Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1913-11-13
MR.. CANS ATTACKS
hARBURY ARGUMENT
Makes Strong Address in An
napOlis Election Case.
JUSTICES ARE INTERESTED.
Supreme Court JUrisis Quiz City
Counsellor Melvin in Course Of
Lalter's Plea.

The United States Supreme Court
at Washington yesterday aft ftarnoon
listened to the closing argument in
the Annapolis election cases and
heard Edgar a. Cans, of the Balti-
more bar, attack the contention of
William L. Marbury, who had sup
ported the proposition that the Fif-
teenth Amendment TO the Constitu-
tion does not apply 10 local, State
and municipal elections.
Mr.. Cans insisted that the An
napolis and other election laws, de.
signed 10 evade the mandate OF the
Constitution giving the negro equal
suffrage with white men, twas a
cJwardly subteriuge" and that the
authors OF these enactments knew
them to be such when the measures
were framed.
Preceding Mr.. Cans, MIR. Marbury
finished the argument which he began
Yesterday. His most striking state
ent was to the effect that if inter
p1eted to apply TO all elections, local
or otherwise, the Fifteenth Amend
men would result in peopling the Pa
cific Coast with aliens from the
Orient.
MIR. Cans replied to the MarbuIy
argument with the suggestion that
they were too fantastic" to war.
rant serious consideration. He fol-
lowed this with a statement of the
case and contended that the provi-
sions Of the Fifteenth Amendment so
clearly applied to the case in que s.
tion that it was folly to dispute this.
The Maryland Legislwure was
charged with criminal folly" by Mr.
Cans in ever passing such law. 1t
was not impossible that in some
States, he said, whtre, the negroes
vastly outnumbered the whites, that
the white people should feel called
upon to enact such legislation as in
the Annapolis case, but in Maryland
the white vote was $50, 900 as against
so, 600 negroes, and no excuse existed
why the Maryland Legislature should
take such action to maintain white
supremacy.
Mr.. Ridgely p. Melvin, City Coun-
selor of Annapolis, made the final ar
gument for the registrars. 1t was
the first appearance of MIR. Melvin be-
fore the Supreme Court, he having
been admitted to practice only yes
terday after being introduced by MIR.
Marbury. In his argument Mr..
Melvin held that the right to vote
under the Fifteenth Amendment did
not include the right to vote in
municipal ctions-tnat is, ia cor
porate bodies created solely by the
will of the Legislature.
Mr.. Melvin was closely question
ed by ths Court. and while he was
insisting that if the amendment did
apply to the municipalities it might
be applicable to Legislatures them
selves, the Chief Justice Interrupted,
saying: 1.-The Fifteenth Amendment
does reach into every Legislature and
covers every inch of territory Of the
United States.
Later, in the course OF Mr.. Mel
wins argument, the Chief Justice
asked if the Constitution of Maryland
intended to say that in municipal cleo
tions white man should vote but a
black man should not Mr.. Melvin
replied by quoting decision of the
Maryland Court of Appeals, setting
forth that the constitutional right to
vote provided in the Maryland Con-
stitution did not apply to the munich
pality.
'tThen, said Mr.. Justice Pitney.
the State of Maryland could nullify
the Fifteenth Amendment complete
ly by dividing up the whole State
into a sufficient number of murici-
palities +"
Charles j. Bonsparte, who was en-
tered ss appearing in the case with
Mr.. Gaas, was not present yesterday
or Tuesday.