The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-03-08
SENATOR BUFFERS SPEECH ON.
Manhood Suffrage in North Carolina and the
Proposed Constitutional Amendment.
The GRANDFATHER CLAUSE OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT
CLEARLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL:

vote for proposition in violation OF
the fifteenth amendment as long as
that amendment stands
Therefore, the only question at issue
before the Senate and before the voters
Of North Carolina are the legal ones
which would be considered by the su-
preme court if the proposed amend
ment should come before it to be test
ed. What are these legal questions?
First. Is section five of the prOpos-
ed amendment unconstitutional
conflict with the fifteenth amendment?
Second If the supreme court should
hold that section is unconstitutional,
would it also hold that the balance of
the amendment (Which makes a COM
plete and constitutional scheme of linn
iting suffrage) should stand as a parL
of the organic law OF the State?
These are the questions | propose to
discuss. If the law and the decisions
OF our supreme court show that the
answers to bOtE of these questions
must be in the Affirmative, | take it
that then there would not be a man in
this body nor a voter in North Carolina
who would dare support the proposed
amendment.
WHAT ARE THE FACTS AND
WHAT is THE LAW?
Then let US see what the facts are
and what the law is. The proposed
amendment, with the exception of sec
tion .. is admitted by every one to be
clearly constitutional. The education
al qualification section, which is section
!, is as follows:
See. 4. Every person presenting him
self for registration shall be able to
read and write any section of the Con-
stitution in the English language; and
before he shall be entitled to vote he
shall have paid, on or before the first
day of March of the year in which he
proposes to vote, his poll tax, as pre-
Schribed by law, for the previous year
Poll taxes Shall he a lein only on asses
sed property, and no process shall is
sue to enforce the collection of the
same except against assessed property.
Now, is this section limiting suffrage
to those who can meet the educational
test to read and write constitutional?
! Clearly so, because the States have full
power to limit and regulate suffrage,
except as inhibited by the fifteenth
; uleudment Of the Federal Cunstitu-
tion. That amendment is as follows:
| The right of citizens of the United
| States 10 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.
/ The Supreme Court in a number tf
| cases, passing upon this question and
! constituting the fifteenth amendment
! has definitely laid down this principle:
| suffrage qualification, to be in ac-
| cordance with the fifteenth amend
ment, must operate equally, imparti-
! ally. and uniformly upon both races
and upon those formerly free or form
! erlv bond. Thus we see that the fourth
section, limiting suffrage to those who
| can read and write, operates uniform
ly upon both races, and upon those
formerly free or formerly bond, an(
therefore is clearly not in violation o
| the fifteenth amendment, but comes
directly within the rule laid down b,
the court. If the proposed suffrag'
amendment in North Carolina ha'
stopped here there could have beel
no question as to its constitutionality
But there is another section which
by an arbitrary provision, pretends Il
attempt to create a special privileges
ancestral class and TO exempt then
from the operation of section 4. 1t i
as follows:
Section 5. No male person who wa
on January /, 1867 or at any tim
prior thereto, entitled to vote unde
the laws of any State in the Unite
States wherein he then resided, and n
lineal descendant OF any such person
shall be denied the right to registe
and vote at any election in this Stat
by reason Of his failure to possess tn
educational qualifications prescribe
in section of this article: PROVIDED
He shall have registered in accordanc
with. the terms of this section prior t
December /, 1908.
The general assembly shall provid
for a permanent record of all person
who register under this section on {
before November ], 190S and all sue
persons slrall be entitled to registe
: and vote at all elections by the peop
in this State, unless disqualified urdt
section 2 Of this article: Provide
Such persons shall have paid their pc
tax as required by law.
, Now, the question is this: Is this SCI
tiCn (known as the "grandfath1
!, clause') constitutional? It provide
l that citizen who could vote on or b
fore January /, 1867 or whose fathe
e or grandfathers were then allowed
vote, shall be exempt from the pr
: visions of section 4 and permitted I
vote. even though unable to read ar
: write. and therefore not possessing Il
!: qualifications required of other voter
u Now. does this provision opera
u equally, impartially, and uniform
Il upon both races and upon those forr
0 erly free or formerly bond? If it do
u not, as the Supreme Court says it mu
u to be constitutional, then clearly il
- unconstitutional and must fall.
- THE SUPREME COURT RULES {
If CONSTRUCTION.
y, The advocates of this propos
l. amendment boast that its purpose
h to- disfranchise all illiterate blac
al while not disfranchising a single
ir literate white man. Yet they cla
G. that they have so covered UP their pr
t. pose in the wording of section 5 tn
le the Supreme Court of the United Sta:
L. will be unable from it's form, to |
v tect it's purpose and effect. Let us s
st if this is true We can best des.ermi
ey what rule of construction and intepl
u tation the court would follow n &C
sidering such provisiom as tho pl
re posed amendment by referring to
lg decisions of the Supreme Court
or similar cases. These decisions tse'
tn of which will cite in few moment
IL show that in considering Questic
o. like the proposed amendment the col
ne would consider, first, the political b
If tory of the times that called forth
to fifteenth amendment to the Consti
at ton OF the United States AMI secll
.ir of the proposed amendment In No,
rd Carolina, and next the court wo
TO consider the effect Of section 8 o.