The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-03
DEBATE ON THE POLL TAX
MT. Lowe Presented Substitute
 For Suffrage Scheme.
The Committee Amended the Section Relating to Remedying Any De- fects in the Plan-Sixty-A
 first Day.

The real purpose of the Constitu- tional Convention was accomplished yesterday when the convention, late yesterday afternoon completed the AT tlcle on Suffrage. The body was pre- pairing to order it ensrossed for reler- ence to the Committee on Consistency when Mir. Lowe of Jefferson, sent up his plan of suffrage reform as substI- ute for the entire Article adopted by the Convention. The plan ot MT. Lowe is familiar to the reading public. The Convention adjourned without consid- ering the substitute of MT. Lowe.
 This morning MT. Lowe will proba- bly, make a speech on his substitute af- ter which it will undoubtedly be tabled and the Convention will proceed to tne consideration of the Article on Judi ciary which is a special order.
 The three sections of the Suffrage Article which had been recommltted to the Committee were reported yes terday and they consumed almost the entire day. Section IS, which provides a poll tax was the subject Of a deoaAe which consumed practically all or the afternoon session. An effort was made to 60 years but this proposition failed and the limit was fixed at 21 to 40 years.
 The Imperative Clause.
 Section 19, known as the inopera- tive clause" proved 10 De another mat ter of interest. It was reached aoout 6 o'clock and claimed the attention or the body during the last hour ot the session The Section as originally re- ported gave the legislature authority to remedy any defect which might be found in the new instrument by the courts. The Committee offered SUD- stitute which provided that if any sec lion of the Article be declared uncon- stitutional by the Federal Court the remainder of the Article should stand. This substitute was champadued py President Knox and was adopted. III discussing the substitute with a rep resentative of The AdVertiser NoNe' nor Oates said:
 "Its purpose is to try to limit the finding of any court of last resort which may declare any part or tns suffrage scheme unconstitutlonal. IL is about like saying to the courts: NOW if YOU find one part of my suffrage plan to be unconstitutional you suop right there. You must not extend vour decision any further. It Will not have any effect in limiting the extent s of the courts decision should tne m strunent ever be taken before the court The Convention abandoned the scheme to have the legislature patcn It up in the event that court hhocNeu hole in it. ~
 The Convention met at o'clock yes +erdav morning with 106 delegates pres ent and was opened with prayer py Rev. B. F. Marshall.
 After some preliminaries the Con- yention took a recess to await the re- nort of the Committee on Sunrage 10 which had ben recommitted Sections F. 4and 19 of that article.
 When the body reconVened Captain White. acting chairman of the Sunra9e Committee, made a statement that the committee had agreed to report section 12 as originally reported and that the amendment of Mir. LomaS providlng for the Legislature purgIng the regis tration lists of persons who had died. removed away or otherwise disquallneu would be added to Section 14.
 The original Section F was then adopted. It requires a person register ed after January 1, 1903, to make oath as to his residence and employment for five years and provide that he shall be guilty of perjury if he swears falsely.
 Section 14 with the Lomax amend ment was then read and MT. Jenkins Of Wilcox spoke against it. He showed that 1t gave the Legislature too much
 
 might come d time when the Legisla- ture would be dominated by Repub- licans and Populists.
 Ar the conclusion Of his remarks the amended section was adopted.
 The Suffrage Committee then report ed substitute to Section IS which originally provided for a poll tax of $1.5O to be pad by male citizens be- tween the ages of q years and 45 years. Ii had been recommitted to the com rnittee and the substitute extended the age limit to 60 years with provision that 1t should not apply to citizens who were 45 years of age or upwards at the ratification of the Constitution. All persons reaching 45 years of age after the ratification of the Constitu- ton and until they were 50 years old were made subject to poll tax.
 Debate on Poll Tax.
 MT. Fitts of Tuscaloosa spoke at length against the substitute and said that there were thousands of men in Alabama who were now looking for ward to their forty-fifth birthday when they would be exempt from poll taxes.
 MT. Rogers of Sumter spoke in SUD- port of the Committee report. He did not believe any poor man would refuse to pay this tax to support the schools. It was a voluntary tax.
 Mir O'Neal of LaudeIdale spoke for the Committee report. He said it was the solution of the suffrage question. The permanent plan depended upon it. Without the poll tax qualification, the negro would dominate politics. He appealed to the delegates to be broad enough to legislate for the whole State and not contine themselves to their own counties.
 MT Sanford of Pike argued against 4he substitute. He characterized it as e dodge. It discrirlinated against the men who were now under A years of age. He said he was in favor of the 00-vear limit for all persons.
 Mfr Reese of Dallas appealed to the fnnvention to adopt the report of the