The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-06-14
PEOPLES PARTY PLATFORM



eaffirms the principles set forth In |
he Peoples Party National plat |
orm adopted at st. Louis In 1896,
md instructs the delegates to the
National Convention at Sioux Ealls
Nay 9th to vote for the nomineeion
# William ]. Bryan for President. |
We commend the present E3ate
for its high per-
'onal and official integrity, md
challenge a comparison Of Its rec
,rd with any and all Of its pgede-
,essors.
We condemn the Democratic Lsgis-
allure of 1899 for It's extrsvagsss ex-
of public money amounting
20 1885, 1876 in 1899, IS opposed TO
i 1888 Gill, expended By the rreced-
ng Legislature, an excess of $780,
T94 IS. not including the sum Of $780,
,tO for public education nor thS S53. $50
Tor purchase of State farms.
We further condemn said Iegisl2-
.nre for the careless blunde,ing ana
careless legislation, including more
zross blunders and unconstitutional
laws than ever before enacted by any
General Assembly in North Carolina.
We further denounce the machine
leaders of the Democratic PARTY for
laying the whip on the backs 81 the
Democratic Legislature and forcing
them into enacting and submitting 8
constitutional amend
ment in violation OF the solemn
pledges OF the party. made net only
in their campaign handbook
but by members of the General Assem-
bly, and other Democratic candidates
for office in their canvass before the
people. We denounce them not oniy
for doing this in violation of their
pledges, but also for submitting mea-
sure most odious in form snd danger
Gus in effect. That General Assembly
being composed of. some Of the best
lawyers of the party, must have
known. or at least had reasonable
doubt, not only as to the unconstitu-
tionality of the mopstrous provision Of
Section 5, known IS 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 disfranchising by an ed
ucational qualification Fifty or sixty
thousand white voters of North Caro-
lima, who in 1898 gave the Democratic
party power IN the Legislature, and
whose ignorance is no fault of their
own but is chargesble TO the neglect OF
the Democratic party, which now seeks
to disfranchise them and make their
ignorance crime alongside that OF
the felon.
But even if the proposed amendment
we're not unconstitutional Gas it clear
~ is). still it is especially objection
able in the following particulars:
(a) In that it dignifes with the right
of suffrage the most vicious, trouble
some and obnoxious class of the negro
population, and completely disfran
chises the most fat hful, kindly and Or
derby element of that race.
CO. In that,while clamori for white
supremacy and declaring that no white
man shall be disfranchised under This
amendment, they have so written theii
amendment that every white boy he.
coming Of age after 1908 stands on tie
same footing with the negro, and car
not vote unless he is able to read and
write.
(c) In that by the latter provision
, they have made it possible for tho ed
ucated negro after 1908 to cast his bal
lot while the unfortunate son of tht
white men who have been the strength
of true democracy stands without 6
| vote at the ballot box. They slaughte,
the suffrage of the son whose father
they dare not openly attack.
(d) In that this suffrage amend
! ment does not remove the negro from
politics or settle the negro question il
North Carolina.
(e) In that every voter who has no
paid his poll tax as much as fv'
| months before the State election ant
eight months before the national cleo
| ton, shall be DISTINGUISHED as much s.
if he were convicted Of felony or wer'
an ignorant negro. The purpose C
this provision is not only to disfran
chise every good honest citizen wis
unfortunately cannot pay his taxes b,
the first of March preceding the elec
ton, but further to try to bribe the vo
ter to surrender his suffrage at the ex
pense of the public school fund Of tn
State, which is derived from poll taxes
There turks behind this proposition
still greater danger to the public
schools of the State, for with the adop
tiOn of the amendment the opponents
of free schools IN North Carolina will
at once raise the cry that every dolls
raised for public instruction means th
increase of the number of negro VIC
tiers, and thus the poor white man
son will be chained in bondage of liz
norance and disfranchised to proven
the education of the negro voter
There is no white supremacy IN this.
The constitutional question pre-
sented by the proposed amendment
one that must be determined bv tn
Judgment and conscience of each ind
vidual voter. Therefore, we do nc
make it party question. We state tn
evils and dangers and leave the voter
of all parties to pass their verdict i
the light of these facts. The questio
is above party, and no one should b
more active and anxious in our juds
ment to defeat it than the rank an
file of the Democratic party.
The Peoples Party is and has Away
been more distinctly than any othe
party in North Carolina white ma n
party, and is more anxious than an
other party to solve the race probler
and to force all parties to discussso
of the great economic issues 90 vital
affecting the welfare of all wealth Or,
ducers of the State and nation and d
, cency in politics.
Therefore, we propose in lieu of til
f dangerous amendment, the best sol
;. ton of the race question that is poss
: BILE as long as the 10th amendment
+ the Constitution of the United Stat
4 stands-a solution which deprives
white man in North Carolina now
= hereafter of his right Of. suffrage, t
wit:
Amend Section 6, Art. 6, of the Co
stitution of North Carolina by insel
ing among the disquali fcations f
office, enumerated therein, the ifollo'
ing, viz: All negroes and sll--perso
of negro descent to the third gene.
tion Inclusive. sssg 3.
If the Democratic Legislature viii
meets in June will offer this safe, CO
stitutional and wholesome amendme