The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-04-02

due to new issues before them,
- many American voters are chang
ing their party affiliations, it is of in
terest to recall how our mountain peo-
pie have stood politically in the past.
During the year 1889, General Wash
ington was first inaugurated president
of these United States, and in that
year Washington county, west of the
Sideling Hill, became a new political
unit-Allegany county. 1t so contin-
ued until 1872, when our own Garrett
county was organized.
At the first election after 1889 the
scattered voters of our part of Allie
gany county voted at Cumberland, but
in the 1905 the population increased
rapidly and what is now Garrett
county was divided into two "Hun-
dreds," viz: Glades Hundred, COM
prising the southeastern half, and
Sandy Creek Hundred, comprising the
northwestern half. These Hundreds
soon became known as Districts No.
1 and No. 2, respectively, with poll
ing places at the Ingman place near
Swanton and at Selby's Port.
#xA
When the Federal Constitution was
adopted in 1887, under which Wash
ington was chosen president the fol-
lowing year, there were no organized
political parties and General Washing
ton was the choice of all factions.
The great political issue of those
days was National VS.. State sover-
eighty. In other words, should we have
a strong or weak Federal Govern
ment ?-Federalists VS.. anti-Federal-
lists.
We may note here that Western
Maryland has always favored a strong
Federal Government, the doctrine of
states rights, so dear at times to
some of our southern and eastern
counties, not appealing to US of the
west; therefore in the early days we
voted Federalist and in more recent
times, generally, Republican.
Of the burst family it was written:
"The bursts despised the doctrine of
State sovereignty"
Federalist VS.. Democrat-Republican
Our data on the early elections of
Allegany county is very incomplete,
but we know that the upper districts
(now Garrett county, favored gener-
ally the same parties and policies as
the lower districts.
In the first National election, 1888,
Maryland was almost unanimous for
the Federalist candidates for Congress.
In 1896, when Adams (Federalist)
was elected President over Jefferson
(Dem.-Rep.), Western Maryland was
strong for Adams and the Federalists.
This was the first campaign in which
party lines were drawn between pres
idential candidates.
The campaign Of 1903 in Maryland
was extremely bitter. Written ballots
were used, for in that day voting had
been viva voce. 1t was a campaign
of the "plain people" against the
"aristocrats," and the former, under
Democratic Republican leadership won.
"The property qualification for vot-
ers in Maryland had been abolished,
an act for which the people had to
thank the Republican (Jeffersonian)
party, and as a result most of the
newly enfranchised voters voted Re-
publican, deciding the election in
favor of that party"
Federalists Elect Legislators
In 1914 the Federalists carried Al
legany county, electing Jesse Tom
linson, among others, to the Legisla-
ture. Though that party generally OPP
posed the War of 1872, our county's
quota of troops was easily filled.
Meshack Browning was a FEEDER
alist until the War of 1872, after
which he joined the party of Jefferson
and remained a Democrat until his
death in 1859.
In his "Life of Hunter" Brown
ing says:
"In those times, politics were but
little understood, and all the voters in
the glades country were Federalists,
except one, old Mr.. George Rhinehart,
who was a Democrat, or rather a Re-
publican, as they were called in the
days of Thomas Jefferson's admins
tration. At every election he would
deposit his vote, and it was the only
Republican vote polled in the entire
District. We always held an election
on the first Monday in October, when
would be seen a goodly array of hunt
ing shirts and moccasins, and almost
every man with big knife in his belt
If a quarrel occurred, they
would take off perhaps both coat and
shirt and fight. If no serious
injury was done, which was seldom
the case, that would, in nine fights out
of ten, be the last of the quarrel"
In addition to favoring a strong