The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-10-15

| luciuuinB pOll Itx assessed against NH
for the previous year.
Let the convention adopt this report
and after Janua'y let, 1893, only tw,
years hence, voter must both rea,
and write any section of the constitu
tion, or show that he owns and pay
taxes on $500 worth of property. Eve,
the right to pardon in this section i
denied. The blackest convict in ou
penitentiary can have his disabilitie
removed by the Governor, but tn,
honest, but poor and illiterate whit,
voter must remain disfranchized.
Now, let me ask what will become o
those thousands OF poor white boys, 1!
years of age, now living in our State
and whose parenCs are too poor to give
them an education, or endow then
with $500 worth of property. They
are already enlisted on the side of the
Reform movement, and while toe
young to vote have thrown up their
hands and cheered and worked for the
election, success of Tillman, myself
and other Reform candidates. These
youths are the coming voters who
must uphold our Reform principles
and continue our party in power. But
they are struck down to man with
the most ignorant class of negroes
and their right to a voice in the gov,
ernment OF their native State taken
from them.
" Let this law pass, giving educated
and property 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
thousands of poor white farmers and
laborers will not permit them to spare
| the time of their sons to go to school.
| And then, what Is the result? Their
ballot Is taken away from them, and
they will have no mO"e voice in the
government of this State than the
mule that they plow or dumb cattle
that tread our highways, They must
stand off and look on, while the edu-
| Gated or property-Owning negroes, liv-
ing in our towns and cities, are help.
ing to rule and govern our State, and
are making laws for those poor white
men to live under.
"In 1S61-'65, when those poor white
men were being urged to the front, the
question was never asked, could vol
unteer read or write? ? or did he own
5000 worth of property? Neither were
those conundrums eXpounded in 1876,
hSu OuOSc poOT duu unlSUGeTSQ DGmO-
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,
pleading with those poor uneducated
white men for their votes, he did not
then ask did they have 5000 worth of
property, or could they pead the con-
stltution of their State Understandings
ly? But now that neither his life
blood nor his vote is needed, he must
be struck down-thrown aside like a
sucked lemon, or passed through u
political inquisition.
81 denounce that report of the
Right of Suffrage Committee, of
which Senator Tillman Is chairman,
the convention to pass any such law
would he the basest treachery and the
deepest-dyed ingratitude. When that
report is brought before the conven-
tion | shall fight it to the bitter end.
| don't believe it will pass-I know
that it should never pass. 1 pledged
the poor and uneducated white men
Of South Carolina that would protect
them in their right TO vote, and pro-
tect them will, or | will go down in
defeat and humiliation with them.
The right of suffrage is the high
est privilege accorded free-born
American citizen, and no degrading
conditions should be coupled with this
right.
But it is claimed that such proyis-
ionsrare necessary topreserve white su-
premacy in South Carolina. Now, |
will prove to you, and to every intelli-
gent and thinking man, that so far
from the adoption of Senator Tillman's
report by the convention preserving
white supremacy that it will have a
directly opposite effect, and make of
the negro political arbiter in our
State, and vest in his hands the
balance of power. With fresh right
Of franchise the negro leaders will go
to work and marshal at least fifty
thousand legal voters. They claim
that there are $4,000 blacks in South
Carolina whOScan read and write, but
there are undoubtedly fifty thousand
negroes who can vote under this pro-
posed provision. The Conservatives
| now have between thirty-fve and
forty thousand voters, all OF whom will
be qualified for suffrage; while the
Reform vote number $4,000. In our
| Reform ranks there are at least IL, 600
| men who can not read or write. De-
prive them of their suffrage, and the
two factions are then nearly equal,
with the negro vote larger than either
one. This would give the electoral
vote of South Carolina, divided as our
whites are, to the Republican candi-
date for President. Let either faction
remain out Of the next Democratic
primary, and with the assistance OF
the negro, the other would absolutely
control the politics OF our State
White supremacy indeed 1t means
either negro supremacy or Conserva
tive supremacy. dislike very much
to have to speak so'plainly, but it is vi
tally necessary that some one should
sound note of warning and arouse
the Reformers and the poor men o.
this State to the danger that menaces
them. This is one reason why | was
anxious for an adjournment Of the con
vention-to give the people chanc,
to catch their breath and strangle thi
political monstrosity,
Mississippi is hold up as an exam
Pile to South Carolina. There is n,
analogy between the political condi
tions of these two States. In Missis
sippi the whites were not divided, bu
working together. There was not
faction there standing ready to appea
to the negroes, and use him at the frs
opportunity to crush the power of tn
, farmers. But In South Carolina ou
white people are divided, and will cor
, tinue to be divided. Turn $4,000 negr
/ voters loose upon our State, and yo
can't manufacture q magnifying Qlas