The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-09-19

Well, you would-very c0rrectly-call
me q fool. You would say that al
though he priz9d the privilege of
handling the pistol, you took it from
him because you we're better prepared
to defend him than he was himself.
The application OF this parable is per-
fectly plain, If the negro is not quail
fed to use the ballot and the white
laborer will better care for the interests
of labor, then we do no wrong in tax,
ing the ballot from the negro.
But" suppose I should say, ''he
may handle the thing several times be.
fore he hurts himself, and because he
can do this 1 say let him have it" You
would not listen to such RrgumentO
Yet it ia in principle the same as thai
used by the man who opposes the pro
posed amendment because IN dlsfran.
chising a hundred incompetent voters
he must disfranchiee a teW who can
handle the ballot safely.
Then there's cue man who doesn't
pay his taxes. The Amendment gives
him not only lh3 whole year In waich
his taxes become due. but also two
months of the succeeding year. l
think ne is treated fairly enough. The
average man who fails Vopay his taxes
is a shittless fellow who pays twenty
times as much for whiskey e. his taxes
amount to. I shall be glad to get rid
OF this ClasP.
Az now We take up the white boy
under twelve years Of age who must 10
order to vote, learn to read and write
sometime within nine years. Only
che t welve year old fellows have only
nine years notice, none over that age
are required to read and write, while
those under that age have more than
nine years notice. The eleven-year
old has ten years notice, the ter year.
old eleven years notice, and 50 on to
toe one year old VINO has twenty
years before him in which to learn to
read and write.
This is the section that the opponents
Of the amendment sweat and rave over.
They cay that thousands Of our poor
people are not prepared to send their
children to school, can't pay tuition,
e etc. They overlook the fact that
our State has free schools, and that
the money question narrows down to
the mere cost Of books-a matter too
insignificant to require serious atten.
ton even though our people are at this
time in anything but a prosperous
way, financially. If it can be shown
that any considerable number OF chill
dren must rem lin uneducated because
of their Inability to buy books, l am
cure North Carolina hiss snough liberal
aud broad minded men OF means who
will raise g fund large enough to pro.
vide books for the worthy peer in
every county.
This matter Of 20 many people being
too poor 60 send their children TO
school is bu5 a glitterinR generality. A
man talking with the writer recently
grew eloquent over Gbi5 phase of the
question. But when caIls1 On 30 give
instances, be was dumbtounGed The
poor widow woman livi9g meas by
Was sending her children regularly
and the little tots were rapidly learn
ing to read and write, and the cabins
near by we're contributing to swell the
numbers at the neighborinR schools
The argument sounded very nic9ly,
but it was not valid.
lam a poor man, aud I secured my
education almost eE TREY st a Country
public school. And out Of every hun
dred boys Of good sense, SO can learn
80 read ana write sometime within the
next rim years. Because the hun
dredrh or taougandtb ona canuot pre-
pare himself is no reason for Ietsing In
SO shifllees onas. Ikn0w a number Of
young men under 81 years of age VINO
are much better Qualified for vo!iu&
than vhe average voter OF 40 Adj
submit that toere is list as much sense
in allowing a hundred persons under
81 to vote because cne of them is quail:
dsd az there is in letting q hundf Ell
ignorant persona vote because one II
of hundred-I doubt there being sc
many-cannot with from nine 60
twenty years noEic9 learn to read aid
write.
I tell you, men and brethren, tho
hope Of the luniry lies in an educated
citizensbip-cicizans who are prepared
to read and study political questions
and cannot, therefore, be blinded by
ignorance and made the tools OF mo
nopoly, voting to enslave themselves