The evening times., 1899-09-02
NEGRO SUFFRAGE. SOUTH
Great Interest Regarding the North
Carolina Restrictive Clause.
Explanation of the Situation by
Chairman Simmons, of the Demo-
cratic State Committee-SaIient
Feature of the Amendment to the
Statute-Its Fate Closely Watched.

ATLANTA, Ga, Sept. 2.-There is wide
spread interest in the South as TO the out
come of the suffrage amendment contest
in North Carolina. in which the right OF
about 120,00 negroes to vote is involved.
Georgia and other States contemplate re-
stricting the negro vote after the manner
North Carolina has adopted. II the amend
ment now before the people Of that State
is ratified and sustained by the courts, it
is believed that similar amendments will
be adopted by other Southern States, which
practically means the elimination of the
negro from politics.
The Atlanta Journal has obtained from
F. NJ. Simmons, Chairman of the Demo-
cratic Committee. of North Carolina,
statement, in which he admits that fully
10000 colored persons will be disqualified
by the North Carolina amendment, against
which the negroes are now waging po-
litical life struggle. Chairman Simmons
declares the North Carolina Democrats will
send solid delegation for Bryan TO the
next national convention and will demand
the reafiirmation of the Chicago platform.
Mr.. Simmons statement, which will be
campaign slogan in the South, will be
published tomorrow in part, as follows:
Concerning the suffrage amendment to
the constitution of this State, submitted
to the people by the last legislature and
TO be voted upon at the election to be held
in August, 1900, / beg to say that the
amendment is the result OF deep-roo,ed
conviction the pf white
pie that the best interest of the State and
both races requires the elimination from
politics OF the vicious and incompetent ne
gro vote.
The last campaign In North Carolina
was made chiefly upon the issue of white
supremacy. The heartiness with which
the people responded to this issue is
shown by the fact that We overcame a ma
jority OF 10000 pOlled against the Demo-
cratic party in 1897, and carried the State
by majority of 10000. We feel that We
have temporized with the race question in
politics long enough.
The salient features of this measure
are contained in its fourth and fifth sec
tions, which provide that every person
presenting himself for registration shall
be able 10 read and write any section OF
the Constitution in the English language
and that no male person who was on jan
uary /, 1867, or at any time prior thereto,
entitled to vote, under the laws of any
State in the United States, wherein he
then resided, and no lineal descendant of
any such person, shall be denied the right
to register and vote at any election in this
State by reason of his failure TO possess
the educational qualifications prescribed
in section of this article, provided he
shall have registered in accordance with
the terms of this section prior to Deem
Der !, 1905. The general assembly shall
provide for permanent record of all per-
sons who registered under this section on
or before November /, 1898, and all such
persons shall be entitled to register and
vote at all elections by the people in this
State unless disqualified under section 2
of this article; provided such persons shall
have paid their poll tax as required by
law
1T will be seen from these sections of
the proposed amendment that every negro
who can read and write will be entitled to
vote. 1t is estimated that between 25, ,0G0
and &c, 900 negroes in the State can now
comply with this test. There are prob
ably in the Stat> two or three thousand
negro voters who are lineal descendants
of what were known before the war as
free negroes who were entitled to vote
in this State under the constitution as it
existed prior to 1885. These will be enti-
tied to vote.
There are probably few hundred ne
groes in the State who were residents
prior to 1867 of States in which negroes
were allowed to vote, and they also can
vote under the fifth section. The rest of
the negroes. about 100000, will not be able
to vote until they have qualified them
selves by learning to read and write.
While some question has been made as
n, fho rOnSfifutionalifv af tho amandmonf
by the Republican politicians, we know
no lawyer of recognized legal ability and
| standing in the State who has investigated
! the question who doubts its ccnstitui ion
ality. careful study of it will disclose
| the fact that it does not in any legal sense
! contrayene the fifteenth amendment to the
| United States Constitution or abridge the
rights of the black man to vote on 'ac-
| count of race, color, or previous condition
| of servitude,' but that it simply establish
| es a qualification of suffrage.
This qualification is that the voter
shall have due understanding of the ma
| ture of his act and the effect thereof upon
| himself and his fellow-men, and it pre-
scribes two ways in which the voter yAay
show that he possesses this required de-
gree of understanding:
"First-If he can read and write it is
| conclusively presumed from that fact that
ne possesses the required degree OF under
| standing.
"Second-If he or his ancestors began
to exercise the right of suffrage prior TO
1867 1t is conclusively presumed from that
| fact that he possesses the required degree
of understanding.
| The amendment will receive the united
support of the Democratic party and that
part of the Populist vote which has not,
| by fusion with the Republican party, be-
come thoroughly Republicanized. In addi-
! ton to this large number of white Re-
publicans will support the amendment,
because they believe it to be to the best
| interests of the State and both races that
it should pass, and because they see no
hope for their party in North Carolina so
long as it remains under the control of the
negro, as 1t necessarily will SO long as the
negroes constitute four-ifths of its voting
strength"
No woman of fashion can afford to miss