The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-10-16
,ur Constitutional convention.

broken Dy Senator I1llman ana Ine
convention, it will be with my denun-
citation of the Infamous plot ringing in
the ears of the delegates. What brave
and self-respecting white man desires
his name handed down to future gen
erations as being so poverty stricken
and ignorant that a separate clause
had to be engrafted into the Constitu-
ton of his State to enable him to vote.
But this pardon for illiteracy and pow
erty is only temporary. Here is an
ether clause in Senator Tillmans re-
port that even removes the pardoning
bower two years hence and requires a
strict educational and property quail
fication to become a voter. Read 1t
carefully and then tell me how this
comedies with the pledge that B. Il.
Tillman made the people, that if they
would call a Constitutional conven-
ton and trust him, that no white man
should be disfranchised:
Amy person who shall apply for
registration after January 1, 1898, if
otherwise qualified, must be registered !;
provided, that he can both read and
write any section of this Constitution,
or can show that he owns and has paid
taxes during the previous year on
property in this State assessed at $500
or more
Managers of election shall require
of every elector offering to vote at
any election, before allowing him to
vote, proof of the payment of all taxes,
including poll tax assessed against him
for the previous year.
LET the convention adopt this re-
port, and after January 1, 1898, only
two years hence, voter must both
read and write any section of the Con-
stitution or show that he owns and
pays taxes on $500 worth of property.
Even the right to pardon in this sec.
ton is denied. The blacklist convict
in the penitentiary can have his disa-
bilities removed by the governor, but
the honest but poor and llllterate
white voter must remain dlsfran-
chised.
"Now let me ask what will become
of those thousands of poor white boys
10 years of age now living in our State
and whose parents are too poor to give
them an education or rendow them with
$500 worth of property. They are al
ready enlisted on the side of the Re-
form movement, and while too young
to vote, have thrown up their hands
and cheered and worked for the cleo
ton, success of Tllman, myself and
other Reform candidates. These youths
are the coming voters who must up
hold our Reform principles and con-
tinue our party in power. But they
are struck down to man with the
most ignorant class of negroes and
their right to voice in the govern
ment of their native State taken from
them.
"Let this law pass, giving educated
and prosperity owing negroes the right
to vote, but denying the poor unletter.
ed white man that high privilege, and
you will see our ballot boxes saturated
with blood. In two years time you
can't educate every white youth in
South Carolina both to read and write,
for the impoverished condition OF thou
sands of poor white farmers and labor
ers will not permit them to spare the
time of their sons to 60 to school. And
then what is the results Their ballot
is taken from them and they will have
no more voice in the government OF
this State than the mule that they
plow or dumb cattle that tread our
highways. They must stand Oft and
look on while the educated or proper
ty owning negroes, living in our towns
and cities, are helping to rule and
govern our State, and are making
laws for those poor white men to live
under.
I'm 1S61-'65. when those poor, white
men were being urged to the front,
the question was never asked, could a
volunteer read or write, or did he own
$500 worth of property. Neither were
those conundrums propounded in 1876,
when those poor and unlettered Demo.
cratic voters donned the red shirt and
rescued the government Of our State
from the negro and Republican. And
in 1890, when Tillman was preaching
political equality before the people,
and pleading with those poor and un-
educated white men for their votes, he
did not then ask did they have $500
worth of property, or could they read
the Constitution of their State under
standingly. But now that neither his
life-blood nor his vote are needed, ne
must be struck down-thrown aside
like a sucked lemon or passed through
political inquisition.
II denounce that report of the right
of suffrage committee, and of which
Senator Tillman is chairman, as mon
strous, and for our Reformers In the
convention to pass any such law would
be the bassest treachery and the deep
est dyed ingratitude. When that re-
port is brought before the convention
t shall fight it to the bitter end. 40
not believe it will pass-I know that
| it should never pass. pledged the
poor and uneducated white. men of
South Carolina that I would protect
them in their rightto vote, and protect
them I will: I will 60 down in defeat
and humiliation with them.
1.-THE right of suffrage is the highest
privilege accorded a free born Ameri-
can citizen, and no degrading condi-
tions should be coupled with this
right.
"But it is claimed that such provis-
ions are necessary to preserve white
supremacy in South Carolina. Now l
will prove to you, and to every inte!li-
gent and thinking man that so far
from the adoption of Senator Tillman's
renort by the convention preserving