Kansas City daily journal., 1895-10-05
THE CRIME EXPOSED.
SOUTH CAROLINA Dl>FRhNCHISEs
THE NEGRO.
Illiterate white Men VIII he Forever En-
franChiscd - Illitcratc CoIorcd Men
Forever Disfranchlsed -Eish of
one and Fowl of the other.

James Creelmau in the New York World.
Columbia, $. c., Sept 2s.-At this
moment Senator TilIman-for he has
been elected TO the United States senate
lis the absolute master OF this commun-
ity. His Will is law. lie reigns over the
governor, the legislature, the coustitu-
tIonal convention and every city, town
and village in the state. The constitu-
tlpual convention is assembled practi-
Caiy to do his bidding. ana Vet in this
convention are his bitter enemies the
Bourbon Conservatives and six negroes,
two of whom have been convicted of
crime, His one eye dominates the scene.
His tongue iashes friends ana enemies
alike when he IS opposed. He is abso-
Lutte.
Senator Tllman's explanation of the
new plan 10 disfranchise the illiterate
negroes Of South Carolina is that the
people are tired of asserting white SUI
premacy by either fraud or violence;
that they are anxious 10 accomplish
their purpose in the daylight and by
forms of law.
This is the sense of the whole conVen-
tiOn. There is not dissenting voice
However bitter the debate may become
and however roughly the senator rides
over the delegates, all are agreed upon
one thing, that the constitution must he
so fashioned as to prevent the negro
majority in South Carolina from ever
again obtaining a controlling voice
either by itself alone or in combination
with dissatisfied faction of the whites.
The one fear has been that Senator
Tillman would secure the passage of Il
clause that would enable him to dis
franchise illiterate white voters. But he
promised in his public speeches that the
matter would be SO arranged that no
white man could lose his vote except for
crime, The BOurbons had in mind the
educational clause in the constitution of
Mississippi, under which the election Of
iicers have discretionary power en-
ablng them to disfranchse illiterate
whites or blacks. 1t is left TO them to
say whether a man who can neither
read nor write is able to understand the
constitution when it is read to him, and
no court has any power TO reverse the
decision.
The Bourbons, or Conservatives, have
insisted that with such a weapon in his
hand Tillman would use il against
whites as well as blacks But the pro
posed constitution will allow the election
officers 10 weed out the whole illiterate
black vote ana admit the whole illiterate
white vote. After January /, 1895 all the
illiterate whites who have BEEN regis-
tered viii be eufranchised forever, and
all the illiterate blacks will be disfran-
chised forever, unless any of them
should subsequently learn to read and
write.
The population of South Carolina this
year is about 100000. and a rough divis-
ion Of the races would make the blacks
600 and the whites 100000 The black
vote Is about 100000; the white vote
about 10000. Under the new constitution
perhaps 10000 negroes Will be perma-
nently disfranchised, while the election
officers win be able to register the whole
white vote under the clause which per-
mits registration of any elector who can
understand and explain the section of
the constitution when it Is read To him
An appalling fact that may not be OBJ
vious at a first glance is that the course
proposed means the end of negro educa-
ton and negro progress in the state. 1t
is openly acknowledged by Senator Till
man and his friends that South Carolina
does not propose to erect a barrier
against negro domination with one hand
and tear down that barrier with the