The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1900-08-16
passtEs Panty piAIFess


Avsa lssA. isse.
Tn. Peoples Party Convention
Lssem bled I'm Raleigh, April 18th
the principles set forth -
The Peoples Party National pIst-
form adopted ut st. Louis in liz
and instructs the delegates - 80"
National Convention At Sioux ~ i.-
May 9th to vote for the nomination
Of william J. Bryan for President
We commend the present State
Administration for its high pei
.onAl and Official integrity, IVA
hallenge q comparison Of its rec
Jrd with any and oil Of Ito preds-
cessors.
We condemn the Democratic Lsgis-
iatuFe OF 1893 for it, extRlva4aat sx-
penditures OF public money Amoasting
TO 81 ,Bot ,7e5.76 10 1899, a. opposed 70
1883 1871 IL, expended by the proceed |
ing Legislature, IN excess Of $50
7S4 90. not including the sum Of 800. |
100 for public education nor the s63. 40
for purchase Of State farms.
We further condemn said Lsgisla-
tnre for the careless laundering and
careless legislation, including more
gross plumbers and unconsfitational
laws than ever before enacted BY any
General Assembly In North Carolina.
We further denounce the machine
ieads-s nf the Democratic party for
laying .be whip CD the backs Of the
Democratic Legislature and forcing
them into eDacting and submitting
DISTINGUISHING constitutional amend
ment in violation Of the solemn
pledges Of the party made not only
officially in their campaign handbook
hut by members Of the General Assem-
hly and other Democratic candidates
for office in their CANVASS before the
people. We denounce them not only
for doing this in violation ~ their
pledges, but also for submitting mea-
sure most odious in form and danger
GUS In effect. That General Assembly
being composed of. some of the best
lawyers of the party, must have
known. or ut least bad . reasonable
doubt. not only Is to the uncODstitu
tioLality Of the mOnstrous provision Of
Section 8. known As the grandfather
clanse" 10 said amendment, but also
of the great danger of that unconstitu.
tional sectional section falling, leav-
ing the remainder of the amendment
to stand, thus DISTINGUISHING by an ed
ucational qualification atty or sixty
thousand white voters Of North Caro-
lima. who in 1893 gave the Democratic
party power In the Legislature. and
whose ignorance is no fault Of their
own but is chargeable to the neglect Of
the Democratic party, which now saeks
to disfranchise them and make their
ignorance q crime alongside that Of
the felon.
But even if the proposed amendment
were not unconstitutional {as it clear
" is). still it Is especially objection
able in the following particulars:
fa) In that it dignifies with the right
; Of outrage the most vicious, trouble
some and obnoxious class of the negro
population, and completely disfran-
chises the most faithful kindly and Or
derby element Of that race.
(h) 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 be.
coming Of age after zoos 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 ed
ncsted negro after 1908 to cast his bal.
: lot while the unfortunate son Of the
white men who have been the strength
of true democracy stands without q
: vote at the ballot box. They slaughter
the suffrage of the son whose fathe,
they dare not openly attack.
(d) In that this suffrage amend
4 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 hvs
months before the State election and
eight months before the national cleo.
. if be were convicted of felony or were
this provision is not only to disfran.
: chise every good honest citizen who
: unfortunately cannot pay his taxes by
the first of March preceding the cleo.
! ton, but further to try to bribe the 70:
. ter to surrender his suffrage at the ex.
pense of the public school fund of the
State, which is derived from poll taxes
There Turks behind this proposition a
still greater danger to the public
schools of the State, for with the adop.
ton of the Amendments the opponents
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 vo-
|. tiers, and thus the poor white mans
son will be chained in bondage of ig.
norance and disfranchis.d to prevent
the education of the negro voter
There is no white supremacy IN this.
|, The constitutional question pre-
senred by the proposed amendments is
one that must be determined by the
Judgment and conscience of each indi-
vidnal voter. Therefore, we do not
make it 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 anxious in our judg-
ment TO defeat it than the rank and
Gle Of the Democratic party.
The Peoples Party is and has always
been more distinctly than any other
party in North Carolina . white mans
party. and is more anxious than any
other party to solve the race problem
and to force all parties to discussion
of the great economic issues 80 vitality
affecting the welfare of all wealth pro-
ducers OF the State aud nation and de-
cency in poiitcs.
Therefore, we propose in lieu Of this
dangerous amendments, the best soiu-
ton Of the race question that is posi-
bic as long rs the 10Th amendment to
the Constitution OF the United States
stands-a solution which deprives no
white man In North Carolina now or
hereafter Of bis right Of suffrage, to-
wit.
Amend Section {, Art. 8, of the Con
stitutioD of North Carolina by insert