The sun., 1900-08-08
RESTRICTING COLORED VOTE
The Situation in the South
Which is Threatened
in Delaware
IFDEMOCRATS WINNEXTFALL
1t wouldn't be Bad Thing if Con-
gress Would Take Action
and North Carolina
Lose Two Repre-
sentatives.
If DEMOCRATS WIN NEXTFALL
From the Philadelphia Inquirer.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The colored vote is now practically
eliminated from our Southern States,
Mississippi Louisiana, South Carolina
and North Carolina by an oyerWhelm-
ing majority III Il popular vote. has just
adopted its new Constitution aimed at
the colored population. The shotgun
policy of the past has given way to
law. Whether it is good law Or not re
mains to be seen.
Massachusetts has an educational
test for voters, and it is Il good one We
would like to see ali educational test III
every State of the Union, but it should
apply, not to classes or races, but to
the educational qualifications Of the i'll
i ninn who can neither read
nor write, whether he be ali American
ho.n ;ind bred Or whether he be Il
naturalznd subject Of Italy or any other
!, Try. cannot be il good citizen. That
is to say, he cannot vote understanding
IL. But these Southern States are aim
...tsReIy ut the colored vote, and
il is an attempt to get around the Com
stitution Of the United States, which
declares in the 18th amendment that:
The right Of citizens Of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or
any State on account Of race. color.
or previous condition Of Servitudp.
North Carolina is following the other
States in inserting the following para
graph IN her Constitutions:
Every person presenting himself
for registration shall be able IL
read and wrlte amy section of tie
Constitution i'll the English liingr
age.
Now that is perfectly legal, when nj
piled to all persons alike, but this AZ
piication is nulliied by the follown.
ingenious scheme:
No male person who was on Janu-
AIRY 1, 1867. Or ut any time prior
thereto. entitled to vote under the
laws Of the State il the United
States wherein he then resided, and
no linea descendant of any such
person. shall he denied tlla i,isht %
register ANA vote hy reason of Ills
failure to possess the educational
Qualifications herein described.
That lets III all thc whites. no matte
low ignorant they mag be and il ma
he remarked in passing. that 1T the elec
tion in North Carolina Il great man
white Republicans voted for this Con
stitutional amendment. They did it i
order that what has been called til
Southern Question may be eliminate
hereafter. 1t is presumed that i'll til
end the Supreme Court Of the l'ilite
States will pass upon these amendment,
and decide whether they really do clis
with the United States Constitution.
Meanwhile. il is quite likely that Coz
fsress will lie called upon to discus
Article NV, Of the Constitution, whic
reads;
When the right to vote !" is
denied to any Of the male members
of such State. being twenty-onp
years Of age and citizens Of the
United States. or in any way abridg-
ed. except for participation III re-
bellion or other crime, the basis OF
representation therein shall hc re-
duced in the proportion which the
number Of such male citizens shall
bear to the whole number Of male
citizens twcnty-nne years Of age in
such State.
If Congress should take action und,
that article. North Carolina would 10,
two representatives in Congress mi
two Presidential electors Ii woudn
he Il bad thing if she did.