Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-06-29

4eptu OF HHUuUCidNIUu can diNeE bue
plain, naked fact that the negro Is
20 more fit for the suffrage today
than be was on the day Ii was con-
| ferred upon him. His political
slavery of the last thirty-tive years
] has been worse than his preceding
| bodily slavery; IL has been vicious,
demoralizing, degrading IN the ex-
IRENE. The blind mule inthe tread
mill displays every whit as much
| intelligence as does the negroes III
his exercise Of the privilege OF cleo
tive franchise. For fits o privilege,
one to be taken away, and in no
sense right. The negroes Of
Maryland voted for the first time
at the Congressional elections OF
1870, They voted the Republican
ticket in mass. They have been
doing it ever since. Where is the
! intelligence, the discrimination. the
weighing of issues in this2 Why,
you might as well carry the horses
and the dogs OF Maryland TO the
polls and vote them for the Repub-
lican ticket II is natural, perhaps,
for Mr.. Hanna and Mr.. Stone to
| want to hold on TO such political
asset as this, but, for the life Of me.
don I see how il can commend 1t
self to the body Of the people 1T
Maryland. / have said the national
Republican party has abandoned the
negro TO bis fate because 10 is right
However, there is another reason
more determining in its effect on
the minds Of practical politicians
than any more question Of right or
wrong. / know all about the estab-
llishment Of negro suffrage. ] was
here and in the midst Of things
when it was conceived and when 1t
was Matched.
| Hoso The Negro Became d Citizen.
The people mainly receive their
impressions OF Legislation through
what takes place In the open. /
make no doubt, even at this day.
there are sentimental persons who
would DO moved to tears 81 sympathy
over the high spun and high flown
arguments uttered on the floors OF
Congress In favor OF negro suffrage.
How differently would they feel II
they could have heard what took
place in cancusl II was not by
Congress negro suffrage was fasten-
ed upon this country, but by Re-
publican Senatorial caucus sitting
behind closed doors. Congress
merely registered the edict % the
caucus. This caucus decided for
negro suffrage by q bare majority Of
one. BY what arguments was this
obtained? Not by the beautiful
talk OF the Fatherhood OF God aud the
brotherhood ofman, aud al that sortof
thing. Oh. no. Simply and solely
because IL was urged again aud
again that the negro would be the
permanent political gessal OF the Re.
publican party. Even then ~ re-
| quired the most desperate appeals
10 party loyalty and party interest
to secure this pitiful majority o, one
For there we're many Republican
Senators who tugged hard with
their conseienees before they could
got their own consent 20 fasten this
awful curse upon the institutions Of
this country. II never was put
there constitutionally or lawfully,
for ii was not ratified by the free
will OF the States. II by any pos.
| sibility the Supreme Court could be
brought face 10 face with this qnes.
tion Il could not decide otherwise.
| Unfortunately, there is no hope Of
this. Well, the scheme worked for
while. The Republican party,
with its bordes Of negro yassals,
placed its carpetbag allies in CON
troll 10 the South. The sickening
story Of that saturnalia Of crime and
lust and rapine made the whole ma
tion SILVER aud shudder and thrill
with horror. What saved Maryland
from similar fate2 Only the nc
cident that its negroes were not so
numerous as 10 the States 70 the
South. The South. In maddeued
desperation, rose and burst It's fet-
ters. There was talk, as there will
be again, but there was no atttempt
from Washington to forge the chains
anew. The Republican leaders con-
cluded negroes were no longer
trumps, and day by day from that
time TO this they are more aud more
convinced to this effect Therefore,
in their hearts they are really bid.
| ding Godspeed to such movements
as that in progress now In Mary
land. cannot tell how long in the
most influential Republican, circles
| the feeling has been growing that
the party will be in infinitely better
condition to be rid Of the negro, the
| Maryland Republicans to the con
trary notwithstanding.
| Republicans And Honest Elections.
| / read that Mr.. Hanna said for
thirty years the great struggle OF
the Republican party id Maryland
has been TO get and keep honest cleo
tiuns. This was not always the case
with the Republican party in Mary.
land There was time anterior to
this thirty years Of which he speaks
when honest elections we're just
what the Republican party OF Mary
land didn't want. From 1851 to 867
| the Republican party was In absolute
control in Maryland, and there was
not an honest election Ia all that pc,
.tr1 10 +Larn had t,xa.. AZ. r,xs..,.t.