The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-02-15
FROM ONE or THE PEOPLE.

FROM ONE or THE PEOPLE.
The Proposed Amendment 10 Unconstitu-
tionaI and the Plain People VIII Not
Vote For or Submit TO 1t.
For the Caucasian.
have been reading some opin-
ions OF some OF our best lawyers on
the proposed Constitutional amend
ment, and am thoroughly DISCUS.
ted with the feeble arguments adj
vanced by the Democratic lawyers.
| am no lawyer, but IL was back
woods school committeeman /
would be ashamed to confess my
ignorance or dishonesty and say
that section Of the pro pos d
amendment was Constitutional.
When a lawyer Of education and
ability de lares section of the
proposed amendment to be in &C
cord with the 18th amendment Of
the Federal Constitution which de-
clares that the right Of citizens Of
the United States to vote shall not
te denied or abridged by the Uni
ted States or by any State on &C
count OF race, color or previous con-
ditlon of servitude. | say that law
yer makes a fool Of himself and
tramples under foot what little
honor he pretended to have. Now,
you can see at glance that section
8 discriminates against the negro.
To allow the illiterate whites to
vote and eliminate the negro Is as
plain as the MONDAY sun that Sec
tion 5 Is clearly unconstitutional.
1t does not require lawyer to de-
stermine this fact, as any man with
ordinary common sense can readily
see the Inconsistency. This clause
Is where the Simmons machine
thinks 1t will succeed in foOling
enough illiterate white voters to
ratify the amendment at the polls.
But here they will realize that the
people have not forgotten the fair
promises made during the cam
paign of 1898, when they said they
would not attempt to disfranchise
any one, white or black. The DEM
ocratic press and speakers denOune-
ed 1t as Populist lie, and secret
circular Simmons issued another
circular in which he declared it to
be lie, so old and rotton that no
one would believe it. DR.. Kings
bury LII. D. and X. Y. H., OF the
Wilmington Mess 0nger, arose to re-
mark that 1t was lie, "a bald face
lie,""a Populist lie" With all these
facts staring them in the face, can
Simmons aud his red shirt gang
fool the people again? They will
never get the rank and file Of the
Democratic party to support the
amendment. The people know there
is no danger of negro domination
in North Carolina unless they are
appointed to Office by Democratic
politicians. In as much as the pro.
posed amendment does not elimi-
nate the negro from politics it will
not stop the Democratic machine
from squalling negro. Indeed 1T
would have something to hollow ne
gro about. 1t would be awful to see
some of the best white men in
North Carolina refused the right
of suffrage, while the educated
town negro walks up to the polls
and casts his vote, while he puffs
the smoke Of his cigar in the face
of those rejected white men from
whose property taxes was collected
to educate the negro. will the
News and Observer be kind enough
to give US a cartoon Of the above
What a picture, what shame
what a crime. In the war Of the
revolution, and at the battle o
Fort Maultree the flag Of the for
was shot away and fell outside O
the walls, Sergeant Jasper, of the
South Carolina forces, at once
sprang over the walls, and amids
a heavy fire, secured the flag ant
tied 1T to a pole and set it up agar
on the rampant. This done he re
Joined his comrades at the guns
Governor Rutledge presented Jas
per with his own sword nd Offered
him a lieutenaut's commission
Jasper accepted the sword, but de
clined the commission, on tn
ground that he could neither reat
nor write. This Is the kind of mel
that fought for our liberties. Thi
is the kind of men that Soutl
4
This Is the kind that Simmons ant
7 his gang are trying to disfranchise
when my mind wonders over tn
battlefields of Kings Mountain
G'Ilford Court House and Moore
9, Nek, and when | think of tn
No. III Carolina heroes who fell an
poured out their LIES blood o
those hard-fought fields it is enoug
il 1t were possible for their bloc
10 cry out from the earth to the h,
roes of to-day: "Save North Care
lima, we love her to this day
have confidence in the commo
people Of North Carolina, they al
an honest, patriotic and libert!
loving people who can always
relied upon, and when the te'
comes, they will respond to til
tune of one hundred thousand m;
jority against the amendment,
spite of all that Simmons and b
rod shirt brigade can do