Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1892-08-25
THE MISSISSIPPI METHOD
How They Managed to Get Rid
of the Negro Vote.

4 IdE MlSSlSSlffl MlIInOD
How They Managed to Get Rid
of the Negro Vote.
New ORLEANS, Aug. 15.-The
new registration of Mississippi,
upon which it will vote at the COM
ling election, shows that the negro
has been substantially eliminated
from the politics Of the State. The
negro vote has been cut down by
the new Constitution fram 145, ,OOo
/ to s,615, and now it cannot elect
more than a few constables in the
entire State. The colored regis:
trationl continues to decline iet
every election. At the Congress
sional elections two years ago there
wasna colored majority in one
county, Bolivar. That is now gone,
and Bolivar is now white, like the
others. The negroes cannot elect
a single member of the .Legisla-
ture, or a single officer Of any kind
except justice Of the peace or con
stable. The negro vote for Congress
will be less than 1,00Oin each dis
trict except-in the shoestring dis
trict, composed of the negro coun-
ties along the Mississippi. where
the registration amounts to 1900
and the vote may be 1900.
In Lowndes county one negro in
each 80 of the male negroes over
21 years of age is registered. In
Yazoo, which, of old, gave Re-
publican vote far up in the thou
sands, there are only nine colored
voters registered, or one to each
$50 possible voters, while in Noxu-
bee, which beats the record, there
are four colored voters registered,
or one to each 1910 negro men.
There are more negroes in Noxubee
than these four entitled to the bal
lot; but they have lost interest in
elections of late, and large num-
ber of them have refused to avail
themselves of the privilege of the
ballot offered them and have failed
to register.
The reduction in the negro
registration and vote of Mississippi
has been brought about by the
adoption of the new Constitution.
which greatly alters tho electoral
franchise IN Mississippi. By;
lUaiting the franchiseN to those
who oah@reHd@ md writa110 000n!
negroes, or four-ffths of the col.
iored vote, were disfranchised.
malle5proyision q charequires ), thse' I
prepayment Of ther-poll ztaxrhas
had another deterrent effect.
Thesilliteracy provision cuts off
10000 white voters also, and as
that was Thought to be a hardship,
the famous understanding clause"
was 7inserted, by which any
iihterate voter can obtain his bal
lot by pfolvling,that he understands
the Constitution. A section Of
that organic lawis read to him by
the registrar and if he can properly
explain it he is entitled to vote.
This provision will continue only.
to 1895. The ignorant voters have
six years in which to learn to read
and write, If theydo not learn in
that time they are permanently
disfranchised.
Of the 100000 illiterate white
and -colored voters only .2,122
have availed themselves of ''4the
understanding clause" or, rather,
only 2,122 have passed a success
full examination Of their knowledge
of the Constitution. Of these 1,037
are white and 1885 colored, show
ing that no discrimination lis
allowed "on account of race OF
color"
Besides these colored voters who
get the franchise under the under
standing clause" only 1880 were
registered as able to read and
write and having paid their taxes,
making total of 8,615 colored
against 68,127 while voters, or a
grand total of .76,S42. 1t will be
noticed that the new Constitution
has materially cut down the white
vote also, perhaps one-third, but
not to the same extent as that Of
the negroes.