The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-06-17
QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS.

A public discussion was recently
held in the open air in this city. 1t
was not largely attended, and would
not be worthy of great deal of at
tention were it not for the notices
which it has received from some of the
papers. The question on which the
debate took place was this:
Resolved, That the constitution
should not be ratified by the people"
The vote at the close stood nineteen
in favor Of statehood under the con-
stitution, and ninety-four against it.
1t was stated by the anti-statehood
champion that he was mot opposed TO
the constitution because of statehood,
but he was fighting statehood on ac-
count of the constitution" The prin-
cipal point of objection which he urged
was, what he termed, the property
qualification prescribed for voters. This
he denounced as "un-American in prin-
ciple because it guaged a mans citi-
zenship by his tax receipts" and he
exclaimed:
why, on the principle laid down by
tllS infamous instrument called a con-
stltutlon, man who raises a band of
mules 10 kick The brains out OF Often
slVe parusans is far better qualified to
take part IN the affairs of govern
ment than he who sends his earnings
III the education and maintenance of
sons and daughtersr'
We make mention of this matter be-
cause Of the endeavor, not only Of the
speaker whose words we have quoted,
but of two or three papers in this
territory, to mislead the public in ref
erence TO the provision of the consti-
tuition as to the qualifications of voters.
There is no property qualification in
the constitution for voting except in
relation co property and taxation. The
Herald has explained this before. 1t
appears TO be necessary to explain it
again. The constitution provides that:
Every citizen of the United States
OF the age of p years and upwards,
VINO shall have been a citizen for
ninety days and shall have resided in
che state or territory one year, in the
county four months and in the precinct
sixty days next preceding any election,
shau be entitled to vote at such cleo
ton except as herein otherwise pro-
vided.'
Here is the exception referred to in
that section:
Except in elections levying a special
tax, or creating Indebtedness. no
property qualification shall be required
Tor any person to vote or hold office"
1t viii be seen by these sections that
the heroics of the denouncer of the
constitution are entirely gratuitCus.
There ic M ,ooors,-,
constitution guards the voter against
any property qualification being i'm
posed by the legislature. Every citi-
zen, rich or poor, prosperous or penni-
less, is placed on an equal footing as a
voter.
But when question as to whether a
special tax shall be placed on property
for special purpose has to be decided,
the owners Of that property are to be
the persons to determine by their
votes whether these special taxes shall
be levied. Is not that perfectly just
and equitable? Should persons who
have no property be empowered to
vote away the property of those who
have? Yet that it appears is what
certain agitators who are endeaVoring
to pose as the friends of labor"
would like to establish in Utah And
they would if they could defeat state
hood and leave the people in territorial
vassalage, solely because the constitu-
ton contains the fair and necessary
provision we have quoted.
But where is the sense of such OPP
position to statehood? In the
levying of special tax I'M
der the laws of the territory,
the same principle prevails. 1t would
be shameful if it did not. Those who
pay the taxes should have a voice in
the levying Of the taxes. It would
seem that no argument is necessary TO
establish that self-evident proposition
1t is only necessary to make the truth
in relation to this matter clear to re-
move from the mind of every intelli-
gent man or woman, any feeling of
to statehood on account of
the provisions in the constitution as
TO the qualifications of voters. There
is no part Of the American Union
where greater liberty of the elective
franchise will prevail than in the State
Of Utah.