premises; and it remains to be seen
whether the final decision of the
courts will sustain Attorney General
Bryan and Governor Warfield or not.
But on the supposition that the Gov
ernOr is net sustained, what will be
the situation? The people of Mary
land will be called upon to determine
whether an election continuance got
ten up by the old-time Democratic
ring managers shall be made part of
their fundamental and organic law,
of their State Constitution. They
will know that the contrivance was
severely condemned by the Demo
cratic Governor of the State, fresh
from election by a decisive majority,
and was emphatically denounced as
vicious and dangerous by the Demo-
cratic Attorney General, chosen at
the same election. They will not for
get that the men behind the amend
ment are men who had for wears and
years carried on politics with the rul-
ing idea that the first business of the
political manager was to manipulate
election laws, election arrangements
and election officials in such way as
to make the handling of the votes
take the place of the persuasion of
the voters. Neither experience of
success under a straight election law
nor experience of failure under a
crooked one teaches such men any,
thing. They banker after crooked
election business as topper bankers
after his drink. They want to have
a chance to monkey with the registra-
ton lists, and to devise new tricks in
the ballots, and to manipulate the
count of them. And it is in the spirit
of this sort of thing that they got up
their Constitutional amendment
But can it be believed that the
people of Maryland wish to imbed
that sort of thing in the solid rock of
their State Constitution? Whatever
doubt there may have been on this
question some time agoit can hardly
be that there is any room for doubt
now The whole thing seems to
have gone stale, to have lost what
little flavor of sense, or timeliness, or
attractiveness of any kind that it
ever had. 1t was in large part the
outcome of the DISTINGUISHING move
ment of the States of the far South,
States in which the great magnitude
of the negro population called for
resort to extreme measures No such
condition exists in Maryland, and
even in the States to the south of us
enlightened citizens look forward
with satisfaction to the prospect of a
more and more impartial application
of suffrage qualification laws to both
races. AS to the proposition of the
Poe amendment, it not only looks
away from any such object as regards
the races, but puts it in the power of
election officials to disfranchise white
men as we'll as black upon their mere
caprice. The idea that Maryland
wants to go backward in her election
laws when almost every State in the
Union is going forward can hardly
be supposed to have any basis in fact.
If the Democratic managers were
wise they would pray that the Court
of Appeals may find it possible to
sustain the contention of the Cover
nor and the Attorney General. and
thus let them out of their ugly posi-
ton. They got into that position by
their inveterate love on crooked cleo
ton methods-me thods which con-
stituted, indeed, the whole creed of
that Democratic leadership which so
long had its sway unbroken in this
State. Surely it must be possible to
say now with confidence that this
is a creed outworn. The people of
Maryland certainly do not relish the
dreary business of trick ballots and
discarded votes that has figured so
prominently in recent elections.
Neither do they desire, we feel sure,
to strike Earring note as regards the
franchise question, at time when it
is the hope of the best people of the
South and of the North alike that
matters may be allowed to develop
quietly during the next few years,
without the raising of sectional or
racial animosities. The people of the
States to the south of us have had a
hard problem on their hands, and
have reached a sort of resting place
in their dealing with it. Here in
Maryland we have no such problem,
but we have busy little clique of
discredited and outgrown politicians
who, under cover of the race question
are trying to get in their fine work,
regardless of its effect either upon the
State of Maryland or upon the feeling
between North and South. They are
at business which is thoroughly out
of timp and ont of tuna opd 4J,au