The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-04-12

any State on account Of race, color O
= previous condition of servitude.'
, "The House amended that PROPOSE
- tion so that it would read thus 'Th
= right OF citizens1of:the United States t.
vote and hold Office shall notba den1e,
or abridged by any State leaving gu
the United States on account of race
color or previous condition of servi
: tude, Qualifying the right..to hold Office
as contained in the Senate proposition
by two other conditions, or stains
cases in which the State should no
deny the right to hold Office by put
ting two other propositions qualifying
the proposition Of the Senate cha
they should have the right to hoiC
=. office by very important amendment
They did not agree in the qualifica
ton upon the right to hold office. The
right TO hold Office was a dependent
proposition qualified by three addi.
tional restrictions"
Senator Howard, while protesting
against the adoption of the conference
report with or hold office" left out
says: 81 shall vote to concur in the re-
; port, not because this amendment OF
the Constitution as presented is en-
tirely satisfactory to me, but because
! think that it is at present the best
that can be obtained. ] must content
myself, therefore, with the best can
get and run the risk Of the future."-
Congressional Globe, 40th Congress,
part Bird, Bird Session, page 1925.
Senator Edmunds, who is still living,
and who is considered one of the
ablest constitutional lawyers in the
Tod fota NH nj he
Senate at the time OF the adoption of
the amendment. | quote few ex-
tracts from his speech on the PROPOSE
ton, showing that he then held to the
view that the right to vote did not
carry with it the right also to hold
office.
The following extract from his
speech will be found in the Globe,
page 1925.
IF you give him the right to have
| a voice in the government, that voice
cannot have any live expression, un-
| less it makes him to choose from
among his fellow-citizens the man
who suits him for his representative,
instead OF combining him, as this
amendment does, to- chosen aristo-
cratic class saying to citizen OF
free republic, you nave rights OF man.
hood, you have rights of equality, but
you shall exercise those rights in
choosing some one OF Us to rule over
| yGu instead of some one of your fellow
citizens whom you prefer.
| Now, sir, do we wish to set up parti-
san class in these Southern States? Do
| we wish to try an experiment that has
overthrown the most civilized Of an
cient governments Are you
| not, giving to the people the mere
husk and shell Of the feast of political
equality to which you invited them,
| reserving the substances and juices to
yourself !? What is the reason, then ?
Some vague fear, | suppose, fills the
mind of some trembling convert to
liberty, that his people will not be sat
isted to give the negro the right to
run against themselves for some office,
but they are willing to confer upon
them the boon of voting for them"
Senator Wilson speaking along the
same line said:
Then, sir, came the proposition, l
think a very lame and hating one,
providing that colUred men should have
the right to vote, but silent about the
right to hold office. The
Senator from Vermont tells US that we
are in favor of giving the right to vote
but will not give the right to hold Of
flee. | am going to vote for this prop
osition without taking on responsible
ity for it. | am not responsible for this
half way proposition | simply take 1t
at this late hour as the best | can get
after having struggled for the right to
vote and the right to hold office. If
there is an opportunity to get the right |
to hold office | will do it. take no risk,
for | am determined to take what [ can |
get if cannot get all | demand.
Do not tell me sir, that the right to
vote carries with it the right to hold |
office, 1t does no s1ch thing. No man |
In the world has q right to hold office.
Tue people have right to vote, and
they have right to put terms and con-
ditions to the offices that they make. |
Mr.. w ebster said in the Constitutional
Convention OF Massachusetts in 1870
that no man had the right to hold Of
fee, but The people had right to de-
fine and make the terms and c0ndl-
tions upon which offices should be held.
X Therefore, | am willing now
to give them the right to vote if can
not get for them the right to be voted
tor. will take that if L cannot get
any more"
In the Congressional Globe, page
1929. part third, 3rd session, 10th Con-
gress, | quote from Senator Sawyer,
who was discussing the proposition to
vote and mold Office
He said
IL believe there is quite as much risk
Of its being lost in number of those
states (SOuthern) as there is in its be-
ing lost in an equal number of North
ern states, if you put into the PROPOSE
tion the right to hold office. You may
say, and Senators on this floor do say
that the right to vote involves the
right to old office. L say that the dis
cussion on this floor, and the private
opinions of the Senators as expressed
| in de bate, show that the proposition is
dead; and | put 1t to the individual
conscience of each Senator on this
| floor, whether he is not wanting in
perfect clearness about that fact. We
know certainly that the gentlemen of
| The Democratic party on this floor DO
| not entertain this view, at any rate 1t
will go before the country that prop
ositiOn TO hold office has been sugges-
ted TO form part of this amendment
and has been deliberately voted down
| Ii il means anything why vote it down?
Ii the right to vote carries with 1T the
right to hold office, ask if to-day in
cognized by the Republican party? l
hold, MIR. President, that if ws are to
run a risk IN this matter of losing this
amendment because there are some
states which will not adopt the prOpo-
sition to hold office, it is better to run
the risk in the direction of right.
Senator Stewart, who had charge OF
the suffrage amendment IN the Senate,
spoke as follows
1.-THE friends of equal rights in Ten
nessee gave the negro the ballot. The
Democrats commenced at once to say
to them You are good enough to vote
but not good enough TO hold office"
The Republican party then Immediate
Nv in the legisiature-if | recollect
rightly, the legislature had the power
C. amend the constitution-gave them
i. the right to hold office. -
81 wanted to insert the right to hold