El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-05-26
Misrepresented Suffrage Clause

New OileauS PicayuRe.
Many prominent northern papers
are attacking the convention and the
onsti tuition n ade by it for tbe state OF
Louisiana in unme assured terms.
One of these is the New York Even
ing Post, which said:
How undem ocratic democracy may be is
illustrate by the recent performance 10
consti ution- making in Lo .isiana Un rer
nomina ly enjoyed the right to vote upon the
s me terms IA whites convent N was
to frame ne" &C m SscHs ,ra@
| voting at this ELECTION. and not one negro
is ea%a1
the Two races. indie. d. but single repre-
| sent tive of the republican party was elect
st d WHICH Sp prscficaiy nisfranchfses the
negroes, and then procl lined this new
| to the voters. In fact. the members the
convention would have dre,d.d to let the
::There can Re little doubt" says the New
tuition s l VIE sS6@itted to the p opls. it
could be voted down by an overwhelming
the fai,Ssre to carry out their wishes
The convention was callel expressly
| 20 eliminate the negroes from politics
by the adoption of an organic law that
| would, as tar as the federal constitu-
ton will permit. deprive them of their
votes. This the convention did by the
best means 10 its power. 1t cut of
| from suffrage the illiterate and shift
less negroes. so as to prevent in the fu-
| ture any possibility of negro domi-
na'ion in the public electiols of the
state.
1t may not be easy for people In q
| northern state, where no such condi-
! lions exist, to understa d the action of
| the louisiana convention in regard to
suffrage. But when quite One-half the
population OF the state is M sde up OF
freed slaves and their children, all ut
| terly illiterate and not alb g to UNDER
stand the meaning of citizenship an
suffrage and who, owning not q dollars
worth OF property, are still able to
vote taxes and other exactiOns upon
| he property of the whites, the peop'e
who are at the mercy of such q negrO
| population thoroughly understand when
they need and demand protection.
Such protect on as it could give has
| been accorded by the convention, and.
| # there has been some active differ
ence of opinion as to the best means Of
occurring 1t, there does not seem to be
the slightest foundation to any
statement that the white people want
| to undo the suffrage clause of the con-
stitution or have the remOtess desire 10
restore to the illiterate and property
less negroes the power to vote.
AS to the allegation that the white
people of louisiana would vote down
and abrogate the Institution if they
had the opportunity, that can be easily
tested. The people possess at this mo-
ment what fully corresponds in all SUBJ
-tantial particulars to such an oppor-
tunity and such power. The legislat-
ure is in session, and if the people are
determined to defeat the constitu-
ton, thew need only order their 9ener-
| al assembly to call at once another
| convention to condemn, cast out and
repe Il the co.. s,itution just made.
But the people are not going to do
my such thing. They do not want to
defeat the new suffrage qualification.
On the contrary, it acconplishes just
what t-ev wanted. There was a good
deal of popular dissatisfaction with the
conventions; but it was because it was
too subservient to politicians. The
convention has merited ceusure for
some of its acts, but its efforts, by wise
and proper laws to save the state from
the inexpressible evils of q vast negro
population, welding enormous politi
cal power and the prey of unprincipled
and rascally adventurers, deserve
t. anks, and not condem nation and in
discriminate vtuperation and mi,re-
presentation by the white people of
Louisiana.