The Opelousas courier., 1895-08-17
ihe Suffrage Amendment.

Inc politicians and leaders of ,,,t,
lac!i0ns OF the Democratic nartv nf tI';a
paiis'l, as our readers know. have nr',
c.aimed their opposition to lie adont;on
sn 1I me proposed suffrage amendmant
ne CLARION, the mOutllpiece and oro."
vi inc administration faction stataJ
severai weeks ago that it had =" "alwavs
lousnt the suffrage amendment y Int
notwittIstandlng the fact that the lead.
CTS ol t!e other faction are also 0pnosino
~, tne CLARION is not happy. In facf. f
nas never attempted to conceal jts cha.
sf,h since II the fellows on the either
sue hnfr up will. it so nicely on this
question ANA began to help it save tn
n onn 'uuteay as voters creatures that it
.ais .i some "f our best people0 whom
!, .ne amenSmeht would disfraDcI,isc, II
mas oeen 30 busy pnnchiDgin the ribs jts
unWe'come allies-the men who would
ass'ss IL IN Keeping in our body polite
o., lne 'iiiterates and paupers i'm the
eeuntiy-that 1t has never yet thought
ssns any reasons why the ameud-
'nent should not be adopted.
Last week, however, while enpaped
ln its Iavorlte pastime, it tried to be So
fious long enough to give a reason far
the faith that is in it.
After admitting that the number of
Whlte voters who would be disfraDchised
Wonid not be much more than 5 per
cent 1--WE have already put down the
number at less than per cent, and we
think now that less than per cent il
much nearer cOrrect)-the Clarion adds,
put among that number can be count
ed some of our best people, people who
nave always fought bravely and nm
sWervingly for country and party when
ever duty called upon them D-referring
to Confederate soldiers and men who
assisted in redeeming the State 10 wears
ago. 1t then sails oD, warming itself
up amid the beating of tomtoms as It
goes, and tragically asks if "those un-
educated, but honest, upright and wor-
thy old battle scared veterans who
split their blood for you are to be
robbed of the right to express voice in
the selection Of officers to govern this
their country, the country in whose de-
tense they were impoverished - and
more OF the same sort
NOW, we take issue with the Clarion
right here. We protest that in chasing
men who are both illiterates and pau
pers as among "Our best people, it is
!loeilng and slandering the community
We protest that ia CHASING men who
.Nso wv" wv bSuoIduu ~ iCdu duu LOO
lazy 10 acquire even $500 worth of pro-
perty as among "our best people," it is
insulting every intelligent aud indus
trious man in the parish. Above all, we
protest against the base uses to which
it pnts the gallant defenders of the
South, men who are enshrIned in the
hearts OF our people as something al
most sacred; and we challenge it to
point out even one Confederate soldier
who would be disfranchised by tins
We do not believe that
in this great parish one such exists. But
if there is within our borders such an
one, the Clarion may rest assured that
means will be found to allow him (and
other worthy citizens) to vote. Should
other means fail, the COURIER will head
a list with a subscription Of $40 for each
Confederate veteran, OF
for each disfrancllised Democrat who
assisted iE wrenShing the State from
the hands Of Republican plunderers in
1876, or for each meritOriODs white man
that this amendment would disfran-
chise. Surely, 10 more subscribers could
be found in this great parish to make
up purses Of $500 for such deserving ob-
ects. But we do not believe any such
action will be necessary, because we do
not believe that any such men would be
by this saIutary and pa
triOtic measure.