The Brookhaven leader., 1889-12-12
In Danger of Disfranchisement.

by a State law of the Australian bal
lot system. The Australian system
has already been introduced into two
Northern States and works admir-
ably. by it the voter enters the poll
ing place, which is allowed to contain
no one save the judges of election and
their clerks. He receives from them
slip of paper upon which are printed
the names of all candidates in nOmi-
nation. With this slip the voter re-
tires into stall close by, and within
view of the officers, and marks an \
opposite the names of all those for
whom he wishes to vote. He then
folds his ticket, comes out from the
stall and drops his folded ticket into
the box. 1t is a physical impossibity
that any eye but his own should see,
or any hand but his own should touch,
the slip of paper on which his will as
freeman is recorded.
The Raymond Gazette, a strong
Unconstitutional convention paper
edited by "Chief Justice Samuel D.
Harper, referring to the operations OF
this law, approvingly says:
What could be simpler, what fairer
way devisedf And herein lies, ac-
cording to our view, ready and
effective solution of the difficulty now
presenting itself for the consideration
of Southern minds and inviting such
ingenious conception, to-wit: What
vote, SO overwhelmingly greater than
the vote of the whites?. 1t would be
contrary to the expressed declaration
of both the Constitution of the United
States and that of Mississippi, to
either disfranchise them on property
or educational qualification. But, here
is plan, commendable for its SIM
plicity and yet effective in its results,
that is sanctioned by law and which
has the precedent of having been
adopted and tried by a Republican
State in the North and one in the
West 1t seems to us the plan would
be worth the trial; then if we found
ourselves threatened with the same
dangers that now confront us, it
would be time enough to adopt more
heroic measures.
Such shocking exhibition of in
consistency, to call it by no harsh
er phrase, we have rarely ever
seen. Coming from an editor, one
who by virtue of his relations to the
public, should be informed on all
questions he assumes to learnedly dis
cuss, it is absolutely humiliating.
1t seems never to have dawned up
on the cloudy perception of "Chief
Justice Harper and some others who
occupy his position, that no relief can
be invoked in Mississippi through the
Australian ballot system until there is
a change of the State Constitution. AS
will occur to the most ordinary COM
prehenson from reading the above
condensed synopsis of the require
ments of that system, certain
amount of educational qualification is
required to exercise the elective fran
else under it. The voter must
enter a private stall alone and
at least be able to read sufficient
ly we'll to make out list of candi-
dates lie wishes to vote for on bal
lot containing the names of them all
and furnished by the State.
Touching the qualification of elect
ors, the Constitution of Mississippi,
Art. |, section IS, says:
"No property or educational quail
cation shall ever be required for any
person to become an electOr."
Section 2, Art. VII, of the State
Constitution reads as follows:
"All male inhabitants of this State,
except idiots and insane persons,
and Indians not taxed, citizens of
the United States, or naturalized,
twenty zone years old and upwards,
who have resided in this State six
months, and in the county one
month next preceding the day of cleo
ton, at which said inhabitant offers
to vote, and who are duly registered,
according to the requirement of sec
ton three of this article, and who
are not disqualified by reason of any
crime, are declared to be qualified
electors.
1t will thus be seen that there is no
solution of the race problem through
the Australian system or any other
radical reform until there is change
in our organic law, for it is an estab-
lshed principle of law that what
cannot be done directly cannot be ac-
complished by indirection, and any
attempted reform of the nature indi-
Gated before the Constition is chang
ed would not stand any longer
than it could be carried to the courts.
There may be those who think the
Constitution could be changed in this
particular by submitting constitu-
tional amendment to be voted upon
by the men it is openly and avowedly
sought to disfranchise, but they
are more foolish and sanguine than
the average of mankind.
So far as the National Constitution
is concerned, the States have an I'M
right tn imnosa educatiOn-