Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1898-04-07
The Intelligence of the American
Citizen.


When an immigrant is permitted to
land at New York, no matter what his
character or his ignorance. he is far
advanced on the road to American
citizenship. He then has secured the
option to become avoter, and his moral
and intellectual unfitnsss for it, how
ever they may revolt us, constitute no
barrier to his exercising that option.
The alarming weight Of ignorance In
the ballot casters of the United States.
and the danger to the republic to be
found in it have long excited concern
among the thoughtful. The evil re-
sulting from the dumping into the
body polite, thirty years ago OF mil
lion voters just out of slavery and
totally unfit to exercise the ballot-an
experiment in government that few
will be now found to defend-has
taught the whole country lesson,
though it was the misfortune Of the
South to have to pay the heaviest ex-
pense of the schooling. A few weeks
ago Senator Lodge of Massachusetts,
who on some subjects exhibits the
|thoughtfulness of a statesman, intro
duced bill which practically excludes
all immigrants from the United States
who cannot read their own language.
The measure was 80 reasonable that 1t
was adopted and is now In the House
Of Representatives.
But now comes Representative Corliss
a Republican demagogue from Michi-
gan, who thinks Mr.. Lodges bill! is too
I" .n..foa, anu as an evidence OF his
own broadness, proposes substitute
for it which provides that the test for
American citizenship should be that
the immigrant ''possess character
and mind sufficiently honorable and
intelligent to become amalgamatsd
with the spirit of American institu-
tions and American manhood" How
that honorable and intelligent char
acter and mind are to be ascertainsd
\ the author Of this rot does not state,
nor do we care to inquire, for the value
of the bill solely consists in the fact
that some, If not all, of the Western
States which have been built up by
foreign immigrants will support 1t.
The other fact that Speaker Reed II
also opposed to the Lodge bill, indicator
that 1t is against the interest OF the
employing class of the Eastern States
60 have any restriction whatever put
upon immigration-their grip upor
the throat of labor being greatly
strengthened by the Importation o.
cheap and ignorant labor. So we are
warranted in the belief that there will
be little il any change made in our i'm
migration laws.
This renders it all the more impor
tant that the South should proceed
with It's process of eliminating Hitter
acy from the ballot. Mississippi ant
South Carolina have already done SO
and Louisiana is about to follow suit
1t looks as if Virginia would be tn
next In line, as most certainly sh
Ought to be. If the question OF con
Institutional convention Is again sub
mitted to our people it ought to be dc
cided overwhelmingly in the affirms
, tive and one of the first works OF tn
body should be removing from tn
ballot the dark cloud of ignorance b
which it is Swallowed. Its exampl
: would soon be followed by North Ca
lolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, an
later by the cotton belt. There shout
b then be at least one section OF TIL
great republic in which an inteliiger
y American franchise is exercised.