Sharp County record., 1890-02-27
"a e1lnpREss IGNORANCE.
I'm TO Wipe Rerubiicanism Out oil hA'
istence in Mississippi.

,4ov 10 Wipe Rerubicahism 0u'
istence in Mississippi
uo+or Waltbalrs speech in the SEN
On tbe question of suppressing he
,1icanism in Mississippi calls Tor a
rOadv-a remedy of practical politics
aiDst the supremacy of ignorance
anal responsibility, .,o
,rbe remedy is obvious and so simple
+h.t II can be stated in aline-an educa-
tional qualification and poll-'aA IT.
etriction on the suffrage
"a III Missouri and in every other oVa'e
- the Union large amount OF lgno,
,,nce and responsibility are expressed
81 tbe polls, but intelligence and re-
snonsibility can deal with them IN the
,aain without qualifying the suffrage,
5hopch the evils incident to unquallhed
zntfrape are apparent and great When
they become so great as to be remedlaOle
;n no other way, the remedy in practical
,,olitics is the one we have indicated
above. o,,
II is not disfranchisement. The poll
az of a dollar or two dollars makes the
Mississippi Republican voter tax.
naver and gives him certain degree OF
responsibility which his compliance
with the educational requisite OF sur
frage NAV enable him to appreciate
There would be no injustice in MlsSls-
sinpi in requiring that every voter
should be able to read the State consu-
tution. Ability to read the bill OF
RIGHTS is not an unreasonable nor Is IL
nermanent restriction of suffrage. Any
nerson of common sense can learn the
alphabet in week, and to read lntelll-
o3bK words of two, three and four syl-
iables in six months. If this restriction
wore imposed in Mississippi next week
every adult of sound mind in the State
who does not know how to read the
State constitution could know, II he SO
desired. before the next election. And
there is no person in Mississippi so poor
that the payment Of an annual tax OF
two Dollars to support the State would
be areal hardship.
Why are so many speeches made; why
81 there SO much unnecessary and wild
thAory on one hand and so much just
resentment of it on the other where this
Voplain remedy of practical politics is al
ways at hand?
The State of Mississippi can, If it
chooses, adopt these restrictions of
suffrage; it can at the expense of only
q few thousand dollars print the con-
\ stitution in pamphlet form, with the
y alphabet as preface; with half dozen
'introductory pages of the syllables
4. forming words in the constitution ar
u ranged as in a primer so that little ap-
\ plication will enable every illiterate
a, person of sound mind in the State to
VI learn to read the constitution without
other books and with only such teaching
rs as any one may obtain out of schools
m N without paying for it, Such pamphlets
'IY can be- issued by the thousand at an eX-
Tc Sss perso of not over two cents a copy.
''' TheyMill remedy all ignorance that
b. cares Ito remedy itself. The payment
ia Of tho poll-tax and ability to read the
Ny aG constItution as tests of fitness to vote
S9 ss. vii hold ignorance and responsibility
aa That does not care to remedy itself in
= con1plete check.
There is no theory about this 1t will
work. 1t will completely suppress the
Republican party in Mississippi and
koopH suppressed until the party be-
vlA conesso ASHAMED of its own ignorance
and irrespOhsibility as to entertain
thez8 the same jealous desire to reform
itself hat it shows elsewhere and in
tact ererywhere, to reform other people
INN befor6it reforms itself And it will not
Il reduce the States representation in Con-
y" gresS, ii there is any reason it should
:, mot be adopted it is local reason, and
n not = reason which weighs against the
W. fact thai one way to suppress Republic
sann1Sm everywhere is to make some de-
| LANgree Of intelligence and responsibility
,s NJ p test OF fitness to vote. When all other
dsa ways tail, this remedy is always at hand,
Rss, Rlways practical and always sure to pre-
~ ignorance and irresponsibility from
''' ak1ng control of the State and demoral-
"a hz1ng IT. as they did in Mississippi when
pty in, oh