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X4;1 71
6,8
-~ On September 30; the answer of the Supervisors was `filed .with the Gov,
~ernor:' It is a weak document, only feebly parrying the charges of the :Re-
`'form League, and obeying quite faithfully the old legal maxim; :" When yon
:have no case, abuse the plaintiff's attorney."
On October 2, 3 and 4, a public hearing of testimony for and against the
Supervisors was given. It showed that the Republican Supervisor had been
_"systematically over-ridden by the Democratic ones, and. that one of the
latter
`had done little but agree with the-other. The facts as -to ejection of
watch-
' ~ e_ rs, &c., as above stated, were fully shown.'
On October 5 and ?, the Governor heard, privately,3 the arguments of
' counsel for and against the Supervisors. The counsel for the Supervisors
tried to throw the responsibility of their action; with respect to the
watchers,
(upon their counsel. The whole trend of the argument for the defense was
toward-showing that the Supervisors should not be removed, because they
had not been proved to have committed any act for which they could be held
civilly, or criminally liable in a court of law. The Governor, evidently,
sym-
pathized-with this view; and was urged to take it by the advice of his
attor-
ney-general.' - As was well said by the Baltimore' Sun, the `counsel for the
~_ Supervisors did not " rise to any higher conception of the case . ~ '~
than
that it was a partisan squabble between Republicans and Democrats," and
'~ .that the defense " partook largely of what lawyers would probably call a
plea in estoppel, or what plain folks mean when they reply to, a ~ damaging
assertion by saying to the accuser, ` You're another; you are no better
your-
self and it's all your fault anyhow."' The counsel for the majority devoted
v°'much effort to proving that the minority representative acquiesced in
what
",they did, as if, forsooth, that was an excuse for their illegal acts.
The decision of the Governors when announced on October 8, : was a sur-
prise to every good citizen: ~ He asked the Republican Supervisor, against
whom
no charges had been laid, to resign on account of age and infirmity. ~ The
Demo-
' eratic Supervisor, who had voted with the president of the Board on' all
~oc-.
casions, but had little else to do with its policy, was induced to resign,
on the
ground of being "too busy to give proper attention to his duties." But the
president of the Board, the head and forefront of the offending, was con-
tinued in office. The Governor held that there had not been sufficient evi-
dence to convict him of " gross misconduct," except in : relation to the
watchers, and that, in that particular, the advice of his counsel relieved
him
from responsibility.
No appointments were made to fill.the vacancies for several days. . Then,
. there was held, under the auspices of the Republican party, the largest
mass-
meeting ever known in Baltimore. It adopted a resolution. urging the
CTTIZENSIiIP :AND SUFFRAGE ,IN MARYLAND.
(1) Baltimore Sun, Oct. 1, 1895.
(2) Verbatim reprt in Baltimore Sun for Oct. 3, 4, 5.
(3) Representatives of the press were present, Baltimore Sun, Oct. 7 and 8,
(9) Mr. John P. Poe.
(5) Oct. 8, 1895.
(8) Baltimore Sun, Oct. 9, 1895.
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