Evening star., 1909-07-11
LEADERS ARE UNEASY
Maryland Democrats Worried
Over Political Outlook.
TWO ISSUES THAT BOTHER
Franchise Amendment and State
Wide Local Option.
FEAR THE INDEPENDENT VOTE
Effort to Make Amendment a Test
Of Party Loyalty Regarded
as Mistake.
FEAR THE INDEPENDENT VOTE
Special Correspondence Of Tho Star.


BALTIMORE Md, July 10. 1909.
These are indeed parlous days for the
democratic organization in city and state.
Two things are worrying the leaders of
the machine-the Straus disfranchisement
amendment and the Anti-Saloon League.
When the advisory committee of 10 was
| named to select candidates for the legis-
lature and other offices the machine felt
thar a certain amount Of trouble and
criticism had been avoided. But the ma
chino leaders reckoned too quickly. The
| advisers" were named last week, and
promptly this week the Anti-Saloon
League bobs up with a letter to each of
the advisory committeeman.
| The letter 1nclosed a map of Maryland,
showing the 'wet' and dry" sections
of the state, and attention is called to
the dry districts in the city and coun-
ties which were made such by acts of
democratic legislatures"
THE ten counties already dry in
Maryland" continues the letter, ARE such
| by vote of the people under local option
laws passed by the legislature. Yet at
| the last session the democratic organlza-
| ton of Baltimore city killed the proposed
statewide local option bill. which would
have given the same right to the rest
/ u
same thing next time. provided it can
do 50 and shift the blame"
| The letter then expresses the hope that
the committeeman will not permit lead
ers who are not in harmony with either
| the general self-government principles of
the democratic party or its long-continued
past policy in Maryland to place you in
a false position by unloading upon you
the responsibility for taking position
which will protect the special interests
iof thn iohf nf hn q
The Franchise Handicap.
| Opponents of the dsfranchisement
amendment are daily gaining recruits
from among the ranks of the independent
democrats. And the party leaders realize
that the amendment this fall will be one
of the heaviest handicaps the party has
ever carried into an election. While the
| big leaders express boldly the opinion
| that the amendment will be ratified by
a good ma jority, their talk is regarded
! as buncombe, because it is known that
several have admitted that the fight is a
hopeless one in so far as carrying the
amendment is concerned.
| One of the most prominent Independent
democrats in Baltimore, Francis King
Carey, has just come out fat-footed
against the amendment. In discussing
the situation Mr.. Carey said:
| Il have refrained from making any pub
realize that my personal opinion is OF
very little Importance and that my po-
litical alliances are of so variable CHAR
acter that it would make very little dif-
| ference to anybody what | do or do not
think upon the subject. But the resolu-
tions adopted by the democratic state CEN
| trail committee seem to put 1t up to ev-
erybody to speak out.
| My own fixed opinion is that the &C
ton of the democratic organization in
making the proposed amendment a para
mount issue and Il test Of party loyalty
| is d grave mistake and one which ought
! to result, and will, | believe, if persisted
In, result. In the defeat of the democratic
state ticket. The deliberate purpose of
the amendment is to deprive the negro
voter of his suffrage, and when that at
tempt gets squarely before the Supreme
Court of the United States, as ii is bound
ito get there if the amendment should
be adopted. there can be but one legal
result and that is declaration that the
amendment is unconstitutional.
In a False Position.
But l am utterly opposed TO the amend
ment for other reasons" continued Mr.
Carey. Our county friends seem de-
termined 10 do everything in their power
to make it impossible for Baltimore city
to keep pace with her sister cities of the
north and west. While the progressive
element in the community has been doing
its best to advertise Maryland and Balti-
more, to encourage cosmopolitan spirit
and to lessen the tremendous local re-
sistance to business activity our county
friends seem determined to advertise the
state and city as neSro-rldden COM
lnunity and TO put us in the apologetic
position of South Carolina and other sim
liar states, toward which the northern
and western communities occupy d pat
ronizing attitude.
| 1T seems to me that the whole attitude
which the amendment proposes toward
the negro race is an unWise and un-
generous one, so far as the state of
Maryland is concerned. | should be sorry
to believe that the Anglo-SaXon race,
with an enormous majority vote, was un-
able to protect itself from minority
negro population, which SO far, at least
as the city of Baltimore is concerned, has
preserved an average of order, industry
and Sobriety which compares favoraby
with certain classes of the white popula-
ton who have less reason than the negro
for failing in any one of these charaC-
teristcs. The amendment l believe,
will be overwhelmingly defeated
Analysing the Water Supply.
| The investigation of all public water
supplies and as many private supplies
as possible during the early summer
months is recommended. The investiga-
ton of supplies includes, first, the
analysis of samples OF drinking water:
second. careful investigation of the
water system. and especially sanitary
surveys of the watersheds or catch
basins. 1t is recommended that samples
from public water supplies classed as good
| should be taken at least twice yearly,
irrespective of season. while water sup
plies classed as bad or suspicious should
he subjected to analysis once monthly,
or al more frequent intervals.
Arrangements are being made by the
state live stock sanitary board to test
the new process of incubation of hogs
to minimize them against cholera, and
should this serum prove effective the
officers of the board declare it's use will
mean the saving of a million dollars a
year to the farmers of Maryland. The
serum to be used is produced by the
| United States Department of Agriculture.
and has been tried twice with splendid
results in other parts of the country.
This has led DIR. Mackie, the state veter-
marian, to believe that it might
prove successful in Maryland. and he
has arranged to begin the inoculation
on a farm in Prince George county at
once Officials of the board state that
the cases of hog cholera in this state
are about usual at this time of the
year, but the hot season always brings
its loss to the farmers from this dread
disease.