Evening star., 1905-11-04
CAMPAIGN PROMISES
Former Senator Butler Dis
cusses Maryland Politics.
THE POE AMENDMENT
COMPARISON BETWEEN THAT
AND NORTH CAROLINA Law.
Proposed Maryland Statute Regarded
as Menace to White Voters
Chance for Favoritism.

TO ready spoken in favor Of the Poe amend
1Eent In that state. In several nota-
BILE campaigns in North Carolina, Senator
Butler has been pitted against ex-Gov
Ayeock, Gov Glenn and Senator Simmons
Gov. Aycock is said to have declared in
his speeches in Maryland. that not sin
gle white voter has been disfranchised in
North Carolina" Mr.. Butler said to Star
reporter today. "It is true that Gov. Ay-
cock and all other democratic speakers
pledged the people when the amendment
was pending In North Carolina that no
white man would ever be disfranchised by
any section of it: but surely neither Gov
Ayeock, nor any one else will claim that
tnose pledges or promises were made for
anything but campaign use
eS, thousands of white men have heen
olsfranchised already, and more will be dis
iranchised later, and that. too very soon.
All OF the provisions of the North Carolina
amendment do not go into effect as against
the white people until 1908.
Amendment More Exacting.
whatever may be said for or against 1t.
the North Carolina amendment can have
but little application in the Maryland cam
pa.gn, continued Senator Butler The most
dangerous feature of the Maryland amend
ment IS not In the North Carolina amend
ment. The first section of the MARYLAND
amendment says that before any person
can vote he must be able to read any sec
ton or the constitution of that state SUBJ
mitted to him by the officers Of registration
and to give reasonable explanation of the
same or, IL unable to read such section II
he Is able to understand and give a reason
able explanation thereof when read to him
Dy the registration officers. This is the most
far-reaching. vicious and dangerous yoke
OF bondage that has ever been proposed to
De put upon the necks Of the brave, self
governing, liberty-loving Anglo-Saxon race
q n ho orfn P~&
King John at Runnymede. This monstrous
proposition proposes to give to petty cleo
tion officer the tremendous power to deter
mine which Anglo-Saxon man can vote and
which shall be condemned to disfranchise-
ment. Are the white people of Maryland
ready and willing to surrender the liber-
ties they now have to the tender mercies OF
such election officials appointed by the boss
of political machine? Would any brave
liberty-loving man be satisfied to intrust
this tremendous and dangerous power into
the hands of one man. though he be
sworn judge of court. though he be the
chief justice of the supreme court. though
he be the governor of your state, though he
be the chief justice Of the Supreme Court
the United States? Such a proposition is
repugnant to every principle of republican
and democratic government.
Not a Race Issue.
Compared with this most dangerous and
tyrannical proposition the North Carolina
amendment is thing Of harmless purity
and beauty. This scheme, concocted by an
Inscriptions political machine In Mary
land. in order to put the people of the state
at it's mercy, has raised an Issue greater
than any that the people Of North Carolina
have ever had to face. This is not an issue
between the white man and the black man
no, a thousand times no, 1t Is an Issue be-
tween the Anglo-Saxon man and the as
sailant of his liberties: The question is.
Chan f6n Ant ha
vassals and slaves of a combination of
political bosses who are plotting and
scheming to become their masters for all
time?"
THAT this section of the amendment gives
to every election oIhcer power, absolute and
without appeal or remedy, will not be de-
MED by any man. II 1t Is not the purpose
of the political machine that has fathered
this amendment, and Is now trying to sneak
1t through under the cry or negro comma
ton, to use 1t to disfranchise white men,
why have they so worded the amendment
that 1t can be used for that purpose? Let
us illustrate: Suppose when the white voter
OF MARYLAND appears to register he Is hand
ed by the election officer the constitution
and asked to read article 10 OF the Dill OF
rights
Legal Explanations Differ.
when the voter Is asked to give rea-
sonable explanation as to its meaning, let
US suppose. for arguments sake that his
and as profound In learning and thought
as an explanation can be made by mem
Der Of the supreme court of the state OF
MARYLAND. Could the election officer reply
to such white man desiring to vote that his
explanation was not reasonable and sat
isfactory? Let US see: Section Is OF the
bill of rights has been before the courts
Of Maryland in more than thirty different
cases for a reasonable explanation ny
the court Profound lawyers have argued
on one side that 1t means one thing ana
equally profound lawyers have argued on
the other side that 1t means something en-
tirely different. When the court has come
to pass upon these arguments as TO the
reasonable explanation of this section often
the court itself has divided-a part of the
judges solemnly writing opinions that IT
means one thing. and another part of the
same court solemnly writing opinions that
it means just the opposite. Not only this.
but the different courts in Maryland have
differed as to the meaning of this same Sec
ton.
"a thousand illustrations can easily be
given to show how the different courts of
Maryland. and the different Justices Of the
courts, have interpreted differently the va
rious sections of the constitution Of Mary
land, but further Illustrations would be use
less.
Chance for Political Favorites.
1.-THE mere suggestion OF the purpose OF
this amendment. that such tremendous
power be placed in the hands of the regis
tration officers. with no remedy or relief
from their decision. which means to give
them the power to let political favorite
vote. and to disfranchise the voter who Is
not supporter of his political boss. Ia
enough not only to show its absurdity. but
to arouse the fear and indignation of every
free-born Marylander. This dangerous prop
osition was not put In this amendment
without purpose The men who conceived
and penned 1t and who are today trying to
fool the people into voting for 1t under the
old cry of negro know the powerful 1t
will give them, and they mean to use 1t
when once they have that power They
mean to disfranchise any democrat who is
not a German democrat; they mean to defy
the will OF the write people of Maryland.
and to perpeutate themselves IN power for
ever