The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-24
A NATTER TO LET ALONE.

4 MATTER TO LET ALONE.
The Washington correspondent Of the
New YORK Evening Post says that the Re
pubicaus are preparing to spring a new
issue on ihs country. nancy, to cut down
the South's representation 10 Congress and
in the electoral college in the proportion
that the negro vote is suppressed in the
southern states. The constitution provides
that representatives shall be apportoned
among The several states according TO
their respective numbers. counting the
whole number Of persons in each state ex-
Guiding indians not taxed" 1t also pro-
Niaes that when the right to vote for pres
idendaI electors. representatives m Con-
gress and the legislative and judi
cial officers Of state. or the
members of the legislature thereof,
is denied to any of the male
inhabitants Of such state being citizens and
of age, or in anyway abridged, 'the basis
of representation therein shall be reduced
in proportion which the number of such
male citizens shall bear TO the whole num-
Der Of male citizens twenty-one years Of
age in such state"
Il is said that it is the purpose of the Re
publcans to have the law providing Tor the
next census so drawn that the census will
show just what proportion of the voting
population in each state is deprived OF the
right 10 vote, and that when the new APP
portionment is made those Southern states
which have suppressed the negro vote. by
law, will be deprived of a portion of their
representation in Congress and in the cleo
toral college.
This matter has been talked of many
times, and il will be talked of very often
in the future by class of politicians who
think they see in the proposed scheme a
chance to make a little cheap reputation,
but the Republican party will never at
tempt to lessen the number of the repre-
sentatives in Congress and the electoral
college from the South on account of the
efforts in some of the Southern states to
prevent iHiterates from controlling the
elections.
There are only three states in the South
in which ilhterates are DISTINGUISHED,
hdHANiSp oOuli OuAolAtlds mississippi anu
Louisiana. The law in South Carolina and
that in Mississippi are very much alike.
The Supreme Court of the United States
has said that on its face the. Mississippi
law is constitutional. 1t is fair to presume
that the South Carolina law is also consti-
tutional. The Louisiana law is of question
able constitutionality. II is proposed In
North Carolina to enact a law similar to
that of Louisiana. 1t would be a mistake
TO do so. 1t is pretty certain that, sooner
or later. the Louisiana law will be de-
clared unconstitutional
To enforce the constitution in the way 1t
is said the Republicans intend to enforce it
would be productive of almost endless com
plications. In all of the states there are
restrictions on the ballot of some kind or
other, and it would be impossible to find
out to what extent these restrictions
amount to a denial of the right TO vote.
1t is safe to say that the Republicans are
not going to take hold of any such trou-
besome question. At best they would not
deprive the South of more than a dozen
representatives if they could make the pro-
posed scheme successful, and they would
lose more than that number of Republican
representatives in border Southern states
by creating a sentiment in them against
the Republican party.
1t Is a safe conclusion that the Republi-
can party does not intend to bother with
the negro question in future to any con-
| siderable extent. 1t has gained little or
nothing in the past by doing so. If it is
wise it viii devote its efforts to dividing
the white vote in the South. 1t may not
accomplish much in that direction as Tong
groes, but it may see the ACCESSIBILITY of
abandoning that policy before very long