Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-22
Secretary Bonaparte Address
es Maryland Press.
PRESENTS HIS VIEWS
VIGOROUS LANGUAGE USED RE.
aARDING POLITICS.
Poe Amendment the Theme Of First
Remarks-Other Matters Dis
cussed Freely.

lano neio a reunion ana dlnner IN baiI-
more this afternoon. at which Secretary
Bonaparte was an honored guest. Secre-
tary Bonaparte made an address on the
political Issues involved In the state cam
| paign, in the course of which he said:
"Of course. you all know what l am here
| to talk about. If the Poe amendment is
to become a part OF our constitution hope
the officers OF registration who pass on my
| qualifications for the suffrage will select
some passage from 1t for me to explain
reasonably and to their satisfaction.
doubt. indeed. whether my explanation.
however reasonable to my own mind. would
be altogether satisfactory to them, and /
| have little doubt that 1 should lose my
vote; but. in all human probability, this
| would happen anyhow. and, II II didn /,
| with our old friends Of the ring. able. as
| they would be then. to fix In advance OF
every election what majority they should
| get In each voting precinct throughout the
| state, the privilege of voting against them
would be. after all. rather ornamental than
| useful. On the other hand. under those
circumstances 1t would be a source of some
satisfaction. IL not to the registrars at
least to myself, to say what I thought of
| the amendment; and, as they will not prob
| ably afford me the opportunity of thus re-
| lieving my mind hereafter and | most
earnestly hope. will not have the chance 10
| do so. l propose to say what l think of It
| now.
| Il note. by the way an odd little con-
troversy which has arisen as to its name:
Col Baughman. II he be correctly quoted
| objects to Its being called the Poe amend
ment because he thinks this name may
| prejudice people against IT. l am not quite
| sure what name he would substitute; so l
| suggest for his consideration the "Tocsin
| amendment, the publius amendment the
| anonymous amendment or II the title be
! not too cumbrous, the amendment whose
| ant'NT is afraid OF ashamed to own It
HoWSver. the question Is of academic IN
| terest only; whatever Col Baughman NAV
| say. the measure is and will be known as
| the Poe amendm II this name implies
falsehood the fact is eminently appro-
pirate to its tenor and its purpose.
| perhaps the most fruitful method to con-
| slider the amendment In the little time OF
my trespass on your attention will be to
| glance at some of the arguments or shifts
| FOR arguments. which are used by its apollo
| glsts. do not mean by arguments the
| howls of Niger! 'Nigger!' 'Niggern which
| we hear in season and out of season from
| some among Its supporters. AS l said on
| previous occasion. there in Maryland
certain number of people mot a few of
| them estimable and well meaning) who
| were threatened by their nurses in early
childhood with terrible big black man
that ran away with naughty little boys. and
who have never recovered from their child
| ish fright. When this DOGGY is conjured
| up to their imagination they become blind
and deaf to everything else: 1t is waste of
breath to appeal to their consciences, their
patriotism, their humanity or their common
sense: the worst among them are then
cases for the Sheppard Asylum those not
! so far gone can only be let alone until the
sane and health-giving moral atmosphere
or our orderly freedom abates their fever
| and enables them once more to see things
as these are
worthy of Dissection.
But we have been furnished with some
SODhiStrieS In advocacy Of this
| which are worthy of dissection. For exam
pie, we are told it is unfair and uncharita-
BILE to assume, in advance of experience
that officers Of registration will forget their
duty and their oaths and abuse the arbi-
trary powers placed In their hands. In
Maryland we assume nothing on this sub
| ject; we apply only the lessons of painful
experience to notorious and undisputed
! facts. 1t Is both fair and charitable to
| guard untold gold from a reputed thief, to
close wine cellar to a scandalous drunk
| ard, to deprive a confessed homicide of a
| deadly weapon.
LET US remember that but a stones
| throw from where l stand day and two
nights were spent in burning ballots actual
| ly cast and fraudulently substituting others
| fresh from the printer. and that those
| guilty of this crime earned by It, not mere
| ly impunity. but reward in the shape of
| public employment Let us remember fur
| Their that in this city a score of perjured
| election officers some of them already con-
vcted Of shameless frauds, others under
| indictment and certain Of conviction when
| tried. escaped adequate punishment in part
| through the abuse Of executive clemency,
| in part through a discreditable trick in
| legislation; and that some of these very
| men were again chosen as election officers,
and at least one was repaid by an official
position for his crime and his brief impris-
onment. Let US recall again that two of
our judges of election committed a brutal
| and cowardly murder after their appoint
ment but before they could serve. and that
our then supervisors actually hesitated and
even. at first. refused to remove them.
Finally. let us bear in mind that not only
| the same ring but the same individuals
! composing that ring at whose door are
| justly laid all these scandals and multi
| tude Of others filling up twenty long years
| Of our states history. will permanently
control the democratic party If the amend
ment be adopted and choose the officers Of
| registration who will put 1t in force. With
| all these facts before our minds 1t is not
| too much to say, as / said day or two
| since to a reporter, that such talk about
| 'uncharit ableness of hasty judgment
| argues in those who use 1t enough brass to
rebuild the Colossus Of Rhodes.
Exhibition Of Contempt
| 1t Is, however, a yet more striking ex-
| hibition of contempt for the peoples In
| telligence when we innocently asked
| to give the amendment "a fair trial." and
| told we can change 1t If we don't like It's
| working. The horse in Aesop's fable. asks
| the man to help him get rid of the stag
who trespasses on his pasture. and, to
effect this, allows the man to get on his
| back and put bit in his mouth. The hunt
ended, he suggests that the man dsmount
and set him at liberty; but the man doesn't
see 1t in that light, and is still his rider and
| master today. Suppose, as feel sure would
| be the case, a large majority among the
| citizens of Maryland don't like the working
| of this amendment after it has been
| adopted; what are they going to do about
| it? The ring will be well pleased with It's
| working; the officers of registration chosen
| by the ring will be no less pleased: and
| venture to predict with absolute confidence
| that few indeed of those who wish the
! change will be found liable to give a rea
/ sonable explanation Of a passage in the
Constitution selected by those officers.
When Sidbad took the Old Man of the Sea
! on his back. he at least acted in ignorance;
| we shall put on this shirt of Nessus with
| full warning that. once on, 1t can never be
| pulled off.
Bold and Impudent Falsehoods.
II can hardly treat as argument even
q sonhistry the bald and imDudent false