Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1905-10-21
CORRESPONDENTS.
\ Suggestive Letter.

| IT. lllt VI NlNN Jbl RNAI..
Kindly give the writer space enough
III your valuable paper to communicate
a few thoughts upon the pending suf-
| TRACE amendment to my white fellow
| citizens.
remark, i'll the first place, that the
| pending suffrage amendment to our
State Constitution is regarded by all
No"HhuW men of all political parties as
the most important and far reaching
| question our people have had under con
| SlderatlOn for many years. Therefore,
IN its consideration to deciding how we
should vote upon it, we should put aside
all political or party bias and consider it
from the viewpoints of patriotism and
the general good
OF course, there is no use attempting
to reason upon this question with black
voters, or with white voters who are
seeking or holding public office by the
| and OF the votes of black voters. But,
surely there must be IA large number of
white voters III our county who are free
! from such 'entangling alliances such
party preJudices and seltiShness, and
| who are not only free but willing and
ANXIOUS to consider this important mat
| ter as Intelligent and patriotic men
| should. 1t is to this latter class desire
to address myself.
The first point | wish to call attention
to is the fact that all the States south of
us have DISTINGUISHED the negro voters.
not simply because they are negroes,
but because of their ignorance and
Venallty. The people of these Southern
| States We're forced to adopt this policy
as matter of self-defense; to preserve
| their property rights and institutions
| from ruin.
One of the results of this policy on
the part of our sister Southern States is
the dlStranChised negroes are moving in
large numbers into States where they
are still permitted to vote MARYLAND
beng border State, they are locating
here i'll considerable numbers.
There We're $1,000 registered negro
voters i'll Maryland last year OF course,
the number has largely increased since
then, and if the pending amendment is
defeated at this falls election, it is but
reasonable to assume the negro vote will
increase much more rapidly than ever
before.
On the other hand if the people by a
majority of their votes adopt it, this
moving horde of ignorance and venalitv
Will cross over our State and land in
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other States
where they can vote.
Surely the people of Maryland have a
right, both from legal aud a moral
standpoint, to protect themselves and
their State against this swarm of ignor-
ance, venality and viciouSness
Inc next point | wish to call attention
to Is the fact that Baltimore city is 60
ing to eXpend several millions of dollars
IN the construction of Il sewerage system
and other improvements. The con-
Struchon of these vast improvements
will require large numbers of common
laborers, and of course contractors will
hire the cheapest labor obtanable.
Now, the Southern negroes are used to
work for much lower wages than our
white laboring men have been accus-
toned to. This large public work, to-
gether with the defeat of the amend
ment, Will unqucstiOnahly attract large
numbers of these Southern negroes to
our State, and it goes without saving
that the contractors will hire them
If our people defeat the amendment
at the polls, the mercenary horde of dis.
franchlsed Southern negroes will accept
the result as an invitation extended to
them to flock to Maryland and particI-
pate III the government of the State.
They IL come i'll SWarmS. too.
Now, then, | wish to ask white labor
ing men if they desire an addition of
tins character to our population? Do
the white labOrers by their votes upon
the amendment wish to extend an in
vltatlOn to these DISTINGUISHED Southern
negroes to come to Maryland and abide
with them, and enter into competition
with them i'll the labor field?
Disguise the subject as we NAV; dis |
tort and prevaricate about the facts as
much as we may This is the question in
vOlved III this subject
Somebody may say they'll not come
here to bother us; if they come, they'll |
locate in other sections of the State"
Now. | want to know how anyone
knows they'll not come here to bother
us: Present indications point strongly |
to the fear that certain large corpora |
tons want to get rid of the intelligent |
class of labOrerS now on the Creek and |
we know coal operators have imported |
this class of labor into other coal fields.
The location of any considerable nrlm-
Der Of this ignorant. venal class of voters
i'll our State would he a menace not only
to the peace and good government of |
the State, Int also to the material we'll
being Of our white laborers. Our
National government has closed tight its
doors against the Chinese for this very
reason. and why should we not close
ours against more undesirable class?
An opportunity is presented to us by