Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-27
WAG|NG WAR ON MUDD
Labor Fight Against Him is
Growing Warm.
H0UsE-To-H0UsE CANVASS
Each Laboring Man is Visited and
Told About Trouble.
DIFFICULTY WITH WILSON LAW
Candidate is Said to Be Stronger Than
He Was Two Years Ago
Two-Edged Sword.
Special From a STAR Correspondent.

large area Of southern Baltimore bordering
on the water front, containing many manu-
featuring establishments and thousands OF
small homes occupied by laboring men,
that IL the scene Of the contest between
Representative Sydney E. Mudd and Mr..
Samuel Gompers, president Of the Ameri-
can Federation Of Labor. That the con-
test is strictly between Mr.. Mudd and
Mr.. Gompers no one can doubt after a
visit to this portion Of his district.
Incidentally Mr.. George M. Smith, the
democratic nominee In opposition to Mr..
Mudd, figures as the contestant for Mr.
Mudd's seat In Congress. but the campaign
that is being waged against him was de-
cided upon In Washington at the head
quarters of the American Federation of
Labor. and until 1t was started there no
one in Maryland seems % have thought
OF 1t. The campaign against Mr.. Mudd Is
being directed by Mr.. Gompers, and IL he
should at any moment withdraw his OPP
position the entire campaign would fall,
with no influence here strong enough to
maintain it.
ut is Gompers' fight" is the explana-
ton that Is frequently given by members
of the American Federation of Labor when
they talk of the campa ,gn being waged
in the fifth district.
The machinery Of the great organization
dominated by Mr.. Gompers with all the
force that in the halcyon days of Tammany
was welded by Croker. is at work In this
city. There is no doubt about that The
only question about it relates to the effect
it will have on the voters in this section Of
the fifth district. Last evening I went into
south Baltimore and found evidences of the
kind of work that Is being conducted by
organized labor. Representatives of unions
of every class are making house-to-hOuse
canvass. 1t Is said that fifty men devote
their energies to this work two or three
hours every evening. That is the number
appointed on the campaign committee with
instructions to work nightly, but those
actually engaged each evening probably do
not exceed half that many.
The method Of this house toulouse cam
vass is very simple. The representative OF
the Federation of Labor is assigned a GER
tain number of squares. and he proceeds
from house to house. Knocking on the
door or ringing the bell, he asks to see the
man of the house.
Brother" he begins. IT have come to
talk with you about the interests of the
laboring man."
Mr.. Gompers' Charges.
He then proceeds to repeat Mr.. Gompers'
charges against Representative Mudd. With
what effect this is being done no one can
tell until the returns have been counted on
the 9Th of November. These canvassers re-
ceive favorable receptions, but as rule
their story is told to a mute listener, who
mods assent to all that is said, and keeps
his own counsel.
While tbs portion of Mr.. Mudd's district
Is geographically very small 1t is numer-
ically large as 1t contains more than third
of the voters of the entire fifth district.
Two years ago there were cast in the fifth
district 81, 101 votes. Mr.. Mudd received
16, 800 of these votes, being a plurality over
r. 8. Hill, his democratic opponent, of 3, 1884,
The registration this year shows that the
portion of his district in Baltimore contains
IA, 1855 voters. of whom 6.514 declared them
selves to be democrats, 8,O74 republicans and
1853 did not state their party afiliation.
The point Of interest in these figures is the
fact that they do not indicate any change
of political afhliation, although Mr.. Com
pers had announced his issue with Mr..
Mudd when the registration took place.
1t will be seen that If Mr.. Gompers sue
ceeds in defeating Mr.. Mudd he will have
to win over to the democratic candidate
more than half OF the declared republican
voters Those who are impartial in judging
Of conditions In this part of Mr.. Mudd's dis
trict give no credence whatever to Mr.. Com
pers' confident prediction. One of the best
informed democrats Of this city who has
been over every portion Of the fifth district
recently, and who Is particularly familiar
with the Baltimore portion Of that district,
doubted whether the campaign against Mr.
Mudd would do more than to cause loss
of several hundred votes, and he was in
clined to believe that such loss would be
overbalanced by the vote of southern Mary
land.
May Offset Effect.
The fact that Mr.. Gompers, Mr.. Edawrd
Hirsch. the leading representative of the
federation in this city, and others who are
taking a prominent part in directing the
campaign are democrats is doing much to
offset its effect. A good many republicans
who have been voting for Mr.. Mudd in the
past are inclined to look upon this attack
upon him as merely an effort on the part
of democrats to strengthen their own party
1t is said here. that Mr.. Gompers has his
heart set upon the defeat Of Mr.. Mudd be-
cause he feels that he will experience a
loss of prestige If he fails to carry any of
the districts that he has marked as his
own.
Outside Of this city Mr.. Mudd Is regarded
as much stronger than he was two years
| ago. The Wilson ballot law applies to q
| large part Of his district, and last year
! the ballot was extremely difficult to vote
as it was arranged In a manner to confuse
| the voters. This year his ballot will con-
| tain but three names. and it will not be
| possible to make it as difficult as It was
| last year. The attack that has been made
| against him by organized labor Is proving
| to be two-edged sword.
| It Is stated that considerable body of
| business men and some farmers who have
voted the democratic ticket In the past
have declared their intention to vote for
| Mr.. Mudd this year in order to offset the
labor vote. His personal following. which
Is very large. is also making itself felt
| Mr. Mudd Is not taking any chances In
| this fight against him. He has never con-
| Quoted a more active campaign. and Thurs
day night made two speeches in this city
He was never given more cordial recep-
/ ton. and his audiences were made up
wholly of workingmen in and out of labor
| organizations.
| Mr. Mudd's activity In securing appro-
r.