The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-04-26
PEOPLES PARTY PLATFORM
Adopted Unanimously In Convention,
April 18th. 1900.

Inc JeOpIe dTUy CONVENTION
assembled in Raleigh, April 18th,
reafilrms the principles set forth in
the Peoples Party Ma ional plat
form adopted at st. Louis in 1896,
and instructs the delegates to the
National Convention at Sioux Falls
May 9th to vote for the nomination
OF William j. Bryan for President.
We commend the present State
Administration for it's high per-
sonal and official integrity, and
challenge comparison Of it's rec
ord with any and all OF it's prede-
cessors.
We condemn the Democratic Legis-
lature of 1899 for It's extravagant ex-
penditures OF pubic money amounting
to 81 80, 765.76 in 1899, as opposed TO
81 1888 ,D7l IL, expended by the preCed-
ing Legislature, an excess of $780,
794 SO, not including the sum of 800.
900 for public education nor the sG3 $50
for purchase Of State farms.
We further condemn laid Legisla-
tnre for the careless laundering and
careless legislation, including more
gross plumbers and unconstitutional
Jaws than ever before enacted by any
General Assembly in North Carolina,
We further denouuce the machine
leaders of the Democratic party for
laying the whip on the backs of the
Democratic Legislature and forcing
them into enacting and submittinga
disfrAhChising constitutional amend
ment in violation of the solemn
pledges OF the party, made not only
officially in their campaign handbook.
but by members of the General Assem-
bly, and other Democratic candidates
Tor Office in their canvass before the
people We denOunoe them not only
for doing this in violation of their
pledges, but also for submitting mea-
sure most OdiOus in form and danger
Gus In effect. That General Assembly
hetng composed of some Of the best
lawyers of the party, must have
known, or at least had reasonable
doubt, not only a. to the uncOnstitu-
UOnality OF the mOnstrOus provision of
Section g. known as the grandfather
clause" in said amendment, but also
of the great danger of that uncOnstitu.
tiOnal sectional section falling, leav-
ing the remainder of the amendment
to stand, thus DISTINGUISHING by an ed
Vocational qualification fifty or sixty
lima, who in 1893 gave the Democratic
party power In the Legislature, and
whose ignorance ia no fault of their
own but is chargeable to the neglect of
the Democratic party, which now seeks
to disfranchise them and make their
ignorance q crime alongside that OF
the felon.
But even if the proposed amendment
were not unconstitutional Gas it clear
ly is), still it is especially Objection
able in the following particulars:
(a) In that it dlgnifies with the right
of suffrage the most vicious, trouble
some anu obnoxious class of the negro
population, and completely disfran
Chises the most faithful, kindly and or
derby element OF that race.
% In that,while clamoring for white
supremacy and declaring that no white
man shall be DISTINGUISHED under this
amendment, they have so written their
amendment that every white boy be-
coming of age after 1908 stands on the
same footing with the negro, and can
not vote unless he is able to read and
write,
CO.. In that by the latter provision,
they have made it possible for the ed
ucated negro after 1908 to cast his bal
lot while the unfortunate son of the
white men who have been the strength
of true democracy stands without a
vote at the ballot box. They slaughter
the Suffrage of the son whose father
they dare not openly attack.
(d) In that this suffrage amend
meat does not remove the negro from
politics or settle the negro question in
North Carolina.
(e) In that every voter who has not
paid his poll tax as much as five
months before the State election and
eight months before the national cleo
tien, shall be DISTINGUISHED as much as
IL ne were convicted of felony or were
an lgnOrant negro. The purpose Of
this provision is not only to disfran-
chise every good honest citizen who
unfortunately cannot pay his taxes by
the first of March preceding the cleo
ton, but furt her to try to bride the vo-
ter to surrender his suffrage at the ex-
pense of the public school fund of the
State, which is derived from poll taxes
There turks behind this proposition a
still grearer danger to the public
schools of tbs State, for with the adop'
t,On Of the amendment the opponents
Uf free schools IN North Carolina will
at once raise the cry that every dollar
raised for public instruction means the
increase OF the number of negro vO-
ters, and thus the poor white mans
sou will be chained in bondage OF ig-
nOrance and disfranchis ID to prevent
the education of the negro voter
There is no white supremacy In this.
The constitutional question pre-
sented by the proposed amendment il
ar ha Aata IN m cd 10
judgment and conscience of each indi'
vidual voter. Therefore, we do moi
make it party question. We state thu
evils and dangers and leave the voters
of all parties TO pass their verdict il
the light of these facts. The question
is above party, and no one should b,
more active and anxious in our judg
ment TO defeat 1t than the rank ant
file Of the Democratic party.
The Peoples Party is and has Away
been more distinctly than any othe
party in North Carolina a white man
party, and is more anxious than an
other party TO solve the race problem
aud to force all parties to discusslO
of the great economic issues 80 vital
affecting the welfare of all wealth pre-
duoers of the State and nation and dc
csncy in politics.
Therefore, we propose in lieu of thi
dangerous amendment, the best sOlI
ton of the race question that is posi-
BILE as long as the 18th amendment
the Constitution of the United State
.--stsnds-a s1lCtion which deprives n
A lite man in North Carolina now {
"A H. treafter of his right of suffrage, tt
ftivit:
rkY Amend Section 6, Art. g. of the Coz
INSTITUTION of North Carolina by inser
III ing among the dsquali tications f,
office, enumerated therein, the follow
ing, viz: All negroes and all person
:, of negro descent to the third geners
II ton inclusive.
"A Ii the Democratic Legislature whiC
U meets in June Will offer this safe. col
a stitutional and Wholesome amendmel
in,lieu of the present. scheme it wi
have our hearty support. If they wi
not, we appeal to the people to rally
"A our assistance to elect LegslatU
Va x>l.hnol tn SupDOrr such an amani