Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-10-05


Mr.. Derby A. Lynch delivered
the following address before the
State Democratic Convention:
Mr.. Chairman and Gentleman of the
CoRUeRfioR:- bring to-day, from
the proud, historic county of ST.
Mary 3, the mother Of the State, a
message Of glad tidings. and to say
70 you that her chivalry, manhood
and patriotism are enlisted ia this
tight for the supremacy Of the An
glo- Saxon people of this common
wealth. The adoption or defeat of
this pending Constitutional Admend-
ment means more 70 us than TO you
who are so fortunate as TO have your
homes and families beyond the
limits OF the BLACK belt" of Mary
land. And just here, in passing,
| wish to say that we have but lit
tie patience with the man who calls
himself democrat, who, at this inn
portant crisis in our political life,.
urges captious objections to the,
adoption OF measure which seeks
TO liberate so many Of our white fell
low citizens from the CALLING thral-
dom Of negro domination. It's true
human ingenuity might have devils
ed and digested a more perfect
amendment, but it is the one which
the combined wisdom of your last
General Assembly proposed and
which your Governor was forced 10
submit, and therefore beseech you
In the name of the white people OF
Southern Maryland TO come 70 our
rescue and aid AS to adopt this
amendment, thereby Kidding our
section OF curse, worse than the
plaques OF Egypt, that for thirty and
more years has corrupted and de-
moralized our political life, blasted
our prosperity, and driven from
home and kindred most OF our young
men Of talent and ambition to seek
homes in strange lands amongstrang-
ers.
Prior to the advent OF the negro
into politics, our electorate was pa
triotic and incorruptible. But no
sooner had the negro begun to vote
than he began to sell his vote, and
charge that he is in the main res
ponsible for the corrupting influence
Of money in our elections in this
State today.
Mr.. Chairman, white men divide
upon men and measures negroes
never do. White men are moved by
the promptings of patriotism and the
love of home and friends. Such SEN
timents never enter the dull, I'M
reasoning mind of the negro. 1t
matters not how bad the thing, nor
how manifestly unfit the candidate
brand either with the mystical
word Republican" and all unclean-
ness and unfitness is Immediately
removed in the eyes of the sixty
thousand negro voters of this State,
who are banded together in q solid,
compact mass to vote for anything
which their party advocates. The
presence in our midst of such a great
number of voters without intelli-
gence, without civic virtue or patri-
otism is standing menace to all
good government and should not be
tolerated by the intelligent, home
building, home-loving, patriotic
white men of Maryland. While
advocate disfranchising the negro,
stripping him absolutely of all polit-
ical power and influence, / al the
same time insist that he should be
left In the full enjoyment of his nat
ural rights-to life. liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. The Almigh-
ty, in His inscrutable wisdom, has
cast the lot of the negro in our midsr
and il becomes our Christian duty
to treat him with justice, kindness
and humanity. II he works for you,
pay him. If his white or colored
neighbor does him a wrong, give him
Justice without let or hindrance.
Give him his schools, so that he may
be made a better man and better
citizen. Let him have his churches
where he may go and worship God
under his own wine and fig tree"
according to the dictates of his own
conscience. Let him have all these
things, but in the name of the white
men and white women of Southern
Maryland / beg you not to let him
any longer exercise his baneful,
blighting, whitening influence in the
politics OF Maryland.