The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-03-16


ticket for the amendment and l guarantee it
will destroy your privilege of ever voting for me
any more, because you can't vote no more fer
anything" and to Niger that's voted against
it all his life say, ''Here, you educated niger
you are better than that white man, take this
ticket and you and him together will kill his
chance to vote any more
Mr. Butler anybody know that's all rot, ridicul-
Gus, and so I found that the best men in this
State and other States and in the United States
Senate all said that the hulabulloo over the
constitutionality of the amendment because it
was in two sections and that the bad sectio
was good law and the good section was bad law
was Just a dust kicked up to the niger
from being disfranchised by soaring just sue
men as me.
have found out that law Just like this
has been working in Louisiana for three years,
and is working all right, white men voting right
along and niggers have quit voting and fooling
and gone to raising cotton, and thought to my
self, That's just what / want them to go to do
ing, here, and believe will help to push it along
and take the risk when heard that to salts
fy everybodys doubts, the members of the Leg
islature that put this law before the people,
have given it out that it will meet again in
June, ana the very UlsL tnlnS IL uoeS Will De 10
put both section and in section, and
then nobody object, who honestly wants to
give the white man chance to rule this coun-
try. That's right. Then for CERTAIN every
white man who was born and raised in this
country, matter whether he ever looked in a
book can evermore vote, but Niger who
couldn't vote in 1867 and of his heirs who
can't read and write now, could ever vote, and
7 I ID
not believe that God Almighty intended
for niggers to have equality white people
and know I don't intend to if can help it,
without hurting any of my own race and blood.
Third: The Gazette, instead of being satisfied
at this prospect of having the amendments mar
ried in June and everybody happy, it coulo
not be decided by the court to be unlawful in
the good part and lawful in the bad part bu
lawful all over, then jumped another rabbit and
it was this: white men, after 1908 who can't
read and write can't vote, | got my law and
read it again and / found that it says, in sec
ton 5: "All persons who register and vote be-
fore 1908, shall have their names enrolled and
kept forever you see their names are kept
on this record in the court house, so that there
can never be any dispute over their not always
voting 1908 only means persons who get to be
81 after then and 1 explained this to of my
revenue officer friends who seems to take a
great interest in me somehow, and he said
that would be all right but the trouble is, that
after then there might be more educated mig
gers than white men, and | couldn't help from
telling him that it he thought that much better
of niger than a white snnan's capacity, l
don't, and if l did, why / am that more bent
and determined now to vote for the amendment
so as to evermore cut off nigger's prospect to
outgeneral my children. And ! couldn't help
from asking him if he was much concerned
about nigger's voting after 1908, how in the
name of common sense he was so anxious to keep
him voting now he had chance to stop it right
away He left about then to cut up somebody's
still and I never heard his reply
The last report I have heard sent
out from revenue headquarters at Winston. They
say that it is that all who failed to pay their
taxes by the first Of March, just gone, will not be
allowed to vote under the amendment / picked
up the law and went to studying again and l
found this: "And before he shall be entitled to
vote he shall have paid his poll tax on or before
the 1st day of March for the previous year"
Now that did phase little, until COM
mon sense and little thought told me that as
it could not be a law until we voted on it, and
we did not vote it until August, 1900 how
the dckense could anything in March, 1900 affect
my rights, but | kept on reading and when
/ got down to subsection 9, I read this: "The
provisions of this constitution, &C.. shall go into
effect on the first day of July, 1902 &C. So that
looked like sockdologer to false report No. Z.
Now, Mr.. Butler, l have honestly told you
the trouble Of my mind, and how came to ex-
perience perfect satisfaction about the amend
ment, and the more I understand it the better
| like it, but l can feel for them who are yet
honestly trying to get out of the darkness, for
I was honestly in the dark myself The more
I am informed this amendment the better
| like it. ] am stronger than for it since
l have found out that that same Asheville Ga
bought up by ofice-holding Republicans for the
purpose of dcceiving and l hate a traitor and
psy / do not think you could have read the
amendment carefully. If you will send to Mr.
F. NJ. Simmons, Raleigh, n. c., for copy, he
will send you one, if you prefer not asking
him, write to our new county chairman, at Win
ston n. c., Mr.. Andrew Joyner, and he will
send you or anybody else one, with Lieutenant
Governor Charlie Reynolds name to it, to show
that it is the genuine article, just like it passed
Excuse this long letter, l suppose you meant well
by writing to me- and I certainly mean well by
writing to you
Yours truly,
ZEBULON BAIRD BITING.