The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1913-01-17
BALTIMORE LETTER.

/ i he truth Oh the situation Is tndt DOtn the
candidates. avowed and prospective, and
their friends realize that it is too early TO
begin campaign and it is not expected
that they will get into the fight until late
next spring. In the first place campaigns
are expensive and the longer they run
the more money they cost. Secondly,
the people of the State are not apt to be-
come aroused and interested in an cleo
ton which is SO many months distant.
AS pointed out several weeks ago, polti-
cal workers do not expect the Senatorial
/ fights to become lively and interesting
until after the state wide primaries next
August, when candidates for the egisla
ture will be nominated and the State Cen
trail Committee, which will manage the
Senatorial primaries in each party, will
be elected This will permit almost
three months for the different Senatorial
candidates to submit their claims to the
voters Of the State. A candidate for the
Senate Can cover and recover MARYLAND
in three months. The only avowed cam
ddateS for the Senate are Isaac Lobe
Straus for the long term and State Sena-
tor Blair Lee for the short term Both
announced their candidates. some weeks
ago, but neither has apparently made
Roadway in his campaign. Senator Iohn
Walter Smith and Congressman Talbot
will certainly be candidates for the long
and short terms respectively.
In order TO stir up strife and keep his
name before the people, Isaac Lobe
Straus has declared in favor of the
kenyon-Sheppard Interstate Shipment
Liquor Bill pending in Congress and also
for local option legislation for MARYLAND.
MIR. StrauS states his attitude on these
two questions in reply to a letter re-
celved from William II. Anderson, SUI
perlntendent OF the Anti-Saoon League.
Other candidates also received similar
letters, but as vet they have not replied
10 them. Mr.. Strauss conversion to
local option was sudden. He served
tour years as Attorney General and dur
ing that time neither raised his hand nor
voice for such legislation. Most of his
close friends believed he was opposed to
the local option bill of the Anti-Saloon
League. Realizing that in his fight for
the Senatorship he will not have the sup
port OF many, if any, OF the organization
Democrats. Mr. StrauS aims to line UP
behind him the local option following in
| the State. He may or he may not do
this but, in taking his stand with the
/ local optionistS. Mr.. Stratus has prob
ably overlooked the fact that there are
( thousands of Democrats who are opposed
/ to local option and may oppose him just
/ because of his declarations on this sub
ject
He will cater to any support, irrespec
tive OF the consequences. By his later
move. Mr. Straus has been strongly
/ criticised even by a number of his friends.
The discussion of various avoWed and
prospective United States Senatorial can
dlcates has aroused much interest in the
manner and procedure by which the Sen.
ators will be nominated in the primaries.
Because it is the first real fight which will
be held under the new United States Sen.
atorlal primary law. summary of its
provisions will be interesting at this time
In the important and salient features
the primaries will be similar 10 the Sen.
atoral primaries held in 1907, when
Governor John Walter Smith won in the
long term race and the late William
Pmckney Nhyte carried the short term
Tight without opposition. The chic
change IN the situation is that the prim.
aries have been legalized Under the
law, the Senatorial primaries will be held
on the same day as the general election.
There will be voting Office in every pre-
clnct in the State which will open a hall
hour after the regular polls and will close
bait hour after the regular ballotIns
ceases. The Democrats will have sep.
arate polling office TOR their primaries
and the Republicans will, also, if they
have a Senatorial contest. SO will the
ProgreSslveS. The three parties will not
hold their primaries in the same place. as
Is done IN general State and city prlm-
aries. In the Democratic primaries only
affiliated Democrats can vote and they
cannot do SO until after they have partic-
ipated in the regular election. The same
applies to all other parties holding
! United States Senatorial primaries.
The Supervisors of Election have no
! jurisdiction over the United States Sena-
atorlal primaries. They are directed
/ and managed by the State Central Com
mittee of each party and the candidates
deiray pro rata all the expenses of the
primaries for each party. In each polling
office the law provides there must be
! two judges and a clerk and these Off
Gals are appointed by the members of
! the State Central Commitlee from each
! county and legislative district. The
same State Central Committeeman also
! select the polling Offices for their respec-
tive counties or legislative districts The
State Central Committee, as a whole,
through its chairman, provides for the
printing and distribution of the ballots
and, also. for receiving the returns. I'm
der the law. all candidates for Senator
mmSt file their certificates with the State
Z [ 4 l.
the primaries.
These are advertised and twenty DAYS
before the primaries the chairman esti-
mates the cost of the primaries and as
sesSes each candidate for his share If
this Is not paid promptly then the candi-
date eliminates himself from the race.
The law allows each candidate watcher
and challenger in the polling offices. AS
soon as the judges and clerks complete
the count, they forward the returns to
the State Chairman, who has them tab
ulated and advertised.
AT the first session of the legislature
the chairman of each party submits
the results in his respective primary con-
test. When the balloung for United
States Senators begins each delegation
from county or legislative district votes
for the candidates for the long and short
term, respectively, who received the high
est number of votes in the primary OF the
party to which it belongs That is, if a
county or district is represented by Dem
ocrats, then they will vote for the candi-
dates who received the higheS, number
OF votes for the two offices in the Demo
cratic primaries in their own county or
district Should the delegates be Repub-
llcan, then 1t casts votes for the candidates