San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-07-23
FRANCHISE QUALIFICATIONS.

Considerable uncertainty seems t.
prevail in the best informed republic
can circles concerning the outcome o.
the federal elections bill. That the
bill will not pass the senate as il
passed the house may be accepted as
fact. The bill drafted by the commit.
tee on elections, and which will be
considered in joint republican caucus,
has not been made public, but it lie
unders TODD to differ in material points
from that which has passed the
house. There is no question in the
minds of republicans as to the consti.
nationality Of the measure, but many
of the most conservative men OF the
party are not certain that the meas
ure will be q wise one, and fear
that matters will not be improved
thereby. Leaving this phase of the
franchise question there is another
which presents itself, and upon
which the northern democracy are
not posted. This is the educational
qualification, or test, which has fire.
quently been adverted to by demo-
cratic journalists and has at times
been seriously considered as a demo-
cratic remedy for colored suffrage.
Concerning this the Boston Globe,
democratic, says:
"Down south they are talking of an
educational qualification as means
of practically distranchising the ne.
gro. Wonder what our Massachu-
sets republican friends will say to
that. They can't call it Southern
outrage" exactly, because we have
just that kind of outrage right here in
Massachusetts,"
All that can be said about it is this,
the southern democracy wouldshave
made the regulation long years
since, had they not been convinced
that this measure was like two
edged sword cutting both ways. The
republican party at the south would
nOtantagonize that measure, and while
there is no doubt that it would cut off
a good many colored votes it is equal
ly certain that, on the whole, it would
be more detrimental to the democrat
ic party than to the republican. Ed
ucational qualification is certainly to
be desired, and could the vote of the
white republicans of the southern
states be polled in this issue there
would be no doubt of the result. |
There are thousands of colored repub-
licans, as well, who would gladly see
such safeguard thrown around the
ballot box. They know that by rails
ing the standard of suffrage the edu-
cational standard among their own
people will be raised; and, that while
it may be true that there are more illit-
crate colored voters than white voters,
still, as all democrats vote and only
a small proportion of the colored
voters do, the loss in the end would
fall very largely upon the democratic
party. In other words. the republic
can illiterates are colored voters al
most exclusively and these are al
ready in large measure excluded
from the polls; the democratic ILL
terates are white and vote now, so
that a property qualification would
cut them off. The democrats talk
educational qualification, but they
do not mean it. They could not be
hired to enact such a law into the
statute books of any of the states.
All their talk of doing so is for effect,
and there is not wanting testimony
to this fact from some of the shrewd-
est men In the party. 1t sounds
we'll, but it does not pan out dem
ocratically, and that is the whole
case in q nutshell.