Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-05-06
SUFFRAGE IN RHODE ISLAND.
Shall the Electoral Vote Of tho State He
DiminishedS
Report of the wallace COMMITTEE

Report of the Wallace COMMITTEE
Mr.. Wallace submitted a report yester-
day in behalf of the majority Of the
Senate select committee on frauds in the
late elections, concerning the abridgment
OF suffrage of United States citizens by
the state of Rhode Island. The report
quotes from the federal and the Rhode
Island constitutions, and shows that in
Rhode Island naturalized citizens are re-
quired to possess q qualification that Is
not required of native-born citizens, and
that this additional qualification amounts
to disfranchisement. This additional
qualification is the possession of real estate
of the value of s134 over and above all
encumbrances or which yields net rental
of at least 81 per annum.
The committee reports that the estimates
Of various witnesses as to the disfranchise-
ment in Rhode Island range from 3, 900 to
p, 900 votes. The committee arrives at the
conclusion, that, applying the rule provid-
ed in the Fourteenth amendment to the
statement of facts would reduce the Repub-
ican vote of Rhode Island, under the GEN.
sus of 1875, in round numbers over Al, 900.
The committee says s. The importance
of this question may be further evident
when We recollect that the vote of the
electoral college is based upon the represen-
tation of the states. 1t is possible that
under the Fourteenth amendment ana the
act of 1878 Rhode Island might rightfully
have been deprived of one representative
in the House of Representatives Of the
XLIVth Congress, and that her additional
vote in the electoral college thus secured
decided the question of the president in
1877 tho rofpp rVoH hV< oil
commission being 1Sj to 1S4, and it might
again decide it,
The report declares that there is pecu-
liar hardship in q real estate qualification
in Rhode Island, ON account OF the small
ness of the area of the state and the den-
sity of the population. The total number
Of dwelling houses in the state was only
3S, S115 in 1875 4 large part of the foreign
population is employed in manufacturing
establishments and small house suit
able for an operative and his family would
cost So, 600 and upward. The report con-
tinues:
''All native voters who own no real es-
tate must register personally in December
and pay their poll tax of 81 in January, or
they are disqualified from voting during
that year. This operates to disqualify
very many persons and tends largely to
corruption among this class ofvoters
Restricted suffrage, registry taxes upon
poor men alone, statutory closing Of the
polls at sunset intsead of at 8 o'clock, as
formerly, by which the operatives in the
mills are prevented from voting, and the
compulsory payment of the registry tax
ten months prior to the general election
in a presidential year, cause great COM
plaint upon the part of the poor men and
foreign born citizens in Rhode Island"
1.-The fOreign-bOrn citizen may own per-
sOnalty, but cannot vote unless he owns
real estate, and Of course he cannot get
upon the registry. If registry taxes for
one year are not paid the constitution for
bids the vote until the arrears for two years
are paid up. Is this the explanation of
the fact that of AZ, TAI voters, shown by the
census of 1875, to be in the state and
qualified to vote, 26, 627 actually did vote
in the hotly contested presidential election
of 1876. No such percentage Of
non-voters is found anywhere, North or
South, in that election
The committee believes that the govern
ment of Rhode Island is nearer
an oligarchy than democracy. The
committee further reports that
Rhode Island has a right to have con-
stitutiOn to suit itself SO long as that con-
stitution does not conflict with the consti-
tuition of the United States still Rhode
Island has no right to second representa-
tive in the national House of Representa-
tives. and fourth member in the electOr-
al college, based upon a population of dis
franchised citizens, if such be found to be
the fact.
The report says it would be competent
for Congress, at this time, to deprive Rhode
Island of one of her representatives in Con-
gress if satisfied that the application of the
rule laid down in the constitution would
reduce the representative basis in that
state below the ratio looked to in the ap-
pOrtiOnment.
The committee recommends the passage
of an act to provide for such an enumera-
tiOn of persons in the tenth census us will
clearly designate the basis of representa-
tion required to be made under the Four
teenth amendment, and it reports a bill for
that purpose.