Evening star., 1900-08-01
One Hundred Thousand North Caro-
lima Negroes to Be Made Voteless.
ELECTION WILL Be HELD TOMORROW
Interesting Review Of the Situation
on Its Eve.
ESTI M ATED RITY
Special From n STAFF Correspondent.

voter of the state of North Carolina, un-
| less a miracle intervenes, will be virtually
| disfranchised. The means which will op
| crate to this end will not affect that same
| class of the white voting population. 1t is
estimated by conservative democrats that
| 100000 out of the 10000 negro voters of
| the state will be affected by the consti-
| tutional amendment which is expected to
! be adopted in Thursdays balloting. To-
morrow's election will choose a full state
| ticket legislature and county officers. The
| legislature will elect successor to United
| States Senator Butler, populist. At this
| election the voters will also pass upon a
proposed constitutional amendment, which
| will require only a majority vote to adopt
| designed to limit the suffrage. The prin-
| cipal feature of the amendment is as fol-
| lows:
Sec 4. Every person presenting himself
Tor registration shall be able to read and
write any section of the Constitution in
the English language, and before he shall
De emitted to vote he shall have paid on
| or before the first day of May of the year
In which he proposes to vote his poll tax
for the previous year, as prescribed by arti-
| Gle D, section l, of the constitution. But
no male person who was. on January l,
| 1867, or at any time prior thereto, entitled
| to vote under the laws of any state in the
United States wherein he then resided and
no lineal descendant of any such person
vote at any election in this state by rea-
son of his failure to possess the educational
qualifications herein prescribed, provided,
he shall have registered in accordance with
the terms of this section prior to December
l, 1905"
Additional Discrimination.
The clause which excepts the descend
ants of persons who We're entitled to vote
in 1867 makes the amendment applicable
to iliterate negroes, but not to iliterate
whites. The negro was given the ballot
in 1868 The whites always had it. This
constitutional amendment is built on the
lines of the Louisiana amendment, differ
ing in that it does not make the possession
of $500 worth of property requisite to
the right Of suffrage. The amendment, If
adopted. will not go into effect until July
1. 1902. Therefore, it will not affect the
congressional elections next November.
Reason for Postponing Operation.
The reason for postponing the operation
of the amendment is frankly stated by the
democrats to be the fact that the North
Carolina supreme court is republi
can. BY 1902 the democrats hope to change
the complexion of that court and render
an adverse decision against the amend
ment unlikely.
The democrats expect to carry the state
and adopt the amendment by majority
of 0.00O votes. On the state ticket there
is fusion between the populists and repub-
licans against the democrats. This fusion
may not hold against the amendment. for
the reason that many republicans and
populists are urging its adoption
Prominent Republicans Favor 1t.
Ex-Representative Thomas Settle who,
| next to Senator Pritchard, is regarded as
the leading republican of North Carolina,
favors the amendment and is urging re-
publicans to vote for It, William A Guth-
rie, who was populist candidate for gov
ernor in 1896, is also advocating the amend
ment. The argument which Mr.. Settle
uses a republican in favor of the amenu-
ment is this: That until the negro is elm
mated from the politics the republican par
ty will never make headway in this state.
He insists that if the negro question is
taken out of state and national politics as a
| live issue the ranks of the republican party
will be recruited from the conservative
mass of the democrats throughout the
state. He holds that the railroad men. cot
ton mill men, bankers, lawyers merchants
and all persons interested in the growing
industrial interests of the state will go with
the party of sound money and protective
tariff, once the bugaboo of negro domina-
ton is removed. The republican and popu-
list organizations, however, are fighting the
amendment bitterly.
Colonel Argo, the leading republican of
raleigh; Representative Atwater and ex-
Representatives Stroud and Martin, popu-
lists, are for the adoption of the amend
ment
Estimate of $4,000 Majority.
Mr.. Josephus Daniels. democratic nation
al committeeman for North Carolina, and
the most prominent of the active and prac-
teal politicians of the state, thinks the
amendment will carry by nearly 10000 He
believes the amendment will stand the test
of constitutionality but thinks it will not
settle the negro question for more than
twenty years By that time some other
exnedient will have to be adopted.
~ ctr-t1 1o1,,
meet the requirements of the amendment
said Mr.. Daniels today. Already they
nave started night schools and are drilling
their young men in anticipation of the test
which will be applied in 1902 They will he
spurred on to education to regain the suf-
frage of which their illiteracy deprives
them.
There are three propositions in ,b,s
question of disfranchiSing the negroes In
the first place. the republicans have prac
tlcaiiy als1ranchised them in the matter of
participating IN the organization of the
campaign They passed around the word
that negroes should not be sent as dela
ga'es 10 the county and state conventions.
They wanted their colored brethren to stav
in the background until it came time 70
vote. ~
Then the populists took hand in III.
game. Ihey agreed In their platform as a
substitute for the democratic plan 70 nrs-
vent any person with negro blood in bis
veins to the third generation from holding
office. "tis
Siai"s tne Plun Is Manly.
Il contend that the democratic plan is the
manifest. We say that no negro shall he
deprived of suffrage if he is mentally cana
Bile, fit person to hold office and to elect
to office. That is fairest to the negro
We deny him nothing if he is qualified to
receive it." ~
Negro Registration Fell OF.
The democrats are besing their hopes of |
victory upon several grounds. In the first
place. not all of the normal negro vote has
thus far registered 1t is estimated that the |
registration of negroes is 1000 short of the |
last election. The negroes have lost interest |
In the election, conducting the adoption of |
the amendment and. thinking discretion the |
better part OF valor, are tending their crops
and keeping shy of red Shirts
Inc democrats expect to gain recruits |
from the populfsts. In 1892 there were 1
a $40 populist voters in North Carolina In /
1896 this number had dwindled to S1,143. |
Inc democratic managers believe that |
1900 is the largest populist vote now As |
the popuist party was recruited mainly