The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-04-24

charg6aDI0 60 the n0gl6cG OF GuG
Democratic party, which now seeks
to disfranchise them and make their
ignorance a crime alongside that of
the felon.
But even if the proposed amend
ment were not unconstitutional Gas
it clearly is), still it is especially OBJ
iectiOnab1e in the following par
ticulars:
(a) In that it digniies with the
right of suffrage the most vicious,
troublesome and obnoxious class of
the negro population, and completely
DISTINGUISHES the most faithful, kind
Iy and orderly element of that race.
(b) In that, while clamoring for
white supremacy and declaring that
no white man shall be disfranchised
under this amendment, they have so
written their amendment that every
white boy becoming of age after 1908
stands on the same footing with the
negro, and can not vote unless he is
able to read and write.
(c) In that by the latter provision
they have made it possible for the
educated negro after 1908 to cast his
ballot while the unfortunate son of
the white men who have been the
strength of true democracy stands
4 Iy04O "a Tho ho1704 h0v
They slaughter the suffrage Of the
son whose father they dare not openly
attack.
(d) In that this suffrage amend
ment does not remove the negro
from politics or settle the negro
question in North Carolina.
(e) In that every voter who has not
paid his poll-tax as much as five
months before the State election and
eight months before the national
election, shall be disfranchised as
much as if he were convicted of
felony or were an ignorant negro.
The purpose of this provision is not
only to disfranchise every good hon
est citizen who unfortunately cannot
pay his taxes by the first of March
preceding the election, but further
to try to bride the voter to surrender
his suffrage at the expense of the
public school fund of the State,
which is derived from pOll-taxes.
There turks behind this proposition
still greater danger to the public
schools of the State, for with the
adoption of the amendment the OPP
ponents of free schools in North
Carolina will at once raise the cry
that every dollar raised for public
instruction means the increase of the
number of negro voters, and thus the
poor white mans son will be chained
in bondage of ignorance and dis
franchised to prevent the education
of the negro voter. There is no
white supremacy in this.
The constitutional question pre-
scented by the proposed amendment
is one that must be determined by
the Judgment and conscience of each
individual voter. Therefore, we do
not make it a party question. We
state the evils and dangers and leave
the voters of all parties to pass their
verdict in the light of these facts.
The question is above party, and no
one should be more active and anX-
iOus in Our Judgment to defeat it
than the rank and file of the Demo-
cratic party,
The Peoples Party is and has al
ways been more distinctly than any
other partyin North Carolina a white
mans party, and is more anxious
than any other party to solve the
problem and to force all parties
to a discussion Of the great economic
issues so vitality affecting the welfare
of all wealth producers of the State
and nation and decency in politics.
Therefore, we propose in lieu of
this dangerous amendment the best
solution of the C question that is
possible as long as the 18th amend
ment to the Constitution of the
United States stands-a solution
which deprives no white man in
North Carolina now or hereafter of
his right of suffrage, to-wit:
Amend Section 6, Art. 6, Of the
Constitution of North Carolina by
inserting among the Disqualification
for office, enumerated therein, the
following, viz: All negroes and all
persons of negro descent to the third