The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-02-10
DEMOCRATS HAVE BOLD
SCHEME To GRAB STATE
Believing That the Supreme Court
would Uphold Their Action.

The bOldest scheme that has yet
been advanced by the Democratic
party to grab an election in Mary
land was made known Friday by
former State Senator Marion V.
Brewington, of Wicomico county,
who is in Annapolis in the inter
est of another DISTINGUISHING
amendment.
The new scheme is nothing less
than to take over the election two
years hence, at which a governor
will be named, in addition to a
dozen or more important state of
tCers, by refusing to register any
negro voter in any part of the
state, in direct defiance of the
Fifteenth Amendment of the Con-
stitution of the United States.
The plan made known by Sena-
tor Brewington is said to be with
out a doubt the boldest of all of
those the Democratic party has
yet considered, and although Sen
atOr Brewingtou admits that the
leaders haven't yet come around
to his way of thinking, it is not at
all unlikely that it will be adopted.
The first move in this gigantic
scheme is to postponed the general
registration of voters, which the
law requires shall take place this
year, until October of 1911. That
will mean only a month before
election and too late for the Re-
publican managers to take the
matter to the Court of Appeals.
Then if it is taken after the cleo
tiOn it will be too late, for Il e
grab will have been made and
there will be no possible way of
rectlfying great wrong.
In outlining his plan in detail
Former Senator Brewington show
ed that the right of the negro to
vote in Maryland under the Fiji
teenth Amendment will be put
squarely up to the Supreme Court
of the United States, and he be-
lieves that it will be decided in
favor of this state, in view OF the
fact that Maryland never ratified
the amendment.
The Supreme Court, according
to Senator Brewington, has always
side-stePped that question, and he
believes that it is just waiting for
an opportunity to decide that
negroes have not the right of suf-
trage in those states which never
ratified the amendment. If that
is done, every state South of Mason
and Dixon line will be forever rid
of the negro vote, a thing which
the Democratic managers in Mary
land have been trying to bring
about for years,
The great stroke will be to
postpone the general registration, ="
declared Senator Brewington Fri
day. eff that registration takes
place in October, 1911, and it can
be accomplished in three weeks,
we will then have the state in our
own hands. If the Democratic
managers will adopt my sugges-
ton we will then refuse to register
any negro voter in any part of the
state.
The election will then, there
fore, be conducted without a negro
vote, and if the Republicans take
the matter to the Court of Appeals
and the election is declared void
we will still be the winner. The
Court of Appeals cannot order a
new election, and as we control
the State Senate, it will name the
governor, by reason of the election
being declared void by the Court
of Appeals, and the Senate and
the House of Delegates have the
authority to say who shall sit in
those bodies. "
The boldness of former Senator
Brewington's scheme almost took
the Democratic leaders off their
feet when it was suggested by him
to them. But now, it is said, they
are becoming reconciled to it and
are looking upon it more favora-
bly,. Senator Brewington declar-