The age-herald., 1901-08-05
CONVENTION
 W|LLLAST JUST
 FOURTEEN DAYS Delegates Have Worked Stxt- two Days and Are AeaT-
 ing the End SUFFRAGE PLAN IN BRIEF When the Regular Work Ia Done Re. cess Will be Taken Until Commit
SUFFRAGE PLAN IN BRIEF
When the Regular Work is Done Re- cess Will be Taken Until Commit tee on Harmony, Order and
 Consistency Reports.
BY FRANK HARVEY MILLER.

of ruANN nAnvEr MlLLEHs
 Montgomery. Ala, August 4.-(special) Saturday was the sixty-second working day of the convention. Today is really the seventy~ffth day since the convention assembled During that tina the conven- tion has done sight of work" any thing in the public press to the contrai y notwithstanding-sas or. legal friends say. The convention is now or tho humeward | stretch and the wors will probably be finished in about two weeks. Then the convention will take a recess te allow the committee on or1er consistency and harmony to prepare its report. It will reassemble to act on this report, after which 1t will adjourn sine die. and tho constitution, so to spsnK, wlll then be up to the people. Moody knows whether they will consider 1t a. tough proposition or not, but the impression prevails thai 1t will be ratified everywhere md that wh.n the people oome to understand 1t they will approve 1t. Maiy people, for .n- stance, do not clearly understand the suffrage plan. The debates last week on this question began about the soldier clause, commonly called thu grandfat ther clause which was the only part O. tae article the minority O. the committee ob- jected to. The debate spread. however, to the whole article, and there was a running discussion about the soldier clause. the good character clause, lhe registrars. the understanding and pro-. erty qualifications and tke poll tnx Ono not keeping in mind trs fact that there are two plans, tcmopr.iry and perina- nent plan, would from reading the de- bates be apt to think the whole article very complicated and dangerous. The real suffrage plan is of course the per manent plan. This provides that after January l, lsos any &raie citizen who can read and write any article of the constitution of the United States in the English language and who has been reg ularly engaged in some lawful occupa- tion the greater part of twelve months proceeding the time they offer to regis ter can vote. Persons also who own. or whose wife owns, forty acres with or without mule) or $500 of propert., can vote. Persons convicted of certain VI As>spS S1AAtAOt fOtcg anu DOH LAX or N.5o must be paid If the voter IS under 45. This Is the permanent plan and it will be seen 1t operates on all alike and Is very simple. The complicated and elastic part of the plan Is on the temporary D, c. visions, which, however, expire in 1893 In this Is found provision for the county boards of registrars to be appoint sd py a
 of Agriculture. These are to register all who have good character and under stand the duties of citizenship, all ex- soldiers and descendants of soldiers. This Provision was made necessary by the pledges of the Democratic party not to disfranchise any white man. Those reg istered under it are made life voters, but they will have to register by June 1. 1903. after which date the fact of being a soldier or descendant of soldie. or having good character will not cut so much ice.
 Judiciary Report.
 The convention after completing the suffrage article on Saturday morning took up the report of the committee on judi ciary and rushed through nine sections. There was no afternoon session Saturday and at this rate the article will be finish ed by Tuesday morning. There are a sections in all, many of them the same as in the present constitution and all such sections are adopted without debate as fast as read While there are i've minor ity reports to this article 1t is doubtful if any of their suggestions will be adop- ted. the convention being in that frame of mind where 1t is disposed to adopt the report of a committee without wasting time on many amendments. The conven- ton, however. changes its mind some times and at times dose not know its mind. An instance of this was in the adoption last week of section IS of the ar ticle on suffrage which fixed the poll tax age limit at 45 years. Some wanted it extended to 60 years and the original sec ton was first recommitted to the com mittee, a substitute reported by them adopted and the original section tabled. and finally the convention returned to the original section and adopted it amid enthusiastic applause.
 1hede dre Hot many inpoItdnI changes recommended by the majority of the 1u- dietary committee. They favor the Cir cult solicitors being elected by the people and provision is made for giving largo counties separate Circuit and Chancery courts.
 In cities of over 25oo inhabitants the legislature Is authorized to establish In- ferior courts to take the place of the jus tices of the peace A section was adop- ted yesterday which retains the present Chancery courts. as a constitutional court. There is some talk of an effort bcing made Monday to reconsider this section and leave the retention or abol- ishment-~of the Chancsry courts to the discretion of the legislature. There are only five or six states in the union that