The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1886-04-02

~ u1a1r Meonuro OoasldePo1 reo >
nroad r1aeeorm.
The Blair Education bill has been do
bated IN the senate along lines Of ar
gumcnt which practically tako Il out d
The domain Of party questions Il y
evident that Il will receivo the votes OF
: large number Of Democratic States
men who attach less weight 20 tho con-
shtunonal objections 20 Il than to the
fact that Il an urgent necessity Of their
States that the Nation should aid them
In the work q educating their people.
We arc not disposed 70 underrate the
strict constructionist view. which in
siSts that education Il : matter that be-
longs 20 the States and ought 70 be left
IN their exclusive charge. But the day
has long since passed when . narrow
and rigid Interpretation Of the consti-
tutiou can be successfully invoked as .
barrier against measures that arc in
the nature OF imperious National neces-
stiles. In the debate now finished In
the Senate. Il has been argued that
Congress had no power to appropriate
the money which paid for the purchase
OF Louisiana Doubtless this u good
strict constructionist doctrine, and yet
President jefferson approved that ap-
preparation, and il was obviously justi-
fed on the ground that the National
welfare was the supreme consideration.
The facts Of the present case appear
| to US to constitute = similar occasion,
where the good Of the Nation ought to
override any finical and fine-drawn OBJ
| iections. founded upon constitutional
hair-splitting. In the sixteen Southern
| States. out Of 4.154.125 males. Of
| II years OF age and upward. l.S54.974
| can not wrise-nearly one-third Of the
| whole. In the State Of North Carolina
| there are 145. 900 illitcrate voters, more
| than one-half Of her entire electorate
| II Is q maxim universally accepted that
| popular government must be based on
| Intelligent SURFACES to be safe. In
| communities where, as in Massa-
| chusetts. the number Of illiterates in
the total population is small, free man
hood suffrage may prevail without any
great danger to good government. but
where the illitcrate voters form more
than one-half Of the whole body OF
voters il Is undeniablc that free gov
eminent is exposed to serious peril.
And that Is the actual state OF things
which exists at this moment IN many
Of the Southern States. while IN no one
OF them is the number Of illiterate
voters less than 30 per cent. Of the en-
tire electorate.
Il Is quite true that this dangerou.
state Of affairs in the South is one Of
the legacies left to US by twenty-foul
wears Of Republican policy. Il - also
true that the great mass OF illiteratf
voters in the South. for whose beneh
the Blair bill is designed, are Republic.
an voters. These considerations ough
not. in our judgment, to prevent Dem
ocratic Statesmen and Representative
from dealing with the bill on its mer
its. Indeed it would seem that il any
reason could be strong enough FOL
straining the constitution q little It !
found in the fact that the Republican
party has created situation so full o
evils and dangers that the ordinary re
sources Of the States are wholly made
quate to meet Is
The Southern States, most OF them
are unable to cope effectively with IN
| mass OF 1lliterdcy winch RcPubS".
craftsmanship has injected into thei
citizenship. This being an unique:
toned fact there remains only one q
tentative offered TO practical states
men; either to stand upon the propt
sifion that free suffrage in the hands Q
vast bodies Of ignorant voters Is not
source Of danger to the Nation. or els
to admit that it is . National evil fc
which. as the States can not, the n:
ton must provide . remedy. we 9
not propose to waste any space. arg
ing the first Of those two proposition
We take our stand upon the broa
platform that universal suffrage mu
be based upon something like univers
, education, and that where . large Sc
ton Of the country Is unable % furni'
its people with school facilities, ~
thirty, forty. and in some States ov
fifty per cent Of the voters are igno
ant men, . grave National emergene
has arisen. before which strict co
, structionist dogmas must give way.