The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1892-08-17
Qualified sufrraee-What is it?

vi course you fOLe, ouL tue lueSlloil
is timely: Do you enjoy the privilege?
Is the elective franchise one of the
dearest or appreciated rights'of citizen
ship with you?
These questions are prompted by
good motives, for witness with alarm
the attempt to disfranchise no small
aamber of our people because Of their
lack Of educational and property quail
fcations. Who is it that proposes this
test of citizenship? l answer, Governor
Tillnlan. Who is it that is making
strong speeches for the calling of Con-
stitutional Convention, so that the
right to vote may be restricted to those
only who have property and are edu-
Gated? answer, Governor Tillman.
Who is it that said at Chester, s. g.,
July 80, 1892: II stand here to say that
unless we lave property and educa-
tianal qualifications we will be under
negro rule. 1t would be better to lose
a few white votes than to put it under
negro rule?" answer, Governor Till
man.
In other words, our management OF
the negro vote since 1878 has not been
satisfactory; hence we will dlsquallty
| white men (that is, deprive them of the
right to vote), in order to manage the
negro vote more satisfactorily! Pray,
| what difficulties have we encoun-
tered since 1876 in controlling elections
in South Carolina? Governor Ti!lman
| must be troubled with nightmare. for
universal opinion is that We have "got
| along" very nicely since 1876 with the
eolored people, who have been we'll
content to leave the problems Of State
government solely with the white peo-
| pie to solve.
If q Constitutional Convention is
| called, = new constitution, Of course,
| will be framed, and the acts of that
| body will never come before the people
| to be ratified, because the body itself
will be supreme, and its decisions can
not be reversed.
Besides, Governor Tillman said on
| this subject to Governor Sheppard:
"How in Gods name can these ques-
tions be submitted to the people, when
we have 10000 negro majority to vote
against them?" Governor Tillman
means by this language to convey this
| thought: What we will do in the Con-
stitutional Convention will be final.
We will have the wisdom to know
what will be your best interests better
than you know yourselves We will
pass the educational and property tests
for voting, and the law will be irrevo-
cable. A clause or provision will be in
serted in the new constitution requiring
a man to have certain degree of edu.
cation, and to be possessed or certain
amount of property, to cast his ballot
as an American citizen.
Was there ever more deeply-lald
scheme to abridge the privileges of
poor man, or more completely TO eessss1laass'
culate him IS political factor?
t-FFu other words, ~ If you will vote
you must be educated. (2) If you viii
vote, you must not be poor. Let US see
how this will work in South Carolina
Against whom will these new require.
ments operate? ManifestEy they can.
not affect the educated man, nor the
wealthy; but the poor man and the mar
who, unfortunately, cannot read ano
write will be debarred forever from tht
exercise of the ballot. It behooves al
of US, as good citizens, rich and pool
alike, to consider these questions calm
", to deliberate upon them, and not
allow ourselves to be led astray by wilC
harangues, by plausible sophistries, By
passionate appeals. The point to pom
der over is, Will the masses of the peo
pie be benefited by depriving white
men of the right to vote?
. Is it right to encroaeh upon thu
rights of the poor? Is it right to de
prive the poor of their liberties? Rob
poor man of his political rights, anc
you will rob him of his own self-re
spect and make him but an object o
pity, possibly Of scorn, to most men,.
In Proverbs we find this: ''He thai
! oppresseth the poor reproacheth hi:
Maker; but be that honoreth Him shall
have mercy on the poor" L will vot'
against any man who favors restricting
the rights and liberties Of the poor man
/. Poverty is no crime. Some of the bes
, citizens we have, the most law-abiding
are poor men. He is no friend of tn
poor man who would vote him cut
He is no friend who. believes in taxing
man and depriying him at the sam'
!; time of his voice in the government. I
is the friendship Of a Brutus, who
. while speaking honeyed words: woult
plunge the deadly dagger. We wan
no prescription; we want to continu'
what we now have, equal rights as b..
tween poor and rich. It is amazing tt
, know that there areas many as "A ,0Gl
white voters in South Carolina wht
cannot read or write. A law should b.
always just, and based upon right prin
ciples. but an educational and property
qualification upon our. people would b.
anything but kind or considerate. A
there are so many negroes VINO can reat
;: and write, and have property, it wou,t
be equivalent to granting special priv
leges to the negro, to the exclusion o
the poor white man from like privile
ges. Votersi beware, lest you be drawn
into snare, from which you canno
/ extricate yourselves. Sound policy il
not to entrust too much power to an.
one man, for if that power be harshl,
employed, you who grant it must bea
, the blame. -.::.:. -
Personal responsibility cannot b.
avoided. Are you ready to give VI
your vested rights because you are poo
} or because. unfortunately, having hac
no advantage of schools, you are with
out "book-learning?" Itremains will
you to say. .-.... ...... -. ....
As well-wisher of every poor man
I beg you to consider. -.--->.----ss -
/. W. E. PELHAM.
A Card From j. T. Duncan.
To the Public: County Commission
er John Smith makes several denial
and assertions in last week s issue. HI
denies the order of lumber which b,
made of me. Why? Because forsoott