The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-06-19
Suffrage in Alabama.

pose OF DISTINGUISHING negro voters.
Alabama will very likely follow in
the track of Mississippi, Louisiana,
North and South Carolina, but it
seems that the bare-faced violations of
right and justice, not to say of the
Constitution of the United States, by
the States named, has made an impress
sion on some of the leading men of
Alabama, and they are protesting
against the enactment of similar meas
ures in the State. Respecting this pro-
posed Acknowledgement of negro citi-
zens prominent Confederate veteran
recently wrote to leading citizen of
New York:
We now have nine members of Con-
gress-whom know personally-and
am willing to bet my house and lot that
not one of them would voluntarily give
up his "job" to secure the disfranchise-
ment OF the negroesl The whole
scheme is OF partisan politics, and in
my judgment can be defeated But
this defeat cannot be accomplished by
partisan (Republicsn) opposition. 1t
must be done by Alabamisns, acting
Independently of either party, on the
platform of justice and obedience to
the supreme law of the land. Men
like myself do not and will not aid
in movement that will bring our
State into fragrant hostility to the
Constitution of the United States,
and thus SOW the seeds of another civil
war, to be fought by our children or
our children's children. We know
what it costs to resist the Constitution
of the United States, and also that,
though it may be little dilatory in as
sorting its power, some time it will
strike with its iron hand and compel
obedience. The politicians have or
gained this movement. Our opposi-
ton is without leadership or means to
contest. The negroes are excited,
anxious, but fearful to contend. 1t ia
sad situation, In my last talk with
General Gordon he said that it would
be the widest folly for US to attempt to
disfranchise the negroes.
The delegates to the constitutional
convention are pledged to some meas
ure to disfranchise negro voters with
out, by the same act, DISTINGUISHING
white citizens. This has been done in
other Southern States by the introduce
ton of the grandfather clause" into the
Constitution. This requires either an
educational or property qualification,
or both, in the man admitted to the
franchise, but provides that no person
having the right to vote, nor the de-
sceudants of a citizen having the right
to vote, on certain date which is fixed
prior to the adoption of the 14th and
18th amendments to the Constitution
of the United States, shall be depri we'd
OF the franchise. He is exempted
from the operation of the education
and property restrictions. This shuts
out the illiterate or impecunious citizen
of color, while placing no restriction
upon the voting privilege of the white
man OF the same class.
The warning of the Confederate,
cautioning his acknowledgements against
sowing the seed of another civil war, is
wisely and periodically given. The
South has had one experience with the
Constitution of the United States in the
defence of slavery. The Constitution
may be slow to awake and vindicate
itself from the violations certain South.
ern States have already contrived and
others are designing, but it will awake.
Ex-Governor Jones and Ex-Governor
johnson OF Alabama are opposed to
their State entering upon career of
notification. They oppose unequal
treatment OF the races through subter.
fuges for DISTINGUISHING negroes with
out including whites. They take the
ground that these measures are viola
tions of the Federal Constitution and
would be properly regarded so by the
government at Washington. Governor
Jones believes that only equally oper-
ating educational and property qualif-
cations are allowed by the Federal
Constitution, and admonishes the dele
gates to the State constitutional con-
vention that they must obey the re-
quirements Of the fundamental law that
is superior to State constitutions.
Suggestions Of alternative measures,
applicable to blacks and whites alike,
are made by these leaders, and their
adoption urged by considerations that
ought to commend themselves to the
favorable action of the delegates. Gov.
Jones tells the delegates that he does
not "believe that it is for the good of
either race that the negro should be
shut out from all hope, and that every
individual of the race, no matter what
his good character, intelligence and in
terest in the community, shall be for
ever debarred from qualifying himself
to vote in government which taxes
him, Furnishes him, regulates all his
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