The Washington herald., 1909-11-01
Special to Inc Washington Hculd.

Special to T-nu Washington Herald.
Baltimore. Nd. oct Sl.-For the sec
ond time within the past four years the
people OF Maryland will decide by ballot
on Tuesday whether the negro shall be
eliminated or retained as political factor
IN the State OF the States south Of the
Mason and Dixon line Maryland is one
OF the last in which the negro disfran-
chlsement fight has been made. and
with II as an ISSUE the campaign now
nearing an end has been the hottest OF
several decades for an off-election year.
Four years ago the Poe disfranchise-
: ment amendment. drafted by the late
John p Poe. was defeated. The ma
Jority pinst II was $4,000 In view of
this { 81. and with due consideration
OF the ctors for the strsus amendment.
which re against the Poe measure, the
impression among men IN touch with
Maryland political conditions Is that Mary
land VIII again refuse TO deny the ballot
10 the negro. but the majority may not be
as large as that against the Poe amend
ment.
The statement Is also made that the
Democratic ticket will not go down with
the amendment. which the Democrats
drafted and are fathering.
10000 Negro Voters at Stake.
Maryland has a voting population Of
approximately 100000. OF these $1,000
are negroes 1900 Of whom reside IN
Baltimore. The bulk OF the negro vote is
in- Southern Maryland, while In the west
ern section OF the State there are few
negroes and fewer negro voters.
In the fight 20 eliminate these $1,000 ne
gro voters. the biggest issue seems to
have narrowed itself down to the prop
osition whether Jr not any white voters
viii be sacrificed by the proposed suf-
frage laws. This is the question which
IS agitatng the foreign voters of whom
there are many in Baltimore and In the
western section of the State This
foreign vote. according TO the best IN
formation fears Il will be disfranchised.
and the prediction Is that II will be al
most unanimously cast against the
amendment and will thus defeat It.
Many Independents BaIl<.
Outside the foreign vote there appears
10 be a large number Of what is known
as the independent Democrats" who
are against the amendment because OF
the fear that the Baltimore City Demo
cratic organization will stretch out its
powerful arm and get strangle hold
upon the State. Many Of these inde-
pendents argue that the negro vote is
necessary 10 offset the Democratic or
- gazls3tlon. vote; that with the negro
vote eliminated n voting trust will be
formed and Maryland will become a one
party State.
There is still another element. always
powerful tn politics. which is working
against the amendment. This Is tho
saloon element. The saloon people are
looking 70 the future. They believe local
option prohibition viii be an Issue in
Maryland sooner or later. They believe
further that the negro vote will be cast
aside by tie "drys" when the prohibition
question becomes an issue. and for that
reason the saloons wish to hold on to
the negro for future use.
The vote known as the church vote IS
also regarded as being against the amend
ment. Cardinal Gibbons the head OF the
Catholic Church in America. has come
out against the proposed law. and his
influence Is big factor in Maryland
Influences for Amendment.
-Four years ago Gov. Edwin Warfeld.
Athen chief executive Of Maryland. Attor-
ney General Bryan. Senator Rayner, and
all the Baltimore newspapers were allied
/ against the amendment. This year Gov
,rothers. former Gov. Warheld. both OF
% United States Senators. and the BaIti-
re sun are for the Straus measure.
ether these influences can change the
s1e\of four years ago appears to be an
open question.
The proposed amendment carries one
OF the most rigid educational and memory
tests ever drafted into a law Of its kind.
This test according to the Democrats.
I Will be applied 70 the negroes only and
u that the open door" 70 the white voters
is in the grandfather's clause and the $500
property clause. The negro was en-
franchised I'm Maryland In 1869. The law
provides that descendants Of persons vot-
ing in Maryland or IN other States prior
10 that time are eligible 20 vote
To meet the foreign vote, the measure
provides that foreign-born citizens of the
United States naturaliZed between 1859
and the year Of the adoption Of the
amendment and his descendants are en-
titled to vote. These provisions. say the
Democrats are the "open-door" provi-
sions, and every white man will be able
TO vote under them.
The proposed educational and memory
test. t is declared, will be applied to the