The Lamar register., 1900-08-29
NORTH CARoLINA'S
NEW ELECTION LAW.


by bulldozing methods, was borrowed
from Louisiana, and is To this effect:
section 5--No male person, who
was, on January ], 1867, or at any
time prior thereto. entitled to vote. un-
der the laws Of any state in the United
States wherein he then resided, and no
fneal 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 ed
ucatlonal qualifications prescribed in
section 1 of this article.
OF course, the suppose OF this is oh
vious 1t is to disfrinehise every hit
crate negro citizen without disfrnn-
Chasing single white ilIiterate. or. as
Senator Butler expressed il in a speech
on the subject in the Senate last win
ter. the section is ian arbitrary attempt
to create "A special privileged ancestral
class Consequently It plainly does
violence to the ffternth amendment to
the Unitt4i States constitution, TO this
effect:
The right or citizcus Of the United
States TO vote shah not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by
any state on account Of race, color, or
previous condition OF seryinrde."
That such is the view OF even the
ablest Democrats of the Senate is
shown by this dispatch sent lay Seua-
tor McEnery OF Louisiana IL = New
Orleans paper when this grandfather
clause" WIS under discussion In that
state:
Washington. II. C., March Il. islEs. D..
TO the Times-Democrat
In answer. say that sectbou > ithe
grandfather clause Is grossly mcou-
stitutionaI have submitted the SAINT"
to some OF the abIest Democrats Of th"
senate. who are able constitutional
lawyers, They all concur in my opin'
ion, that If adopted. the effect will I-'
to lose our representation In Congress
and in the electoral vote of the state.
~s. d. MENERT~
This grossly Unconstitutional scc-
ton. however WIS adopted ia Louis
lana. and senator McEuery made a
speech in the Senate in defense Of its
constitutIOuality. When asked 10y Sen
ator Butler IL he did not write the let-
ter quoted. he responded thus:
.-Yes, sir. When the constitutional
convention was In session was tel
egraph..,i TO know what was my opin
ion of this section ) replied to that
telegram that in my opinion il WIS un-
constitutional. l then received another
telegram. after its adoption, to know
II, when il was attacked, | would de
fend 1t in the Senate OF tbs United
States. To that telegram replied that
| would"
1t is this grossly Unconstitutional
section. in tll, opinion Of some Of tb"
ablest Democrats In the senate, who
are able constitutional lawyers. that
North Carolina adopted yesterday un
der the pressure Of the "'ted Shirts-
The reason why the '.grandfaths'f
cisilA@t hA l1tAtH-AAlAa = -AaANltsNA - IHsAAAa
Section OF the amendment reguites
thar every person presenting himself
for registration shall ic able to rfh
and write any scrtiou Of the oonstitu,
ton in the English language" Now
the percentage Of nliteracy in North
Carolina * remarkably great, not only
among negroes. bRi also among whites
In 1880 the state contained the great
number of 4u9. .Ta3 illitetates Of ten
years of age and over OF these, 10
Gil were native white males aud los,
80 negro males Except for the
..grsndfather clause" therefore,
great body of white iliiterates would be
disfranchised along with the colored-
That such n discrimination against
the negroes 10 favor Of the whites is
grossly unconstitutional was as appaT-
ent TO the able Democrats in the Sen
ate AZ IL must be 10 every reasoning
man. The adoption OF the amendment
casts an even more serious reflection
on the civilization Of North Carolina
than does the great percentage OF nit
eracy.
when Abraham lincoln Was an -Imperi-
iZfH