Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-06-10

| Congressional elections during the
present war; A Washington dispatch
states that Mr.. Lacey believes the
| measure has been so framed as to
avoid unconstitutionality. What Mr.
Lacey means by this is not quite
clear, since the constitution makes ii
about as plain as possible that the
States have exclusive power to pre-
scribe the qualifications of electors OF
Representatives in Congress and that
Congress has practically nothing to say
On the subject.
The first clause of article 1, section
g. of the Constitution provides that
"the House of Representatives shall be
composed of members chosen every
second year by the people of the sew
eral States, and the electors in each
State shall have the qualifications re-
quisite for electors of the most num-
erous branch of the State Legislature.
Since the Constitution does not pre-
scribe the qualifications requisite for
electors of the State Legislatures, there
is no escape from the conclusion that
this is the exclusive business of the
States.
The fourteenth amendment provides
that if a State denies or abridges the
right to vote of any male citizen who
has reached his majority, except for
participation in rebellion Or other
crime, its basis of representation shall
be reduced. This is equivalent to
declaration that the States have the
exclusive right to prescribe the qualifi-
cations of electors and that Congress
cannot do so under any circumstances.
All it can do is to provide for abridg
ing the representation Of any State
which denies the right tc vote for any
other cause than those mentioned.
Finally, the sixteenth amendment
declares that 1.-The right of citizens OF
the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States
or by any State on account of race,
color or previous condition of servi-
tude" The use of the words by the
United States implies that the United
States may prescribe the qualifications
of electors. Put that is only true with
respect to the territories and the Dis
trict of Columbia. 1t cannot be held
to imply that Congress can prescribe
the qualifications of electors in any
State
The States are positively forbidden
to deny or abridge the right of citizens
previous condition of servitude. But
they are entirely free to abridge that
right for any other cause, subject to
loss OF representation in proportion to
the number disfranchised, except for
participation in rebellion or other
crime
No one of these causes nor all OF
them together gives power to Congress
to prescribe the qualifications of the
electors of its members in the several
States. There may be some ground for
the contention that if State denies to
a citizen the right to vote because of
his absence from the State in the mill
tary service or on any other account 1t
1snlN1 10 ~ 70
But there is no conceivable ground for
the contention that Congress may come
in and say that a citizen may vote
during absence from his State, whether
he is in the service of the United States
or not.
That is a matter which each State
has the exclusive right to settle for it.
self. Any State may permit its clti-
Zens to vote during their absence in
the military or naval service Of the
United States. Many of the States did
this during the civil war. At the Pres
idential election of 1864 great numbers
of soldiers in the field voted and thei"
votes were counted in the returns for
their respective States. There is moth
ing to prevent the several States from
pursuing the same course now that
they did during the civil war. though
ii some cases their constitutions may
lender 1t impossible to act promptly
The regular army is on the way to