The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-08-07
Views of Senator Fairbanks and At
torney General Taylor ON
the Subject.
ATTITUDE OF THE DEMOCRATS
THE NEGROES OF THE SOUTHERN
STATE DIsFRANCHIsED.
Mr. Taylor Quotes from Senator Till.
mans Spcech-SenatOr Fair
banks Talks Plainly.

country has a more wholesale disfrancnlSe-
ment. of the people beef accomplished,
said Senator Fairbanks, referring TO the
recent election In North Carolina. "and 1T
may well cause us to pause. The result or
the election" he continued, was not unex-
pected by those who have watched the
trend of events in hat State. While the
Democrats are so sensitive lest We may
govern in some of the new possessions
without the consent of the governed, they
deliberately devise a constitutional amend
ment in the State of North Carolina, the
immediate effect of which is to absolutely
d~isfranchise some $1,000 voters, and TO in
sure the ascendancy of the Democratic
party in that State. There is no conceal
ment of the intention to disfranchise, for
1t is openly avowed. That the effort of
Democratic Acknowledgement will stop with
what as been accomplished in North Caro-
lima is highly improbable. The danger is
that the success there achieved will only
whet the appetite and lead to d~isfranchise-
ment elsewhere.
But it is said in defense of what has
been done in North Carolina that those dis
franchised are negroes and should be ex-
cluded from participation in their own
government. 1t should not be forgotten
that these people are American born; they
have been raised under our institutions;
they have enjoyed the elective franchise:
they have been good citizens; they have
never proven a menace to popular govern
ment: and to thus rob them of the right
to vote is to strike a blow at popular gov
eminent which may we'll enlist our atten
ton.
POLITICAL SLAVERY.
North Carolina has by this act reduced
the colored people of that State to a con-
dition of absolute political slavery. They
now have no more voice in their own gov
eminent than they had before Lincoln's
proclamation of emancipation and before
the ballot was given them by the Repub-
lican party as one of the means of their
own protection.
Although North Carolina has disfran-
chised some $1,000 colored voters, the Demo-
cratic party will insist upon full representa-
tion in the House of Representatives, based
upon the disfranchised vote. 1t will not
submit, without violent protest, to the sur
render of any of the seats in the House
now unjustly held. Furthermore, the State
will insist upon it's full vote in the electoral
college, which, by this disfranchisement of
colored voters is excessive, and which is
now made reasonably sure for Mr.. Bryan.
IF this uisfranchisement of the colored
vote in North Carolina concerned only
the local administration within that State,
while We might regard it as a gross vio-
lation of the political rights of our fellow
citizens, we might not seriously protest,
Notwithstanding the fact that other States
are always endangered by the precedent
of isfranchisement and by bad example.
But in this case every citizen Of the United
States is directly and vitality interested.
The suppression of the colored vote in
North Carolina without reducing that
States representation in Congress and in
the Electoral College may result in time
to come-at some critical juncture in the
future-in the control of Congress and
of the Electoral College to our prejudice.
Happily this year the prospects are that
the excessive and unjust representation
of North Carolina will not be large enough
to overcome the Republican majority in
either Congress or the Electoral College.
1T may be well to inquire what is tc
be the end of the Democratic policy OF
suppressing the negro vote. 1t has beer
substantially suppressed in several of the
Southern States. There are many congress.
sional districts in the South where the
colored vote is overwhelmingly in the ma
| jority. and yet there is but one coloret
| representative in the present Congress
Mr.. White, a most capable and worthy
| colored man from North Carolina. Hi.
return is now rendered a practical impos
sibility.
MIR. White is a credit to his race ant
TO his. State, and his exclusion from tn,
halls of Congress through a cunningly de
vised constitutional amendment will b,
| nothing short of a crime.
INDIANA GERRYMANDERS.
1--WE in Indiana will always remember tn.
long struggle we had to overthrow ant
forever destroy the legislative and congress
sional gerrymanders. whereby Republican!
were disfranchised and undue advantag,
given to the authors of the gerrymanders
Our Democratic friends in North Carolin:
do not need to resort to g~errymanderin,
legislative and congressional districts, sine,
by the adoption of a brief constitutions
amendment they strike down the grea
mass OF cOlored voters or the State. TIL,
adoption of the amendment was accom-
plished by a system of terrorism which
has become too familiar to the American
people.
1T seems to me that the violence of thi
assault upon the elective franchise mus
arouse the colored and White peopl
throughout the country to fill them witt
unspeakable Indignation and protest.
Senator Pritchard, of North Carolina
one of the bravest and best Republican
in the Senate-the only Republican Senate
from the South-has made a couraxeou
and aggressive fight for the preservation o
the ballot to the colored people of his State
He has their confidence and they have his
and IL would be cause for sincere regret. /
by this Acknowledgement he should lose hi
seat.
THE effect of the amendment is so far
reaching and is so confessedly harsh an
unjust TO the colored vote that its consti
tutionality will undoubtedly be tested Il
the courts. 1t is. IL seems to me. in fiagran
violation of the fifteenth amendment of tn
Federal Constitution and void. but unit
its invalidity Is successfully challenged 4
the courts the ACKNOWLEDGMENT will re
main.
IF / do not underrate the intelligence an
the loyalty of the colored people OF Indian
by their votes this fall show Mr.. Brya
ara his Marty asSOciafee I'm Narfh 10 roIin