Evening star., 1905-10-17
MARYLAND POLITICS
Democrats of Frederick Coun-
ty Are Working Hard.
HOPE FOR LOCAL TICKET
LEADERS OF BOTH PARTIES EDU-
eating VOTERS ON VOTING.
Speculation Over Extent of Illiterate
Vote and Where It's Support Will
Go-Amendments.
HOPE FOR LOCAL TICKET
Special Dispatch to The Star.


democrats of Frederick county are enter
tanning high hopes of electing their local
candidates, although they are feeling
pretty blue over the situation SO far the
Poe amendment is concerned. They are
building their hopes for their local candi-
dates upon a general theory that as cleo
ton day draws near the republicans will
feel the necessity for the defeat of the
amendment so strongly that they will not
wish to take any chances, and will instruct
the voters who cannot read to vote only
against the amendment in order to avoid
the making Of mistakes In the marking OF
ballots.
There are thirty-siX candidates to be
voted for November I, and the democratic
majority on the board of supervisors has
the power to determine in what order these
names shall be placed upon the ticket. 1t
is highly improbable that they will be ar
ranged in any systematic manner in which
voters who cannot read can pick them out
without very careful instruction. The form
of the ticket is to be announced ten days
before election day and the democrats do
not believe that within that time the re-
publicans will be able to successfully IN
struct the 700 colored voters as well as the
several hundred white voters who eannot
read so that they will mark their ballots
The Republican Claims.
The republican managers claim that they
are confident that they will have no trou-
BILE In accomplishing that end. as they have
already begun to establish schools of In
struction. But the democratic view is that
when election day approaches the republi-
cans will want to be sure to defeat the
and will tell the illiterate vot-
ORG IN Si
and to leave the balance of the ticket blank.
While it is a most difficult task for enc
who cannot read to vote for candidates
without any means of identifying their poll
tics except by knowing their names, the
marking of the ballot against the amend
ments is extremely simple. Any person
who has enough intelligence to vote at all
can mark the ballot against the amend
rnents after once being shown where to
place a cross.
The democrats believe that the republi-
cans are alive to the fact that the future
of their party for years to come Will de-
pend upon the defeat of these amendments.
For that reason they expect them to take
no chance of defeat Not only do the repub-
lican managers stoutly deny that there Is
any necessity for such a course on their
part, but they also claim that under no
circumstances will they agree to the sacri-
flee of their candidates.
Democratic Opinion.
The democrats do not believe that the
illiteracy among the colored voters in this
county has decreased during the last sew
eral years, as claimed by the republicans.
They say that there has been tendency
among the younger colored men to leave
the county and to go to the larger cities,
where they have hope of better positions
than they find open to them here. On
the other hand the older men have re-
N a n a q xryhtt
knowledge an increase in the number who
can read. they do not believe that that in
crease is shown in this county. 1t is
claimed on the part of the democrats that
there were formerly 1900 colored voters
in the county, while in 1903 but Ala reg
istered, and they believe that the loss of
these 400 colored voters has been of the
best educated class.
The possibility of increasing the strength
of the vote against the Poe amend
ment in all of the eleven coun-
ties that are under the Wilson law, by
which the vote on local candidates is rem
dered difficult because of a lack of any
designation to show the party to which
they belong, is attracting considerable at
tention. 1t is claimed that the amendment
would probably gain several thousand more
votes were all voters in these counties who
cannot read instructed to ignore all of the
ticket except the part relating to the
amendments. II this class of voters un-
dertake to mark the entire ticket and make
slight mistake, in violation of the rules
laid down by the law. the entire ticket
would be thrown out. For that reason the
democrats believe that as election day ap-
proaches the republicans will be inc.lned
to concentrate their efforts on the amend
ments, regardless of their candidates.
The Co1ored Voters.
In denying that they have any intention
to follow this course the republican lead
ers of the county say that if the colOred
voters should make mistakes in the mark
ing of the ballots they would probably not
be of kind to invalidate the entire ballot
They would simply mark the wrong candi-
dates and throw votes to the democratic or
prohibitionist candidates. They do not be-
leve that the loss of republican votes In
that way will be considerable.
The democrats of Frederick county have
been greatly encouraged by a letter re-
ceived by Chairman j. 2. Biser from Col.
l.. Victor Baughman, the democratic leader
OF the county, to the effect that he Is i'm
proving in health and that he will return
here from Atlantic City during the present
week to take charge of the campaign. In
the opinion of many of the democrats 1t
would be a pretty hard undertaking to
make satisfactory showing on the part
of the democratic forces of the county
without the presence of Colonel Bauph-
man. AS 1t is, there has not been a great
deal OF movement among the democrats,