Evening star., 1905-11-04
FAVOR AME NDMENT I
Negro Disf,anohisement in
Somerset County.
AT W 0RK FOR YEARS
DEMOCRATS PULLING STRONGLY
TOGETHER FOR PURPOSE.
Republican Leaders Putting on Bold
Front-Voters Being Taught How
to Mark the Ticket.
Special From a StafY Correspondent.

ment Of the colored voters as exists in
the state of Maryland. For years the spirit
that Is back Of the Poe amendment has
been at work here, and, SO far as the eff
fort of the democratic party is concerned.
at no place will there be a stronger pull
together to give the amendment the largest
possible majority than here.
The leadership of former Representative
Joshua w. Miles, who has his home here
and is a warm personal friend of Senator
German, has much to do with the activity
Of the campaign here. The Wilson law
was made to include this county, SO that
the ticket that has been evolved for the
consideration of the voters on election day
makes it practically impossible for the IL
Hterate element of the republican party to
cast any vote of consequence for state or
county officers But this will result in CIV
ing the largest possible vote against the
amendment, because the republicans will
make no attempt to vote the entire ticket
nut propose to center their efforts toward
the defeat of the amendment Voting on
the amendment alone is SO simple that
any voter can be taught to vote for or
against 1t. For this reason 1t is not likely
that the county will go largely for the
amendment. The republican leaders here
are putting a bold front to the situation,
ana oeciare that they are not even willing
TO ADMIT that the county will give any ma
1orlty for the amendment but the facts do
Hot warrant such a sanguine view on their
part. II they keep the majority for it
Gown to two or three hundred they will be
doing about all the conservative people az
pect Of them.
. Mr. Miles is taking a leading part in the
Ignt, ana ne Will be here in the midst of It
uuI1ng the remainder of the campaign He
IS talking of negro domination to the white
people OF the county, and he will make the
eHort or his life to have Somerset COUNTY
snow up strongly on election day in favor
OF the amendment.
When we talk OF negro domino t,or >,
sald Mr.. Miles today I'VE do not mean
that the negroes of this county are likely
IN the near future to have control of the
onlces. What we do mean is that we want
once and for all to be rid of the condition
under which we have suffered in the past
ana that involves the control of the countv
oy small body of white men, who do not
measure up to the standard Of citizenship
we have here, put in control by the votes
OF the negroes of the county.
Two-Thirds Negroes.
The republican party Of this county Is
mace up, to the extent of two-thirds of its
membership, Of negroes Tho negroes own
no property and the white men who %.
operate with them, as a rule, own little or
nothlng that can be enxed The result ;s
that thls combination OF white and colored
men In this county, without any regard for
tne interests OF the people who pay the
utterly reckless manner In many cases
the White men who have come into office
under this system have been very much
Iess desirable than would have been many
coiored men that l could pick out for their
places mere. They do not put colored mon
INTO ofhce and they would not permit them
10 nave office, because as soon as thew
snould do that they would lose the white
IolloWlng they now have. But for the ma
or the people who own homes here and
VINO are taxed to pay the expenses of the
county, the condition is just as bad as If
the offices We're filled by some of the bet
ter class of colored people.
That is all the negro dominat tion We fear
LOT the future. That Is bad enough and
We want no more of it, Whether the conn-
~ shall be under the control Of republicans
or democrats is a matter that will take
care Of itself. What we want is to eIiTnio
nate this mass of colored voters. and then
whoever has control, the white people who
pay the taxes and who make up our hest
cttizehshlp VIII be responsible for putting
them In control When the Democratic
party came into power here four years ago
we found debts against the county of which
nothing was known. Some of the office
holders who were put in control by the In
huence of colored votes have given our
courts good deal of work both by bring
ing them to justice and by Strengthening
out the trouble they have made With q
large body of ignorant colored voters to
determine what men shall be in power here
we can hope for nothing better in the fu-
ture than we have had In the past If those
colored voters are not disfranchised."
MI. Miles statements are not agreed to
by republicans, who assert that there are
many representative men of the county in
their ranks and that the white people in
the republican party represent a considera-
BILE portion of the taxpayers
Influx of Outsiders.
Five years ago this amendment would
have had larger vote In this county than
1t will get next Tuesday Since then there
have moved into the county from Pennsyl-
Vanla and other northern communities 200
or 800 men who have taken up farms about
fflhcess Anne, and a large part of them
are inclined to vote against the amendment
These men have purchased farms and in
cidentaIy the real estate activity that has
resulted has advanced the price of farms
In the county so per cent, and In some cases
as much as 100 per cent
Ihe ticket that has been made up for
the voters of this county to struggle with
next Tuesday is simplicity itself for
democrat to vote, but it is pretty nearly
on an equality with Chinese puzzle IN
The hands OF an illiterate man who wants
10 mark the republican candidates. The
names of democratic candidates are at
tne end OF the lists of each class of cam
didates to be voted for, and Immediately
above heavy black line which, in SIM
plnying the marking of the ticket, is equiv
alent to party insignia. In order to
ment uniform in this respect the order OF
voting for and against the amendment has
been reversed, so that the vote for the
amendment also comes Immediately about
the black line
But above the names of the democratic
candidates are the names of republican,
prohibition and Independent candidates,
none of them, of course under Wilson law,
having anything to indicate the party 20
Which the candidate belongs. 1t Is claimed
that the Independent candidates are merely
the instruments of the democrats to con-
fuse the republican voters, as men Tor
such places on the ticket have been chosen
with names that more or less resemble
the names of the republican candidates, so
that every vote for an independent candi-
date by mistake on the part of the repub-
lican voters is equivalent to throwing
vote out, as no one expects any independ-
ent candidate to be elected. The republican
candidate for sheriff is Joseph r. Reading
and the independent candidate is Joseph
b. Reese. Dodson, independent, Is put up
against Hudson. republican,; Lokey is put
up against Candy, and George b. Webster
is against Granville p Webster. In each
OF these cases the two somewhat similar
names are placed together.
This arrangement is recognized as sue
cessful In confusing the ballot, so that IT
has come to he understood that the dem
ocratic ticket cannot be beaten. The re-
publicans have just about abandoned all
IDEA of making any considerable fight
against the ticket except that they may
prea IN r.alxa an effort RI have ti,e mo