Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-07
Negro in Maryland in Danger
of Disfranchisement.
DID NOT SUPPORT PARTY
Blamed for Republican Defeat in
Baltimore Election.
MACHINE GIVEN HARD JOLT
Narrowness of Margin by Which
Preston Was Elected Mayor a
Severe Blow to Mahon.
Special Correspondence OF Tho Star.

Special orrospondcnre o, Tho Star
BALTIMORE. Nd. Nav i. 1911.
The election of last Tuesday will have
one positive result. and that is the pas
sage b. the next legislature of an amend
ment to disfranchise the negro and this
amendment will not meet the defeat OF
its two predecessors. Its heartiest sup
port will come from the republicans who
have in the past vigorously opposed such
amendments to the state constitution
This change of attitude on the part of
the republicans is due to the small negro
vote cast for the republican mayoralty
candidate, and the claim is made openly
that the colored vote deliberately laid
down last Tuesday and refused to go
to the polls. The party leaders are out
spoken in their denunciation of the part
played by the colored voters in the
mayoralty contest, and have served
notice upon that element that it need
expect no further favors or help from
the party.
Comparison of the vote cast last Tues
day with that of four years ago shows
concusively that had the coIored voters
supported the republican nominee and
voted for him f. Clay Timanus, and
not James Fl. Preston, would today be
the mayor-elect OF Baltimore.
Attitude of Independents.
The returns showed concIusively that
the independents, who supported Mayor
Mahool in the primaries, refused to get
behind Preston in the general election.
Perhaps the best illustration of this is
furnished by the eleventh ward, the home
ward of the mayor-elect. This ward
gave plurality of over 100 for Timanus,
yet returned elected a democratic mem
Der of the city council by a substantial
ma jority.
The twelfth ward also furnishes another
illustration of how Preston was cut by
the independent democrats. In this ward
the normal democratic majority is about
GH. but Preston, with the solid ward
organization behind him, barely pulled
through with plurality of 40 votes.
The democratic candidate for the council,
who trained with the MahOol independent
wing. was returned with majority ap
proXimating 200 votes.
The fact that Preston carried the ward
is attributed to a local issue, the opening
Of a street. Preston took a. stand in
favor of the improvement, while Timanus
remained neutral, and the situation re-
garding the street opening had reached
such an acute stage that party lines
were forgotten and Preston reaped the
carry the ward.
Had the local issue in the ward been
absent 1t Is declared that Timanus would
have carried the ward by a substantial
ma jority.
Ring Given Jolt.
The democratic ring leaders have not
yet recovered their composure, which
was badly ruff1ed by the returns last
Tuesday. That IL democratic candidate
for mayor should only pull through by
a scant 500 plurality was. indeed. d
severe jolt. 1t caused every leader,
from Boss Mahon down to the ward
hencl1men. to sit up and take notice.
For the first time the rank and file of
the city democracy realized that the
master hand Of l. Freeman Rasin was
missing.
Ever since the death of Rasin the
old followers Of the easy boss had
been predicting that the party was on
thin ice. but the Mahon adherents did
not take kindly to the advice offered
by the former intimates Of Rasin. The
Rasnites asserted that Malon was lack
ing in the qualities which made Rasin
u great political general. but they did
not expect to have their estimate of
tne new boss capabilities in the leader
ship line indicated at the first mayor
atty election following the death of
RaSin.
Worried Over Preston.
Already the machine leaders are wor-
ried about the patronage at the City
Hall. 1t is taken for granted that
Preston will give the organization all
the minor appointments that it may
desire, but whether he will permit
Mahon to share in the big plums re-
mains to be seen. Those who know
Preston best assert that he will be
mayor, in fact as well as in name, and |
that he will not stand for any dicta- |
ton from the bosses.
Mr.. Preston has declared that it is |
his desire to give Baltimore city Il |
good clean business administration.
and in order to do so it will be neces- |
sarv for him to cut loose from the |
party machine The ring leaders as |
sert that the coming four years will be |
a good oId-time democratic administra- |
ton of affairs, and that the party work |
ers who have been out in the cold for |
the past twelve years Will come into |
their own again.
Friends of the mayor-elect. however, |
assert that Preston will insist upon |
competent men only being appointed to |
the minor jobs. and assert that the
CITY Hall Will not become an asylum
for broken-down politicians.