The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-07
south Carolina's Electoral Vote.

south CnrOIina's Electoral Vote.
Representative Murray of South Caro-
lima evidently hopes to force this con gress
to pass upon the contested election, case
which will come before the next congress
from the First congressional district of
that state, and in which he is the cOntes-
tant Our dispatches yesterday gave an
account Of his purpose TO object 10 the
counting Of the electoral vote Of South
Carolina when congress meets next We'd
nesday for the purpose of counting the
electoral votes for President and Vice
President. He and other republican lead
ers of South Carolina have a petition, sign
ed by a great many republicans in that
state. declaring that the election held in
South Carolina last November was not
such a one as is provided for by the con-
stitution of the United States and that
therefore the electoral vote Of South Car
DINA should not be counted.
It is hardly probable that Representa-
tive Murray expects that the count Of the
electoral votes win be delayed until the
question as to whether or not the South
Carolina election was a legal enc
is settled. If he expects anything
Of that kind he will be mis-
taken. Before the republican leaders
would consent to have the electoral count
stopped, and a discussion of the South
Carolina election brought on, they would
adopt effective means for getting Repre-
sentative Murray's protest and petition
out of the way.
The purpose of Representative Murray
and the other South Carolina republicans
is doubtless to call the attention so strong
ly to the election law of South Carolina
that the next congress will be forced by
public sentiment to give that law care
full investigation. If that is their purpose
they may succeed in accomplishing il.
Murray is the representative from the
First congressional district of South Car
DINA. william Elliott of Beaufort was
returned elected to the present congress
from that district he having received $3.50
votes, against 1913 for George w. Muir
ray. Murray made a contest. and a decis-
ion was rendered in his favor last June.
At the November election William Elliott
was elected to the next congress, and
George w. Murray has notified him of his
purpose TO make contest. 1t can be
readily seen therefore that Murrays pur-
pose in protesting against counting the
electoral vote of South Carolina is to make
out as strong a case as he can against
| William Elliott.
The question as to whether or not the
election law of South Carolina is consti-
tutional is one which has already received
a great deal of attention, and about which
there is a wide difference of opinion. The
law is very similar to the election law Of
Mississippi, and If we are not mistaken
to that of Massachusetts so far as its ed
/ vocational feature is concerned. 1t dis
franchises white people as well as negroes,
but In the hands of partisans it can be SO
used as to greatly benefit the party hav-
ing control of the registration. 1T IS claim
ed by the republicans that it is used to
disfranchise the negroes.
While 1t is not probable that the pa-
protest which Representative Murray in
tends to make against the counting of
South Cardinals electoral vote, or that
they will encourage him in the course he
has adopted, 1t is well known that many
of them would welcome an excuse for in
ssting upon a decrease in the states rep
resentation in congress, or the enactment
of such an election law as would praci-
cally give the control of the state to the
negroes.
While it is but just that the present cleo
ton law should be honestly and Impair
TALLY enforced, it would be unjust to cut
down the states representation in con-
gress, and a great wrong to enact an cleo
ton law that would place the state in the
hands of the negroes. The time may come
when the negroes will be better fitted for
citizenship than they are now. At pres
ent, however the ignorance of the great
mass Of them is simply appalling. IL they
should get control of the state they would
quickly ruin it. They would make ii viz
tually uninhabitable for either white peo-
pie or negroes.