The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-04-29
LAWYERS ADDRESS ON CON-
STITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Democrats and Republicans Of BaIti-
more Issue An Address to Voters
Of Maryland.

Lawyers of Baltimore City have
started an organized effort to defeat
the Democrat Acknowledgement
amendment in the State this fall, and
they have held several meetings which
have been attended by Democrats as
well as Republicans in the profession.
At meeting held at the Union League,
Baltimore, recently, it was decided to
to call the organization the Lawyers
Anti-amendment League, " without any
reference to the politics of those desir-
ing to become members of the Organi-
cation, whose only mission is to concen-
trate its efforts to defeat the proposed
amendment.
The reasons for opposing it were liz
cOrpOrated in an address, which explains
IN detail all of the Objectionable fea-
lures and discu ,ses these at length. 1t
is probably the strongest docket that
could have been framed, a number of
the points raised being new, and all of
them appealing to the justice and fair
ness Of the voter who has the welfare
of the State at heart. One of the
strongest arguments is that affecting
the foregn-born voter, whom the Dem
ocrats are endeavoring to delude into
the belief that his and his peoples
rights are not affected.
The address to the voters, which is
entitled Briefs for the People Against
the Straus Suffrage Amendment, be-
gins with the declaration that the
amendment is unconstitutional because
1t does not apply alike to all persons
entitled to vote.
The various qualifications which es-
tablished preferred classes of voters
are then described and the unfairness,
as well as unconstitutionality of each
commented upon. 1t IS set forth that
even with the provision for an appeal
to the courts the rights of the appli-
cants for registration are not properly
protected.
The address then goes on to say:
Much stress has been laid by those
who formulated the proposed measure
upon the protection it affords to the
light of suffrage of the foreign-bo bonn
citizens, yet large class of those who
have come from abroad to make this
country their permanent home are put
in precisely the same class as the ne
groes. During the last four and a-half
years thousands of foreigners have
landed at the port of Baltimore and
many of them have taken up their
abode in this city. None of them can
De naturalized before the amendment
goes into effect, it it shall pass. All of
them are classed with the negro in it's
provisions. In like fashion are CLASH
fed all foreigners who shall hereafter
come to the United States, unless they
be lineal descendants of persons natur-
allied before the election in November
Unless discrimination against foreign
born persons was intended, it is impos-
sible to account for these restrictions
upon the privilege Of Acknowledgement
accorded them.
The native-bOrn citizens themselves
cannot be certain under the provisions
of the amendment of an unrestricted
right to vote. This right depends as
to each person over 81 years of age
upon his ability to show that he was en-
titled to vote on or before January |.
1869, and as to each person under 81
years upon his ABILITY to show that he
Rad an ancestor who had the right to
vote on or before January |, 1869 The
right to vote on that date depended not
only upon citizenship, but also upon
registration as voter. The Constitu-
ton of the State of Maryland of 1867
provided that only such persons should
be entitled to vote as We're registered
upon list of qualified voters. 1t would
be extremely difficulty today for any
person claiming his right to vote
through an ancestor to swear that such
ancestor was, as matter lof fact, a
registered voter on or before a particu-
lar date, even though he may believe
that his ancestor was qualified to vote
and had the right to register if he saw
fit.
In this respect the native-born sopu-
iation is much more at the mercy of
the board of registration under the pro-
posed amendment than the foreign-bo
population, because the question as to
whether foreigner or his ancestor was
naturalized between certain dates is a
matter of court record that can be read
lily established, whilst the question as
to whether or not man was registered
as voter more than 40 years ago is a
matter that in most cases cannot be
proved by any record in existence or
any living witness"
Of the alleged purposes of the
amendment to elevate the electorate
the addle says;
eff ignorance and shiftIessness and
poverty are not found in company with
chose qualities which enable man to