The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-10-27

piAOl tINlNNps
No property or educational qualifca
ton shall be required Of persons entitled
to vote in one of the States of the
Uuited States prior to January, 1867,
or of any lineal legitimate descendants
of such persons
Any person not qualified under the
"Grandfather Clause-1S67 is his
date-must ''read or write" out
on dietation, any section of the Consti-
tuition of Maryland, or he shall have
paid for two preceding years State,
county or city taxes, to the amount of
so many dollars.
We think further comment unneces
sary.
Compare the essential features of the
two proposed amendments with the one
adopted by the two-thirds vote of the
Legislature of 1904. and then tell your
selves which one is the most cOmpre
hensive, the most adequate, and withal,
the best suited to bring about the results
desired by all Of them.
We are honestly convinced that the
foreign born citizen is best protected
by the so called ''Poe Amendment.
He does not have to own property to
vote. If he owns property, he must
be person of some education or talent,
and he certainly can either read or give
a reasonable explanation of some section
| Of the Constitution of the State of
Maryland, when read to him.
If he does not own property and is
not now a registered voter or has not
been since 1904, or is not a lineal de-
scendant of such a person, under the
proposed Bryan or Worthington Amend
ments, he could not possibly be regis
tered Maybe some light is thrown by
this survey of the situation upon Ger
tain Of the opposition. If not, then
the comparison between the proposed
and the accepted amendment can be
clearly seen.
The Bryan Amendment would have
made foreign-born citizen be able to
read or write-how many of them can
motor be a property owner, else he
could not register. There was no spe-
cltic statement as to what language it
was to be written in, either. The pres
ent amendment only requires treason
able explanation of any section of the
State Constitution.
Does the difference impress you?
Which is the easier?
Certainly the Democratic party pro-
poses no more difficult conditions now,
than would have been, had either of the
other two amendments been adopted.
Both of these had a property qualif-
cation.
The present amendment has none.
Where does the cry against it come
from and where does it apply?
From the Republicans, who do not
want the negro disfranchised in any case
and under any amendment.
From some Democrats who fancy
they see in the powers given to BIZ
partizan Board of Registration officers,
and which the Democratic party
pledges itself to maintain, a chance
for fraud and trickery.
From some other Democrats, &o
have personal grievances against men
high in the councils of the party, and
who feel that they were not sufficiently
recognized at the time the amendment
was adopted.
These are facts, gentle readers, and
the exigencies Of the occasion brings
them to the surface A two-third ma
jority of Maryland Legislature is not
obtained every election as you well
know. And you know also that there
are in all assemblies ''many men of
many minds. Then consider how es
sential it was to adopt any measure at
particular time when all minds were
agreed upon its passage.
Consider also the attempts made to
confuse the situation, to influence each
and every member of that two-thirds
majority, and it does not require any
great stretch Of the imagination to fig
ure out why some sore places remain
and why certain elements are not in
harmony with the present situation
As for any attempted fraud or trick
cry under the proposed amendment, we
can only say that such a course would
be political suicide. No party could de-