The sun., 1900-08-19
THE GRANDFATHER CLAUSE
H'ENERY TO COMBAT CHANDLER'S
ATTACK UPON THE MEASURE.
lie u Pledged 20 Defend In the United states
Senate the Negro DIsfranehisinE Measure
which He Declared Was Unconstitutional'


| Senate the Negro DlsfrsnchisipE Measure.
which He Declared Was Unconstitutionnl'
NEW ORLEASs Aug. i5,-ln a short inter
view Senator y. ID. McEnery has replied 60 the
| letter OF Senator Chandler published In 1HE
| SuN. lie takes issue with Senator Chandler
| on two points; first. that no Southern Senator
| has proposed the repeal Of the Fourteenth
| and Fifteenth amendments and says that he
| himself has personally advocated the repeal
| secondly he objects 10 Senator Chandler =
| declaration or suggestion In regard TO the
| representation given to tho Southern States
| In Congress and the Electoral College, and
| tho vote cast by these Statea. and calls atten-
ton TO tho fact that representation was never
based on the vote, but always on the population.
and that even before the passage Of the Four
| teenth and Fifteenth amendments the South
| received representation both In the House
| and In the Electoral College for three-hfths OF
| its negro slave population.
Senator McEnery will probably be the chief
| spokesman OF tho Southern States In the Senate
| II the suffrage amendments OF LOUISIANA
| and North Carolina are attacked indeed he Is
pledged to do this, for In returning him to the
Senate the Democratic party OF louisiana
made II conditional upon his willingness TO
defend the suffrage OF the Louisiana Constitu-
ton, the grandfather or hereditary clause In
oluded. Ii is a curiosity OF politics that he
should be required 10 do this because when the
Louisiana suffrage provision was before the
Constitutional Convention he was Its most
stalwart opponent, and pronounced the grand
father clause unconstitutional and not de-
fensible In law; but he Is now retained 10 de-
fend It and required TO do so by the pledge he
mado the convention.
The Louisiana Constitutional Convention
called TO revise the suffrage so as TO get rid Of
the negro vote met IN New Orleans on Feb.
s. 1898. II was allowed sixty days in which
10 complete its work, that is until April 8, but
rs the time for its adjournment drew near,
that is. toward the end Of March. 1t became
quite evident that It could not complete the
work in time. The suffrage question had be-
come more and more tangled. the more 1t was
considered. from the fears and ambitions Of
the politicians who wanted TO get rid Of tho
illiterate voters but could see no way OF doing 1t
without offending the ignorant white voters
whom they feared.
A half Il dozen suffrage plans were proposed
to the convention. all of which we're voted down
because none Of them were III. The Mississippi
plan Of an understanding clause was rejected:
also the South Carolina plan which provided
for fraudulent registration rol-thls was
rejected Oh the ground that II was fraud
would fail TO reach an agreement the grand
father clause was proposed and It's ayAila blity
and Constitut!Ouality were supported by Judge
Thomas J. Semmes, who was esteemed the
ablest man in the convention. He had been
United States District Attorney, Attorney
General OF !. .ousiana member Of the Confederate
Senate. President Of the American Bar Asso-
Ciation, and had been strongly recommended
TO President Cleveland as a member Of the nited
States supreme Court but Senator Lamar
To Judge Semmes Louisiana and North Car
oIina owe ne grandtatheF claus Clause & by which the
mitted TO the franchise while the iulterate
negroes are shut out. The proposition at first
thought 70 be Unconstitutional: there was tho
danger OF 1t causing an agitation against the
S9qh r. GqGS TS Tie Fmq FcuTeenh and Gs fifteenth
AMENDMENTS. and there was that sword OF
Damocles" overhanging all doubtful suffrage
representation In the House. This danger was
ALWAYS before the convention and killed
dozen dGS ,uaSs c9s%S ibg SsfSs
with the Fourieenth and Fifteenth Amendments
vidcd that the rights Of persons should not bs
denied or abridged because Of race, color or |
previous condition OF seryltude:" but i did not
against on account Of race or color. As col |
ored men could, vote In most OF the Northern |
that there was a discrimination against them |
In section Uhe grandfather clause, There
was a QlNCTlfn ltEltlOu DPtNeen lHOee WHO COulu
have acquired the franchise since, but the first |
class included negroes as well as whites; as did |
also the second class lthose who have become |
voters since ls6S). There was therefore no |
discrimination because OF race or color. A |
rage uO under the VJ grandfather clause. but not
enough TO cause the whites any anxiety. There |
was nothing 10 fear from lhe courts because Of
this clause granting the franchise 20 descend |
ants Of former voters. II was legal and con-
stltutlonal.
many quotations from judicial decisions. His |
address had marked indeed a convincing,
iphusnSe on the convention ana ne next DAY
the main feature Of which was the srandiather
clause, which gives the suffrage TO any man,
whether he can read or write whether he owns
property or not, provided he can prove
no particular proof is required OF this ancestral
vote the fact that man Is white being reg arded
was a voter whereas. In the case OF
a negro applying for the suffrage, under the
be beTdSn o ptoS res on the 30
prove that his coored father or grandfather
lived and voted in Massachusetts or some, other
attos and quadroons claiming the suffrage on
account Of white fathers was only touched
on in the convention, when it was suggested by
lure that this descent from voting ancestor
must be eGtimate This matter; however
be- legally proved as 10 the parentase OF persons
of mixed white and negro blood.
Al the last moment when II looked as though
the suffrage plan containing the grandfather |
'lausc would go through the convention with
whoop, M an effoCtive way NJ solving tho
problem before that body. Senator MCEnery,
rom his seat In the United States Senate, came
nut against II. with such sledgehammer blows
hat the grandfather clause was knocked out
and the convention thrown back into oil its
confusion. on May II, 1893, in response TO in
lulrios "a to their views Of the suffrage section
the grandfather clause, the two
Louisiana Senators pronounced emphdtCall
against IL as unconstitutional
Senator McEncry tclegraphed:
"Sectior 5 1.-THE grandfather clause Is grossly
! have submitted X 10 some
u tho ablcst Democrats OF the Senate who are
lawyers They all concur in
ny opinion that. II adopted, the effect will he
q lose us our representation In Congress. and
n the electoral vote Of the State"
senator Don CafTery conCurred with him In
his view and telegraphcd as follows TO the
convention:
section of the amended suffrage amend
nent Is unconstitutional IN my opinion because
I establishes n privileged class Of voters for
hree generations without qualifications, while
I imposes qualifications on all other voters
md because, in fact, i discriminates against
he cClored people of Louisiana"
As might be expected these emphatic decla-
atons prevented the convention from adoJt-
nR the suffrage plan II had decided on and