The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-05-13
Consideration as to Who Will
be Affected by It.
WHO Is HURT BY BRIBERY
It is the Honest Poor Man Whose Vote
is Killed by Bribe- Takers.
OLD AND INFIRM ARE NOT AFFECTED
The EaIy Payment of the Tax Prevents the
Payment by Political Parties and the
Attendant Purchase of Votes.


Attendant Purchase of Votes.
To the Editor: There is provision
in section 4 of the proposed amend
ment to the constitution of the State
of North Carolina requiring of every
voter that before he shall be entitled
to vote he shall have paid, on or be-
fore the 1st day of March of the year
in which he proposes to vote. his poll
tax, as prescribed by law, for the pre-
vious year. Poll tax shall be lien
only on assessed property, and no
process shall issue to enforce the col
lection of the same, except against
assessed property" This provision
has been attacked by opponents of
the amendment on the ground that it
is dangerous to the liberties of our
this being the case the above provis-
ion was expressly inserted in the
amendment to protec- the honest poor
man from the greatest present dan
ger TO his liberties, the danger of
bribery at elections.
If there is any possibility of brib-
. cry in an election, the honest poor
man is always the loser b., il. He
has no money to buy otner men 10
vote his way. He has only mis- own
individual vote. But the man with a
large campaign fund" a; his disposal
can practically cast as man votes as
there are purchaseable voters. Now
NO one would pretend that III an hon
est commonwealth like North Carolina
the ma iority of voters could be bribed
far from it. Yet owing 10 the inc
vitab Weaknesses of human nature
there are. even in the most upright
communities, a certain number of
persons. to whom a couple of dollars
on election day -, worth more than
their principles. Now it frequently
happens that good men are about
equally divided in opinion on Il public
question. In such a ease the election
will be a close one. and Il corrupt man
with plenty of money can step in and
frequently buy enough votes TO turn
the scale whichever way he deems
best for his own selfish interests. Af-
ter he has secured control CT the Of
flee he was interested in. il will no
longer be administered in the inter
ests of the poor. but on tie contrary
he will expect to /" max enough mon
ey out of the job to repay 1im for
the money the election cost him. In
whatever devious ways he gets this
money. most of it will finally be taken
from the poor, for they are too weak
to protect themselves Or, i. he has
- I,,x,e Il
in his own special interests, those
laws usually operate in such way,
directly or indirectly. as TO take mon
ey out of the pockets of his poorer
fellow citizens, and place shat money
in his own. 1t is hardly necessary to
give examples; everyone at all famil-
lar with American politics Will recall
many such cases.
Another most perIiciouS effect of
bribery is that when it once becomes
the custom in a Community, it pre-
vents Il poor man from getting a
high office. He cannot afford to pay
for it. Let every honest rCor man in
North Carolina, before nc votes on
the amendment, study fclly the
present composition of the United
States Senate and the methods by
which every year more and more rich
men are elected to the Senate through
the corrupt use of money. and let him
resolve that he will vote for every
measure that promises to make brib-
cry more difficult. and that will keep
the old North State from sinking into
the present disgraceful conuItion of
Montana.
To understand what a powerful
safeguard against bribery the poll tax
provision of the amendment will be-
we must examine itsk effect Oh certain
classes of voters; and at the very out
set we must understand clearly TO
whom that provision applies. The
words in the amendment. "he shall
have paid his poll tax as required by
law refer to Article Y of the present
constitution of the State of North
Carolina which says:
Sec. l. The General Assembly shall
levy capitation tax on every male
inhabitant in the State over twenty
one and under fifty years of age.
which shall be equal on each to the
tax on property valued at three hun
dred dollars in cash. The commits
siOners of the several counties NAV
exempt from capitation tax in special
cases. on account of poverty and in
trinity, and the State and county cap
itation tax combined shall never ex-
ceed two dollars on the head"
AS Article vi is the only one chang
ed by the amendment. Article Y. will
remain in full force after me passage
of the amendment and viii determine
what classes of citizens must pay a
noll tax in order to vote under Arr
ticle VI.
1t will thus be seen how gently the