The Washington times., 1911-07-22
THE MARYLAND GOVERNOR
SHIP CAMPAIGN.

For several weeks Senator Blair Lee
of Montgomery county, had the Mary
land Democratic gubernatorial field t.
himself. He announced his candidac,
early, and gained strength so fast tina
recently it has become a question
whether the organization would pu
anybody in the field against him.
But it was not fated that progress
and modernism should be permitted
thus easily to win victory in Mary
land. After much consultation anC
calculation, two more candidates were
simultaneously announced on yester
day. Governor Crothers will ask nomi
nation to a second term, and Senator
Arthur Pue German, jr., will also
make the run.
Governor Crothers has been at Least
acquiescent in a considerable measure
of progressiveness. Senator Lee has
been good deal more. He has beer
the leader, the engine, the inspiring
and directing-force of the forward
movement while in the legislature
German has been just as frankly and
obviously the legislative captain of re,
actionism.
The politics of the situation seems
to be that if Lee and Crothers divide
the anti-machine, anti-Gorman strength
of the State, German may win the
nomination. Apparently that was just
the consummation for which the Cor
man forces had hoped and waited, for
Germans candidacy was announced the
instant it was known that Governor
Crothers had decided to run.
John Walter Smith, the lumber
tariff Senator from Maryland, head OF
the State organization, will support
German. 1t is presumable that Mr..
German has designs upon a Senatorial
toga, and the succession, in time, to
his fathers place as head of the Mary
land political system.
1t is a program which the independ-
ence and self-respect of all Maryland
ought to oppose. The younger German
is a worthy successor of his father. He
plays the same game, entertains the
same low ideals, has the same con-
temptuous attitude toward public in
terests, and the same alliance with
special interests.
The United States Senate is out
growing the German sort of leader
ship. This country is outgrowing it.
Maryland cannot afford to 60 reaction
ary at time when the nation is going
progressive. 1t cannot afford to indorse
Gormanism and Quayism and Murphy
ism at a time when the national demo-
crat is getting away from those blights.
Governor Crothers and Senator Lee
are entitled to divide honors in the
matter of the corrupt practices act, the
good roads policy, the public service
commission, the primary legislation.
These are the big, notable achievements
of the new progressive era in Mary
land.
German was the bitterest enemy that
raised a hand in the desperate effort to
kill the public service commission
measure. He opposed the corrupt prac-
tices act, though he did it furtively, for
want of the courage to do it in day
light. He killed a bill to require that
the contents of a sack of commercial
fertilizer should be plainly branded on
the sack-a measure in effect in almost
every other State of the South.
The people of Maryland are safely
progressive; but the Smithsonian
machine has seized opportunity to adopt
the Napoleonic tactics of dividing the
enemy and defeating it in detail. Mary
land needs, more than anything else,
Just at this time, some real, effective
publicity upon the motives, backing,
and inspiration of the political ele-
ments which seek to put the Common
wealth into the path of retrogression.
At time when the national Democ-
racy looks confidently toward a ma
tional victory which it has deserved by
reason of divorcing itself from such
ideas and policies, Maryland Democracy
should catch step with the national
r,oyamapt This is no time for march,
ing toward the rear.
Senator German is a dangerous can
didate for the Maryland Democrats to
name this year. The State is close, the
determined to make hard
fight. If no higher motive makes ap-
peal, they should at least consider the
danger of defeat under the reactionary
leadership which now seeks to impose
itself.