Evening star., 1900-08-03
The North Carolina "Catechism.'' -

The catechism issued in North Carolina
for the purpose of reassuring the illiterate
white voters of the state that their suf-
frages woul1 not be affected by the new
CT Institutional amendment. published at
length in yesterdays Star, is an excellent
sample of the literature of the negro-dis
frpnchising campaign and makes interest
ing reading in the north and west 1t is de-
iiciously explicit as to the process of Jug
Cling whereby a sharp line of distinction is
to be drawn between the illiterate white
and the illiterate black. This is particu-
larly evident in the paragraph which shows
how easy it will be for the former 10 enroll
himself under the grandfather clause"
The mere fact OF his white skin will admit
him to the rolls. The black man. however,
must bear the entire burden of proof to
show first that he is literate. or failing that
that his progenitors voted prior to 1861
There are a few hundred negroes In the
state according to this catechism. who
may be enrolled under the grandfather
clause" their ancestors having been free
blacks. Is it to be supposed for a moment
that they will be able to prove. to the sat
isfaction of white registrars. that they are
entitled to stand by the men on the "honor
roll'' of white illiterates who enjoy the rare
privilege of ancestral suffrage? Will not
their task be overwhelmingly difficult?
What bearing does the Constitution of the
United States have on this point? 1t is i'm
possible to reconcile the language of that
instrument
Article XV-Section THE right of cit
izens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States
or by any state on account of race, color or
previous condition of servitude,
tho of ,ho oo,ooh;.~-. l..
formation which represents the entire
North Carolina MISREPRESENTATION cam
paign.
'As air white people could vote before
1ssl. his white skin will prove his right to
register under that section. unless he is a
foreigner naturalized since 1861"
Herein lies the answer to such question
ers as the one whose query was printed in
The Star yesterday. along with brief state
rrent of the difference between the Massa-
chusetts educational qualification and the
North Carolina plan. The fact that i'm
munity from the education test will be
enjoyed only by the white men who have
registered before December. 1908. does not
affect the legality of the proceeding What
guarantee can the voters of the state have
that before 1903 another amendment will
not be red-shirted into existence by the
same process as that employed to secure
the present one. extending the scope of the
| grandfather clGuse?" What assurances
have any special class of voters. white or
black. If this amendment should withstand
the test Of the Supreme Court, which is in
conceivable. that their suffrages may not
| be taken from them by similar maneuver
shrewdly designed to fit particular ca ses?
If the ancestral test Is ALLOWED, why not a
geographical test? Why not limit the suf-
frage to the descendants of those who
voted in certain cities prior to 1860 or to
| those whose fathers or grandfathers drove
their own carriages prior to 1850? An in
| teresting "catechism' might readily be de-
vised to bring out the full possibilities of
this process the virtues of which are so
frankly defended in this product of the
North Carolina political pen.