The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1896-01-04
The Constitutional Amendment.

s resolved to make a big fight agains
: the suffrage amendment, and an,
ballot box law that is calculated {,
! eliminate the ignorant and viciou,
paupers from our elections. Judg,
Taylor Beattie and Gen. w. ]
Behan, two of the chef white lead
ers of the Republican party, have
issued an edict condemning the
amendment and calling upon the
Republicans to vote against it
Thus we find that all the hue and
cry of the Republicans, white and
black, for free and fair and honest
elections, for the purity of the bal
lot box, ETC., has been the veriest
bosh, and that all they meant was
that everything with two legs, out
side of the penitentiary, be he the
most brutal and ignorant negro or
white vagabond or freshly import
ed pauper or escaped convict from
Europe, shall be permitted to exer-
else the franchise in Louisiana and
influence our elections. And there
is another element hostile to the
amendment, and that is the ward
heelers and strikers, whose bread
and butter is in politics and who, so
soon as the franchise is expurgated
and corruption banished from our
elections, will be left without a vo-
cation. Indeed, look where we
may, it will be found that opposi-
ton to the suffrage amendment and
ballot reform is inspired by SIMS
ter motives and emanates from the
very elements it is desired to elmi-
nate from the control of our election.
Indeed, the very strongest argu-
ment in favor of the two measures
is the hostility of the Republicans,
negroes and ringsters to them.
They are both Democratic meas
ures. The amendment was formu-
lated by committee of Democrats |
and submitted to the people by a |
Democratic Legislature. It is in |
every sense Democratic measure. |
and every Democrat ought to stand |
by it. AS for the ballot reform.
that is a movement that emanated !
from Democrats of the. most pro-
nounced stripe, and the object of
the two measures is that, each sup
piementing the other, will give us
honest elections, if the people are
in the least fit for self-government,
means able and efficient represen-
Eatives in both houses of the Legis-
|ature, clean and incorruptible
municipal government and honest
and efficient administration of the
criminal laws.
Under the amendment and a
sound ballot law no man worthy to
vote, fit to exercise the right of a
rec man and to walk among men,
will be- deprived of any privilege.
\ man can never grow too old to I
master enough learning to meet the
qualification required;
md any such man, if he does not
axe to shook larnin," can in few
ears accumulate the amount of 4 4
required. There are I
'lenty of men of course who will
lever learn to read, and who are
90 shiftless to save up few hun
red dollars; and we shall be frank
nough to say uDequivocally that
Is the declared and specific pur-
'ose of the amendment and BAL
ot reform law to eliminate this
lass of ignoramuses and shlftless
uman beings from the polls.
hey may be men whom fortune
as dealt hardly with; but if they
ave not pride enough of character,
they do not sufficiently value the
lght of the franchise to secure the
tile education or the little proper
Y that will entitle them to exercise
lat inestimable privilege and 10
eel that in their brogans there
lands free American citizen with
ne right and the duty to take a
art in the affairs of his country,
,e country has no use for him or I
'r his kind; and none such should
Q allowed to vote; to enter an
ection precinct and offset perhaps
he best, and wisest, and most pa
lotto man in the community.
The country wants these laws be-
luse the country wants to be gov
med by intelligent white men
ithout the necessity of misscount- J
g ballots and without bulldozinc.
nd far more than the country the
ty needs these laws and needs
'em in their strongest shape; for, 1
sfore we can secure an honest and 1
ithful administration of municip- J