Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1896-09-16

NVuiN avn WV VI Nv
Two years ago the people of the State
elected a Republican Governor. Who
were they that resolved they would not
surrender their hold upon Tennessee?
The great majority Of the Democrats Of
the State were willing to bow to the will
of the people and surrender the office of
Governor for two years into the hands
of him who had been lawfully chosen.
But there were men and influences and
forces that Immediately set to work to
keep the Government, the offices and
the power in their own hands. Every
unprecedented and we'll informed man in
Tennessee knows that the Republican
Governor was kept out of the office by a
law made for the occasionally u skillful
and we'll directed law suit, so to speak,
conducted under technical rules of
| pleading by those who had at ther CON-
mand the resources and means for Sc
curing every advantage in the contest;
who had a partisan majority in the Leg
islative body willing to exclude the Re-
publican Governor ii sufficient evidence
could be secured to satisfy their minds.
1t Is not necessary to go into details
concerning this final outcome of the
career of the Democratic party in
the State. The only way to have deter
mined honestly and fairly, whether or
not MI. Evans had received more illegal
votes than Judge Turney was to have
Investigated carefully and conscien-
tiously every voting precinct In the
State. But this was not done. 1t would
have taken two years to have performed
such a work. So the Committee, a ma
jority Of them Democrats, said to Mr..
Evans, you must point out specifically
tile precints or ballot boyes where you
expect to prove illegal vo@s for Turney,
and our folks will do the same for Mr..
Evans Then the Committee had it in
its power, or assumed the power, to say:
"Onr folks have been sufficiently spe-
citic in their charges and we will inves-
tigate them," you, in this instance and
In that instance and the other instance,
and so on, have not been sufficiently
Specific" and we will not investigate
your charges, you are not q good plead
err" Judge Gibson, Lewis Shepherd and
John Ruhm diu not know how to plead
to come up to the standard required by
this most learned Legislative Commit
tee. Fellow citizens, | can not speak of
this business without feelings Of I'M
utterable disgust. BY the same tactics
any Republican that may be elected
Governor by q slight majority can be
kept out of the Office. The matter in
stead of being settled by the people at
Nv vi OOA ihhy ~ y udhoiCIlCu W
Nashville and there become a contest of
legal skill, of technical pleading, of de-
murrers and pleas, with a partisan Com
mittee to say where and how much evil
dence they will take. 1t was resolved
by the machine politicians not to sur
render the Executive office Of the State,
regardless of cost to the taxpayers of
the State and it would have been better
to have held on to it without the show
~ ma ktAn Ia klA ar NH ~
which $l3,634 80 was paid for print
ing alone; $20,792 was the cost of the
Extra Session of the Legislature neces-
sary to carry out the scheme; and 3d.
956 32 paid out as expenses Of the Com
mittee-making the sum of $44,3S3 "a,
which / have been able to trace out and
id~entify-and there were other expenses
/ understand, which would increase the
above. amount considerably. III any of
you wish to see something of the nature
and extent OF miscellaneous expenses,
read Chapter 2, Acts Extra Session, 1896.
Poll Tax.
Sec..l, Art. ~, Of the Constitution is as
follows: avery male person of the age
of twenty M years being a citizen Of
the United States, and a resident of this
State for twelve months, and of the
County wherein he may offer his vote
~ a AO0o PiSNSNihb IN uhy VI
election, shall be entitled to vote for
members of the General Assembly and
other civil officers for the County or Dis
trict in which he resides; and there shall
be no qualification attached to the right
of suffrage, except that each voter shall
give to the Judges of election where he
offers to vote, satisfactory evidence that
he paid the poll taxes assessed against
him for such preceding period as the
I auiclatura shall nracoriha ond M cnoh
time as may be prescribed by law with
out which his vote can not be received.
And all male citizens of the State shall
be subject to the payment Of poll taxes
and the performance of military duty
within such ages as may be prescribed
by law. The General Assembly shall
have power toenact laws requiring voters
to vote in the election precincts in which
they reside, and laws to secure the free
dom of elections and the purity of the
ballot box.n
The Constitution went into operation
May s, 1870.
; That provision in the above quoted
! clause of the Constitution DISTINGUISHING
/. or authorizing the Legislature to dis
franchise those persons who, when offer
ing to vote shall notprove that they have
! paid their poll taxes for whatever pre-
, ceding period the Legislature may pre-
scribe, was under discussion in the Con-
stitutional Convention for many days
and was opposed by many Of the ablest
, Democrats in the Convention.
! 1t was opposed by such men rs Hon.
James d.. Porter, Constitutional Pro-
| ceedings, p. 170), Hon. George Il. Seay
> I'D. III and twenty four others includ-
ing Hon. John Netherland. These gen.
: tie men signed a protest in which they
: said that the elective franchise was a
I right dear to every freeman and neces-
: sary to his protection against unjust and
! unequal laws, and that such n provision,
which made the poor mans right to vote
|, depend on the payment OF al the taxes
7 tax and left to others not liable to q poll
tax, but being In debt to County and
Stale for their property taxes, unquali-
concluded on Third Page