1930] OF THE SENATE. 57

GOVERNOR RITCHIE'S STATEMENT CALLING AN EXTRA SESSION OF
THE LEGISLATURE FOR TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1930, FOR THE
PURPOSE OF PROVIDING NEW GENERAL REGISTRA-
TION DAYS FOR BALTIMORE CITY.

I have decided to call an extra session of the Legislature as the
only means of enabling a large group of our citizens to retain their
right to vote. This right is the highest privilege of citizenship,
and the State should not permit a considerable body of the people
to be disfranchised by circumstances wholly exceptional and un-
foreseen, and entirely beyond their control.

By a remarkable coincidence the four days fixed by law for this
year's new general registration in Baltimore City fall on days
which are sacred to Jewish people. The Jewish New Year is

observed on September 23rd and 24th, and the Feast of the Taber-
nacles on October 7th and 8th.

I have with great care tried to ascertain the effect of this.

According to reliable estimates there are from 26,000 to 30,000
voting Jews in Baltimore, and of these it is estimated that 20,000
or more are Orthodox. The others are Reformed.

On the first registration day, September 23rd, no Jew, Ortho-
dox or Reformed, would be permitted to register by the tenets of
his faith. On the three remaining registration days, September
24th, October 7th and October 8th, the Reformed Jews could
register. The Orthodox Jews, however, could not register at any
time on any of these days except between dark and 10 o'clock P.
M., standard time, on September 24th and October 8th.

This would give the Orthodox Jews about three hours on each
of these two nights in which to register, or about six hours in all.
Under the most favorable conditions not more than 20 persons can
be registered an hour in any precinct, so that in six hours 120
persons would be the maximum. There are a great many precincts
in Baltimore in which several hundred voting Orthodox Jews
reside, and it is perfectly obvious that six hours are nowhere near

enough, to register these 20,000 or more persons, large numbers of
whom live in communities.

In addition to this, there are around 400 Jewish election officials
in Baltimore City, and a great many registration offices are in
Jewish homes. This is necessarily so in many precincts of the