The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-09-06
sesp,Ey Panty siArFoen


AA.vs~a g.s.i.ss~ssy i.sC~as~ssss
ADrn issa. isss.
The Peoples Party convsntion
sssmbled In Raleigh, April le.a-
the principles set forth e
he Peoples Party National plat
orm adopted 81 st. Louis in is&s
md instructs the delegates 20 ins /
National Convention at Sioux ~ IN I
May 9Th to vote for the nomination |
Of William J. Bryan for President
We commend the present State
for It's high pei
sonal and official integrity. and
. comparison Of Ito rec
ord with any and all OF Ito pfede-
We condemn the Democratic Lsxis-
iature Of 1889 for its extrayaxaot ex-
peDditures OF public money Amounting
TO 81 SCI, 76S-7e in 1899, as opposed 70
IL ,3S3, 81 IL, expended by the preced-
794 So, not including the sum Of $780,
600 for public education nor thu s63, $50
for purchase Of State farms.
We further condemn said Legisla-
tnre for the careless laundering and
careless legislation, including more
gross plumbers and unconstit1tional
laws than ever before enacted BY any
General Assembly In North Carolina.
We further denounce the machine
leaders of the Democratic party for
laying the whip on the bacta Of the
Democratic Legislature and forcing
them into enacting and submitting
disfrshchising constitutional amend
ment in violation Of the solemn
pledges Of the party, made not only
ofiiciallT in their campaign handbook.
but by members of the General Assem-
bly, and other Democratic candidates
for Office in their canvass before the
people. We denounce them not only
for doing this in violation Of their
pledges, but also for submitting mea-
sure most od.ous in form and danger
Gus In effect. That General Assembly
being composed of some of the best
lawyers Of the party, must have
known, or 1T least had . reasonable
doubt, not only as to the unconstitu-
tionality Of the mOnstrous provision Of
Section 3, known as the grandfather
clause" in said amendment, but also
Of the great danger of that unconstitu.
tional sectional section falling, leav-
ing the remainder of the amendment
to stand, thus DISTINGUISHING by an ed
acational qualification atty or sixty
thousand white voters of North Caro-
lima, who in 1898 gave the Democratic
party power In the Legislature, and
whose ignorance is no fault of their
own but is chargeable to the neglect of
the Democratic party, which now seeks
to disfranchise them and make their
ignorance q crime alongside that of
the fel0n.
But even il the proposed amendment
were not unconstitutional Gas it clear
~ is), still it is especially objection
able in the following particulars:
(a) In that it dignifles with the right
Of suffrage the most vicious, trouble
some and obnoxious class of the negro
population, and completely disfran.
chises the most faithful kindly and or.
| derby element of that race.
| (b) In that, while clamoring for white
supremacy and declaring that no white
man shall be disfranchised under thit
amendment, they have so written theil
amendment that every white boy be-
coming of age after 1908 stands on Tn,
same footing with the negro, and cal
not vote unless he Is able to read an(
write.
(c) In that by the latter provision
they have made it possible for the ed.
ucated negro after 1908 to cast his bal
lot while the unfortunate son of tn
white men who have been the strength
of true democracy stands without ,
vote at the ballot box. They slaughte
the suffrage of the son whose fathe
they dare not openly attack.
(d) In that this suffrage amend
ment does not remove the negro from
politics or settle the negro question il
North Carolina.
(e) In that every voter who has no
paid his poll tax as much as fiv
months before the State election an,
eight months before the national cleo
ton, shall be disfranchised as much q
if he were convicted of felony or wer
an ignorant negro. The purpose O
this provision is not only to disfran
chise every good honest citizen VIII
unfortunately cannot pay his taxes b,
the first of March preceding the cleo
tion, but further to try to bride the vo
ter to surrender his suffrage at the ex
pense Of the public school fund of tn
State, which Is derived from poll taxes
There Turks behind this proposition
still greater danger to the publi
schools of the State, for with the adop
ti0n of the amendment the opponent,
of free schools in North Carolina viii
at once raise the cry that every dolla
raised for public instruction means tn
increase Of the number of negro vO
ters, and thus the poor white man
son will be chained in bondage of ig
noranoe and disfranchised to proven
the education of the negro voter
There ia no white supremacy In this.
The constitutional question pre-
sented by the proposed amendment i
one that must be determined by tn
Judgment snd conscience of each indi
vidual voter. Therefore, we do no
make it party question. We state tn
evils and dangers and leave the voter
Of all parties to pass their verdict il
the light Of these facts. The question
Is above party, and no one should b
more active and anxious in our judg
ment to defeat 1t than the rank an
Gle Of the Democratic party.
The Peoples Party is and has Away
been more distinctly than any othe
party in North Carolina a white man
party, and is more anxious than an
other party to solve the race problem
and to force oil parties to discussion
Of the great economic issues 80 vital
affecting the welfare of all wealth pro
ducers Of the State and nation and de
oenoy in politics.
| Therefore, We propose in lieu of thi
dangerous amendment, the best solu
ton Of the race question that is posi-
bAe as long as the 18th amendment t
the Constitution of the United State
stands solution which deprives n
white man in North Carolina now O
hereafter Of his right of suffrage, to
wit
i Amend Section 6, Art. 6, of the Cor
stitution Of North Carolina by insert
ing among the disqualification fo
office, enumerated therein, the follow
ing. viz: All negroes and all..person
Of negro descent to the third genera
; ton Inclusive.
II the Democratic Legislature whic
meets in June will offer this safe, con
1 ekifntin nd -hn1oso-.