USA > Maryland > Leading Events of Maryland History: With Topical Analyses, References, and questions for original thought and research, revised and enlarge > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
Digitized by
CHAPTER VI
FROM THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT
THIS period of the history of our state has been characterized by steady growth and prosperity. It began with the formation of our present system of state government, and throughout has been marked by the completion of many fine and important works of public improvement, by the increase of industry and commerce, and by the development and establishment of our present institu- tions and mode of life.
111. Formation of the Present State Government. - In 1864, the war not yet being over, a new state Constitution was adopted, which abolished slavery. This Constitution prescribed an oath to be taken by all voters, thus deciding who should vote on its. adoption and who should not; and it further provided that the vote of the soldiers absent in the Union armies should be taken in their camps. Even then it was believed that the Constitution was defeated, until the soldiers' vote was brought in, when it was found to have been adopted by a very small majority.
When the war was over it was natural that a strong desire for a new Constitution should exist. A convention was accordingly called in 1867 which framed the government under which we now live, and this was adopted at an election held September 18, 1867, by a majority of twenty-four thousand.
The Constitution is composed of two parts. The first, called the Declaration of Rights, consists of forty-five articles. It is, a statement of the general rights which the people of the state consider of special importance to their freedom. It is declared
182
Digitized by Google
-
1
183
FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT
that the people have the right "to alter, reform or abolish their form of government in such manner as they may deem expe- dient." It asserts the right of every person to worship God as he pleases, and the rights to freedom of speech, to trial by jury, and to protection of life, liberty, and property.
The second part of the Constitution is the Form of Govern- ment. The legislative power is vested in a General Assembly, composed of two Houses, the Senate and the House of Delegates. In the former each county is represented by one member, and the city of Baltimore by four ; in the latter each county is repre- sented according to its population, Baltimore sending four times as many delegates as the most populous county. The Assembly meets biennially on the first Wednesday of January. If he deems it necessary, the governor may call the legislature together in special session. The chief executive power is vested in a gov- "ernor ; he is elected by the people for four years and receives a ; salary of $4,500 a year.1 To the governor is given the appoint- ment of many important officials, and he has the power to appoint all officials whose appointment is not otherwise provided for in the Constitution or by law. In most cases the appointments are made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. . There is a secretary of state, appointed by the governor, to keep a record of official acts and proceedings, and to have the custody of the Great Seal. An attorney-general and a comptroller of the treasury are elected by the people - the former to represent and advise the state in all -legal matters, and the latter to manage the money affairs of the state. A treasurer is elected by the General Assem- bly. For the administration of justice the state is divided into eight districts called circuits. Baltimore, which composes the eighth circuit, has a separate system of courts. In each of the
-
1 The legislature now grants him additional sums, amounting to several times his salary, for the cost of maintaining the executive mansion at-Annapolis, and other expenses.
Digitized by Google
1
184 LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
other circuits three judges1 are elected, - a chief and two asso- ciates. The chief judges of these circuits, together with a special judge from Baltimore city, form the Court of Appeals, the highest court of the state.
The Constitution provided that every white male citizen of twenty-one years. should have the right to vote, but the word " white " was rendered of no effect by the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which prohibited such preference for one race.
As times change, laws need to be altered, even the higher law of constitutions. In Maryland the Constitution may be amended if the changed or new section is proposed by three-fifths of the members of each house of the legislature and approved by a majority of the voters who express their opinion in the election. In this way the state Constitution has been amended from time to time, in order to improve old methods or to deal with new problems. In 1915 two amendments of special importance were added : one is a " home rule " law giving the people of Baltimore city or of a county a large amount of freedom in deciding upon the form of their local government and in the making of local laws ; the other establishes the "referendum," which means that if the voters of the state are dissatisfied with a law passed by the legislature, a certain number of them, by signing a petition, can have the law passed upon at a popular election, for final approval or rejection. In 1916 another very important amendment was approved, adopting what is called the "budget system." This is a plan for spending the money of the state more wisely and economically, which is accomplished by having the governor and his official advisers, who are known to the public and are likely
.
1 Recently an extra judge, making four, was added in the third circuit, composed of Bal- timore and Harford counties. This amendment was adopted in 1913 because there was too much work in this circuit for three judges to do,
.
Digitized by Google
185
FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT
to feel their responsibility, carefully prepare a list of all necessary expenditures, to be submitted to the legislature for final action.1
112. Politics and Elections. - At the present time there are two great political parties in the United States, - the Democratic and the Republican. To make clear the principles and doctrines of these great parties would require much explanation, and they do not belong particularly to our state history.
Chapter V contains an account of politics in Maryland during the Civil War. After the close of the war the Democrats were found to be greatly in the majority, and they won in the state elections until 1895, when a Republican governor was elected. In 191I another Republican governor was chosen, but with a Demo- cratic majority in the legislature, while the elections for president of the United States and members of Congress have sometimes . favored one party, sometimes another. These facts show that we have a large number of independent voters, - men who will not vote regularly with a party, but each time decide what can- didates and measures should be supported for the best interests of the state and nation.
In early times men voted viva voce, or "by the living voice." This caused so much trouble that in 1802 a law was passed in Maryland to compel voting to be done by ballot; that is, on a written or printed slip of paper. In 1890 the state adopted a plan known as the Australian ballot, by which voting might be entirely secret, and in 1896 a law was passed to throw additional safe- guards about voting. The state prints all the ballots. In March, 1901, the General Assembly, being in special session, passed a new'election law, which has since been amended from time to
1 This amendment was prepared with the advice of President Frank Goodnow of the Johns Hopkins University, an eminent authority on government, who served for several years as constitutional adviser to the president of China. The Maryland budget system has aroused interest in all parts of the country.
Digitized by Google
186
LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
time, especially in 1912 and 1914. The voter is not permitted to use any ballot except the one prepared by the state officers, on which the names of all candidates must be printed in alpha- betical order under the head of the respective offices. The bal- lot shows the party of each candidate by printing the party name in plain type, but no symbol or emblem of any kind is allowed. It is difficult for persons who cannot read to vote such a bal- lot. A stringent Corrupt Practices Act was passed in 1908 . and extended in 1912, imposing severe penalties for bribery and other dishonest acts committed in connection with elections. In 1914 a law was passed authorizing the use of voting ma- chines whenever the election supervisors of Baltimore city or of the respective counties so desire, but "any improper, illegal, or fraudulent act " in connection with this method of voting is sub- ject to the same penalties as if committed in connection with the use of ballots.
Beginning in 1910 a series of laws have been passed establish- ing what are called " direct primaries." Under this plan the can- didates of the several political parties are nominated and the party officials chosen directly by the voters who belong to the party, the election being conducted by officials of the state with safeguards similar to those of a general election. /This replaced an older method by which the primary elections were controlled by the party organization according to party custom. It is the purpose of the new law (such as most American states now have) to pre- vent frauds and to allow the whole body of voters belonging to a party to help manage its affairs.
113. Industries. - Though Maryland is no longer a purely agricultural community, the cultivation of the soil continues to be a leading industry. In the western part of the state excellent crops of wheat, corn, buckwheat, and grass are raised and many cattle are fattened for market. On the mountain slopes are
Digitized by Google
FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT 187
raised peaches of the finest quality, apples, and pears. Wheat, corn, and grass are raised in northern and central Maryland, while there is much market gardening and important dairy prod- ucts. Southern Maryland is largely devoted to truck farming and fruit raising ; tobacco has lost its old-time importance but is still cultivated, and the state ranks tenth in tobacco production. On the Eastern Shore wheat, corn, fruits, tobacco, and vegetables are ex- tensively raised. In the forests of western Mary- land the sugar maple abounds and a large amount of maple sugar is profitably produced every spring.
The most valuable of the mineral products of Maryland is soft coal, of which great quanti- ties are found west of Cumberland. No coal A Coal Mine, Allegany County From a photograph of the kind in the United States is supe- rior in quality. The mining of iron was once an important indus- try, but the discovery of a better quality of iron in other parts of the country has nearly destroyed it. The same is true of copper. Excellent red sandstone is found in Montgomery and Frederick counties ; roofing slate in Harford county ; marble in Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick counties ; and a fine quality of granite in
Digitized by Google
188
LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
Baltimore, Howard, and Cecil counties. The making of bricks is still an important industry, as it has been since colonial times. Tile and terra cotta are also made from Maryland clay. Maryland granite has been used in the construction of such important buildings as the Capitol and Congressional Library in Washing- ton and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis ; the red sandstone, in the Smithsonian Institution of Washington.
Tonging for Oysters From a photograph
Maryland gives employment to greater numbers in the work of catching and preparing the products of the water than any other state in the Union. Of these products the oyster is the most im- portant, those of the Chesapeake region being the finest in the world. Vast quantities are consumed at home and great numbers are canned and sent all over the world. For several years there was an alarming decline in this industry, and a strong and deter- mined sentiment was aroused that led to the passage of laws pro- viding for scientific oyster culture, beginning in 1906. Virginia and Rhode Island adopted this plan earlier and practiced it
Digitized by Google
FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT 189
successfully. B. Howard Haman of Baltimore was for years one of the most active and persistent workers for such laws in Maryland. Crabs abound in practically unlimited numbers in the bay and its tributaries. The diamond-back terrapin is considered a great del- icacy and brings high prices. The shad is the most important fish ; the supply has been enormously in- creased since a means of artificial cultivation was adopted in 1880. Mackerel, herring, and other fish are taken in large numbers. An important industry has grown up in catching menhaden for use in making oil and fer- tilizer. The Potomac river yields more of this fish than any other river on the Atlantic coast.
Oyster packing From a photograph
Manufacturing is a very important industry of the state. Baltimore and its environs form one of the great manufacturing centers of the Union. It is the greatest center of the world for the manufacture of fer- tilizers,1 cotton duck, straw hats, and canned goods.1 Baltimore is sometimes called the " Mother of the Canned Goods Industry," because it led the way in the use of machinery and the suc- cessful canning of food products for commerce. The packing
1 But the state as a whole is exceeded by Georgia in the production of fertilizers and by California and New York in canning and preserving.
Digitized by Google
.
190
LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
of oysters was begun in 1820 and that of tomatoes and other vegetables and fruits followed. It is a natural result that more tin cans and more machinery for packing are made here than in any other American city. This is also the leading center of the country for the refining of copper, the great plant at Canton, covering 25 acres, being among the largest in the world. Balti- more is one of the foremost cities in the manufacture of men's
Steel Industry, Sparrows Point From a photograph
clothing, drugs, umbrellas, and candy. Tobacco and brick and tile manufactures and many others are important ; slaughtering and meat packing are rapidly becoming a leading industry. The Mary- land Steel Company, with large works at Sparrows Point, was for many years an important manufacturer of steel rails and builder of large vessels and was the first to begin the foreign steel trade of the United States. In 1916, after a period of rapid growth, this big industry came under the control of the Bethlehem Steel Corpo- ration, which announced plans for an enormous extension of the
Digitized by Google
191
FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT
business, involving the investment of $50,000,000 within three years and making as large a steel plant as any in the country, with a production of about 1,250,000 tons of steel annually.
In 1910 Baltimore was connected by great cables with McCall's Ferry, on the Susquehanna river, where the third largest dam in the world supplies electric power for industries and light.
Shipbuilding, Sparrows Point From a photograph
Cumberland, also, is an important manufacturing city, the chief products being glass, cement, iron and steel, bricks, lumber, and flour. Hagerstown, a handsome and progressive city of Wash- ington county, manufactures automobiles, organs, knitted goods, shirts, furniture, metal work, and carriage stock. Frederick pro- duces knitted goods, leather, fiber brushes, bricks, metal castings, and canned foods. Most of the towns of the Eastern Shore and southern counties engage in the canning of fruits, vegetables, and the food products - oysters, crabs, and fish - of the Chesapeake bay and its tributaries.
Digitized by Google
192
LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
114. Commerce and Transportation. - The commercial center of Maryland is Baltimore, which not only possesses an enormous home trade but is one of the leading cities of America in foreign commerce. It ranks fourth among all the ports of the United States in the amount of its exports, stands second in the export of grain and of coal, and ranks high in the export of flour. There is of course a large trade, partly domestic and partly foreign, to distribute the products of the manufactures (described in the pre- ceding section) and to obtain for them the necessary raw materials, such as iron ore, tin plate, chemicals, and fruit. Baltimore has a fine harbor, in which no port charges upon ships are made by the city, which now owns a system of fine public docks. About twenty steamship lines carry on the foreign commerce, thousands of vessels are engaged in trade in the Chesapeake bay, and a number of fine ships connect Baltimore with the leading ports of the Atlantic, coast. The city enjoys an advantage over Phila- delphia, New York, and Boston in being nearer to the great shipping centers of the West and South. Its location is very favorable for trade through the Panama Canal.
Three great railway systems serve the state. The Baltimore and Ohio, the original American railroad whose small beginning we have studied (see Sec. 95), has developed wonderfully. The rude engine of Peter Cooper has been replaced by the huge modern loco- motive ; through trains pass under Baltimore, by way of the Belt Line tunnel, drawn by powerful electric locomotives, the first ever used in this way ; and the system now embraces more than 4,500 miles of tracks. Its central offices are still in Baltimore, which it connects with the great western part of the country. The Pennsyl- vania railroad, with nearly 12,000 miles of tracks, is one of the largest railroad systems in the world. It connects Baltimore with the rich country to the North, as well as with the West; over its tracks come most of the trains from the South, and the railroads
Digitized by Google
193
FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT
it controls serve the people of the Eastern Shore and of southern Maryland. The Western Maryland railway not only links Balti- more with the cities of western Maryland and the rich coal mines of that section and of West Virginia, but through its connection with a great northern system at Pittsburgh it provides additional
A Granite Quarry, near Woodstock, Baltimore County From a photograph
trade routes from the western states. There are several smaller railway lines of importance. Well-equipped electric lines connect Baltimore with Annapolis and Washington, while others link the cities of western Maryland and aid the industry and commerce of that section. During recent years the state government has ex- pended millions of dollars in the construction of a system of
Digitized by
194
LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
splendid roadways, reaching into every county, to the great advantage of farmers and merchants.1
Cumberland, an important railroad center and the western terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, is the commercial center of the western part of Maryland. Frederick and Hagers- town also are railroad centers of importance. Several lines of railroad traverse the Eastern Shore, which, with the numerous water routes of trade and travel, afford excellent commercial facilities. The Elk and Delaware rivers are connected by the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, thus opening a short and direct water route between Baltimore and Philadelphia.
115. New Social and Industrial Laws .- In the earlier years of our state's history the daily life of the people was very different from that of to-day. There were no railroads, steamboats, electric cars, telegraph or telephone lines, and thousands of machines and devices now common had never been heard of. With the age of machinery, steam, and electricity a very much larger proportion of the people came to live in the cities and towns, where they work in great noisy factories instead of on farms or in cottages as formerly. Often the machines could be attended to by women and children, whose services were cheaper than those of men, and there was a demand for them, too, in the huge stores that began to be established in large cities. Gradually our American states and, indeed, countries all over the world have found it necessary to pass new laws to regulate these new industrial and social conditions.
During recent years Maryland has passed a number of such laws. The " child welfare laws " forbid any child under sixteen years of age being employed at a regular occupation, unless for
1 In the " Good Roads Movement" which has done so much for the prosperity of the state, Mr. Samuel M. Shoemaker of Baltimore county and Governor Austin L. Crothers were notable leaders.
Digitized by Google
From a photograph
View of Cumberland
D
Digitized by
195
196
LEADING EVENTS OF MARYLAND HISTORY
special reasons the state grants a permit, and boys under twelve and girls under sixteen are not permitted to sell newspapers on the streets. Factories and stores are not allowed to keep women at work more than ten hours a day, except in the canning industry. In 1914 a Workmen's Compensation Law went into effect:"Its purpose is to diminish as far as possible the hardships resulting from injuries or death suffered by workmen as a consequence of accidents occurring in connection with their duties. In the case of such accidents the employer is to pay to the workman or his family a certain sum of money, varying according to circum- stances. In the more dangerous occupations these payments are made compulsory, while in others a plan of insurance may be agreed upon by the employer and the workmen. In 1908 a Public-Service Commission, consisting of three members ap- pointed by the governor, was created. Its duty is to exercise . supervision over the corporations that perform some important . service for the general public, such as furnishing transportation (as do the railroads, electric lines, and steamboats), telephone service, gas, electricity, etc. The commission must see that such companies give good service and do not charge too much, and it will hear complaints of any person who feels that he is unfairly treated by such public-service corporations. A State Board of Agriculture, consisting of nine members appointed by the governor, was created in 1916. Besides serving as trustees of the State College of Agriculture, the board performs a number of duties to promote the prosperity of farmers and protect the food supply of the people.
1
-
-
116. Education : Public-School System ; Normal Schools. The lack of educational facilities in Maryland in the colonial days has already been mentioned (see Sec. 66), together with the reasons for the condition that existed. Until 1694 such schools as existed were private, and the government did nothing for the cause of
Digitized by Google
I
197
FROM THE CLOSE OF CIVIL WAR TO THE PRESENT
popular education. In that year Francis Nicholson, who has been called the "father of the public-school system of Maryland," became royal governor of the province. He founded King William's School at Annapolis (see Sec. 43), and he also managed to secure the passage of a law to establish schools in the other counties, although the establishment was not effected. In 1723 a system of county schools was established ; pupils of all grades of learning were received and prepared for college. For about a century these were the only public schools of Maryland. An attempt was made in 1825 to reform the system, but very little was actually accomplished. The Constitution of 1867 required the legislature , to establish "a thorough and efficient system of free public schools," and accordingly laws were passed providing a regular organization of boards and officials to manage the schools and direct the work of the teachers.
1
.
.
. In > 1914 an act of the legislature provided for a commission to conduct a "school survey," that is, a careful study by experts of the entire educational work of the state. The result was a series of recommendations for improvements that were adopted by the legislature of 1916 in a completely revised code of school laws that is one of the best in the United States.
Under the present organization there is a State Board of Education composed of seven members appointed by the gov- ernor. This board elects the state superintendent of schools, who serves as secretary, treasurer, and chief executive of the board and has large powers in the general direction and supervision of public education. For each county the governor appoints a County Board of Education, which elects a county superintendent of schools, who serves the county board as secretary; treasurer, and chief executive officer, advises them regarding the appoint- ment of teachers and adoption of textbooks, and has general supervision of education in the county. One of the most notable
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.