The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-06-22
LtptRs AND pAurrns vorr.

LEpERs hND PAUrERs VOTE
Among tic defects of che new organi,
Law uf Hawai- ia thu want ~ pr1Vi.
sion dpnylur tlc nrht OF suffrage Pep thl
defective. dependent and deunuuen.
classes or such subdivisions of thau uH
u la the custom IN the rnItel Staics
10 exclude from the voting privilege.
We see nothing In the law az 4 Stands
which eliminates pnupcrs. IDIOTS ,on-
victs. lcTcrs and the like. and ndoH Dc
IL conceded. now the point has been
raised that lepcrs. In confinement cn
Molokai. have as much right T. vote
at Hawaiian elections az Prl1cr David
or Governor Dole or any other free citi.
zen.
Concessions like these should never
have been made. They are opposed To
the American method and are vitality
wrong In themselves. ON page ~ o.
the World Almanac for 1899 may be
found IA table of qualifications for vot-
| ing in all the States and Territories.
/ Not one state or Territory has so wide
| open n law as our own. To begin al
alphabetically we find that Alabama cX-
cludes persons convicted Of treason or
other felonies, idiots or insane; Arizona
excludes Indians Cthe native owners of
the SOLD and Cinnamon; Arkansas In
Idians, insane, convicted of felony, uu-il
pardoned. failure to pay poll tax: Calf
ornia, Chinese, idiots, insane, embez-
zlers of public moneys, convicted of an
Infamous crime; Delaware. insane per-
sons or paupers or people convicted Of
felony The other examples are of the
same general kind though Missouri spe-
officially adds persons in poorhouses;
Nevada. "unpardoned convicts;" Moth
and South Dakota, people in1er
lguardianshlp:" Wyoming, people I'M
able to read the State Constitution
Here in Hawaii the only persons ex-
cluded are aliens. male citizens who
have lived here less than one year or
being native to the soil have not reach
ed their majority, citizens who have
not registered or who cannot speak,
read or write the English or Hawaiian
language.
Probably in practice, idiots. insane
persons and convicts will get no chance
| to cast ballots at Hawaiian elections.
They are supposed to be kept under
| lock and key. But lepers. who are per-
sons under confinement, dependent
wards of the Territory, have free
swing. SO. apparently, have men who
were convicted of crimes or misdemean-
ors and who served full time for their
offences.
The theory upon which the exclusion
of the dependent classes from the bal
| lot box is carried out is that such per-
sons, being under control of somebody
else cannot be trusted to exercise their
free choice at the polls. That Is the
reason why, in many parts of the
Union, paupers are not permitted to
vote. For precisely that cause lepers
should have been excluded.
Look at the case judicially. Pity for
the unfortunate victims of the scaly
plague cannot enter into a discussion
of this sort. 1t has no place. The point
is can fair elections be assured when
there is large body of dependent vot
ers in a corral where they can be CO.
creed by whatever party or whatever
faction may control the Board of
Health? Let us conceive Il Territorial
government without scruple and we
have the means by which it might, per-
haps, steal n Legislature. The I'M
scrupulous boss who, having the pow
err, would threaten to cut down the
supplies of the leper colony unless its
voters went solidly for the ticket, could
| poll the whole outfit. Such an oppor-
tunity should not be given to any one
Next December Congress Will again
convene and then, we presume, there
will be a chance to secure the amend
ment of the Territorial Act in any par
ticular where it Is shown to be weak
That should be the opportunity and
the means of bringing our suffrage law
into line with American practice.