The Portland daily press., 1900-08-03
THE NORTH CAROLINA ELECTION


An election took place in the
state of North Carolina yester-
day. The most interesting question
pending was an amendment to
the constitution regarding the suffrage.
The returns are not yet at hand, but it
is not necessary to have any returns from
elections where amendments to disfran-
chise the niger are pending to know
the result. Results in such cases are al
ways foregone conclusions. The amend
nent pending in North Carolina was of
a piece with the amendment recently
adopted in Virginia and Louisiana It
imposes an educational qualification, in
the shape of ability to read any section of
the constitution, and also provides that
no person shall vote who has not paid
poll tax. If the amendment stopped there
no more serious complaint could be made
against it than would lie against the
electoral provisions of many northern
states Doubtless more blacks than
whites would be affected by it but that
would be simply because there are more
ignorant blacks than ignorant whites,
and more thriftless negroes than thrift
-sss white men. Neither of these disquaIi.
fcations would be obnoxious to the spirit
of the national constitution, which for
bids discrimination only on account of
race, color or previous condition of servi-
tude. But the amendment does not stop
rhere; if it did it wOuld9not accomplish
its purpose, which is to disqualify practi-
cally all the blacks without affecting any
considerable number Of the whites. To
accomplish this purpose is added what is
k nown as the grandfather clause, "
which is provision that all males q
years or over shall be excepted from
the educational and tax provisions of the
law provided their ancestors had been pos
sessed of the franchise previous to 1867.
AS the negro was not made a voter until
that year none Of his ancestors had the
suffrage previous to that year. hence no
negro can derive any advantage from this
clause But as the ancestors of all the
white men OF the state except an incon-
siderable number whose ancestors were
foreign born, had the franchise previous
to 1867 the clause let's in practically all
the whites who would be d1sfranchised
by the educational and tax qualifications.
The effect OF the whole amendment is
therefore to disfranchise nearly every
colored man, and to allow almost every
white man to vote-in other words to
ecure beyond peradventure white SUI
premacy under the forms of law.
In the whole state the whites outnum
Der the blacks, though in some Of the
counties the reverse is the case. Never
theless it is doubtful if this amendment
would have been carried had free and
fair vote been permitted. Many whites
are Populists or Republicans, and they
have not been inclined to support the
amendment because it was certain to
secure Democratic supremacy, ana de-
strOy them politically But free and
fair election has not been permitted, |
The campaign was opened by a parade of
redshirts throughout the populous negro
countles-a most effective warning 60
the negroes not to register, because the
blacks have learned from dire experience
that to defy the red shirted clubs is to
court assassination, and the destruction of |
their homes Speakers who have attempt
ed to argue against the amendment have
been warned to desist, and white
women, whose hatred of the negroes is
even stronger than that of the men. have