The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-01-27
Universal Suffrage,
Hon, The N. 7. ReraLd.

HTOW tte CN. Il h6TOtu.
Universal suffrage is coming, or Ceaving
the women out in the cold) what is sometimes
called manhood Suffrage or suffrage to
every male citizen of the United States above
the age OF twenty one years, irrespective of
race, kink, color or previous condition of SER
vitude, any law in any State to the contrary
Notwithstanding. proposed amendment to
the Constitution, covering this ground, from
Mr.. Stewart, of Nevada, has been made the
special order in the Senate for Thursday next.
When taken up the subject will probably be
debated for a week or more, aud then the
joint resolution by the required two-thirds of
each house will doubtless be passed, and sub
mitted to the Legislatures of all the States,
and then, with the ratification of the amend
ment by three-fourths of said Legislatures, it
will become, "to all intents and PURPOSES
part and parcel OF the supreme law of the
land.
Meantime the same amendment, substan-
TALLY, has been up in the House of Represen-
tatives, together with bill providing that
"no State shall abridge or deny the right of
any citizen of the United States to vote for the
electors of President and VicePresident of the
United States, or for Representatives in Con-
gress, or for members Of the Legislature of
the State in which he may reside, by reason
of race, color, or previous condition Of slavery;
and any provisions in the law or constitution
of any State inconsistent with this section are
hereby declared null and void" The bill
further provides for the enforcement of the
first section, and further, "a penalty for the
exercise of any Office by any person whose
disqualifcations for Office under the fourteenth
amendment have not been removed" and the
United States courts are to have exclusive
jurisdiction over these matters.
Mr.. Boutwell,, in support of this bill on Sat-
urday last, made very ingenious and plausi-
BILE argument. He claimed the right of Con-
90 1a,i11 11otn ~
independent of any action on the part Of the
States; that the Government must have the
constitutional means to provide for it's own
preservation; that If the doctrine that the
States have exclusive Jurisdiction of the sub
iect were true, then the States might refuse to
choose electors of President and Vice-P Presi-
dent, or to send members to Congress, and
thus stop the action of the Government. He
further contended that in guaranteeing a re-
publican form of government to each of the
States Congress had the power to enforce this
bill of suffrage and especially in the refractory
gro-citizen-excluding States of Maryland,
Delaware, and Kentucky; and that Congress
had the power, moreover, in enforcing the
equal rights of citizens of the United States in
all the States, to pass this bill under the
fourteenth amendment.
But why this double dose of constitutional
amendment providing for universal or man
| hood suffrage and an act Of Congress to esta-
blish the same thing Mr.. Boutwell, explains:
''Our object Is to secure universal suffrage to
the adult male citizens of this country. The
! power is in our hands as Congress first, but
as party responsible for what this Congress
| does. II we submit constitutional amend
| ment alone we in certain sense admit that
the power for which have oontended is want
| ing. More than that, there are but twenty
| five States to which we may look at the
present time for the ratification of this amend
ment. We have then, to secure three other
| States in support Of this proposition, and we
enter upon that work with certain amount of
prejudice of trAditiOnary opposition to negro
! suffrage. Nine-tenths, | doubt not, of the
Republican party of the country favor man
! hood suffrage. One-tenth do not, and they
are a great obstacle in the way of perfecting
this benign measure. / am in favor of taking
the responsibility of the position which | oc-
cupy. We are responsible for universal
suffrage as one of the great browning mea-
sures of an administration of eight years.
duration, and which, by judgment OF the
| people, is continued for four years more.
What the people expect of us is the consum-
nation of this plan. If we submit the con-
stitutional amendment alone we embroil this
country for two, three, or five years, or a
longer time, in the intricaoies and difficulties
OF contest against the prejudices of many
We have at this moment both right and power
on our side"
This plan, then, is, by act of Congress, to
enforce universal suffrage, negroes and all,
upon all the States, for the present uses Of
the Republican party, and to follow it up as
fast as possible with constitutional amend
ment for future security, In view of the fact
that mere law passed by the Congress of to-
day may be repealed by another Congress.tO-
morrow. This plan, then, is very shrewd
one. We guess, however, that this shrewd
bill will fail in view of the warning voices on