Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1901-03-30
prised 70 q mystery to us.

prised 70 mystery to Us.
Mr.. WILLIAM L. ROYAL, ex-Judge
GKoReR L CHRISTIAN, Mr.. @. v. MERE
DITH and every other candidate with
enough information to practice in q
magistrates court knows this to be
true.
! The Richmond DIsPAroa of Tuesday
last published the folio wing:
"In visw OF the stroug ground takep
by Captain Wise that Indiscrim mate
Negro disfrsnchisement is impo ssible
| without direct violation of she Fit
teenth amend ment co the FEDERAL Uon-
sLiSution, a Dispatch reporter cslles
on him yesterday to secure his views
in greater deJsil That gentle IAN dis
| clsimed sny desire to ii Sure in print,
| but frankly reiterated his expressions
on the subj ct. He turned co the Fiji
teenth Au .ndment and read the text
Of il carefully and with emph ssis.
There could be no mistaking the
meaning, he thought, of the clause
prohibiting the sbridgemeut OF suf-
| frsge on account Of race, col IT, or pre-
vious condition OF servitude, The en-
forcing clause, which declares thai
Congress shall have power to enforcs
this provision By appropriate lsgisls-
ton" was equally clear and uumistak
able.
He takes issue with those who con-
tend for excluding Negroes from sui
frsge without DISTINGUISHING any
white man
To do this, he contends, would in.
vite lhe appropriate legislation" pro-
vided by the enforcing clause. The
Mississippi suffrage law. which has
been referred TO % sffording Neg, o
oisfranchisement without barring
| whites and without contrsvention of
the Fifteenth Amendment, il no a
law disfranchising the Negro because
be 10 Negro. On the contrary, it
oonnsts OF an educational quslifica-
tion, and also property qualification
and does not disfranchise all Negroes.
It will be impossible Captain Wise
ssid, TO disfrsuchise such Negroes az
b Doker Washington, who are educated
Influential scd pros porous.
Captain Wiss takes strong ground
against any suffrage law that will have
tue probable effect of reducing the
States represents tion in Cor gress
Total disfrsnehisemen of the Ne
| gro IL unnecessary, even il it were legal
| ~ possible. thiHks he. As matter OF
4
| political power. There is net q man
of the race In the State Legislature,
the United States Congress, NOR the
Council,
Captain Wise is firm in his convic-
ton that Negro dfsfr snchissmeRt, lit
orally speaking, is unconstitutional
and would, IL stce mpted, invite reduc-
ed represe Rtatiou. Holding those
views, he thinks 1t but frank to state
them clearly, as he did Saturday.
The above IL plsin talking in the
meeting and accounts for our indiffer-
ence on the subject.
There IL another phase to the qusr-
tion,
To attempt to dIsfrsnchise the Ne
gro because he is = Negro, knowing
that it is in violation Of the Cons.itu
tion of the United States is perjury,
and no Virginia gentlemen will engage
in such s proceeding, all Of the MuL-
LxNrTEs to the contrary not Withstand.
ing.
The proposition to divide the school
fund between the races in proportion
to the taxes paid by them is another
absurdity, impossible OF enforce men
and in violation Of the state constitu.
tion as at present constitu led as well
as an unqualified infringement of the
privileges guaranteed by the Bill OF
Rights of Virginia,
Such a constitutional enactment
would be put to sleep" both by the
state and Federal Courts.
Ii would be fatal TO the poor white
man as we'll as to the poor colored
one.
Plainly speaking, these two classes
of peoples interests are identical al
though the white elements do not
seem to see il.
With this large laboring colored
population in our midst, it will be inn
possible for laboriog white men to en-.
force their demands without a combi.
nation with it, which will prevent its
engaging in ruinous competition, where
capital will be the visitor and the poor
white man the victim.
But then We did not intend to en-.
gage in discu ssion OF this phase Of
the labor question.
For our part, the Negro .haters can
do their worst, They will injurs the
white people of the state far more
than the Negro at whom they are aim
ing.
We are about as far down in the
scale of citizenship, SO far IS our rights
are concerned as we can possibly b..
and so far 90 the 18Th, 1*th and 18th
Amendments to the Constitution OF
the United States are concerned and
our enemies San gnssh their teeth and
waste their lung-power to their own
lnfinite satisfaction.