The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-11-09
SATURDAY. NOVEMBER. .. 1901.
SWEEPING AWAY FRAUD

SWEEPING AWAY FRAUD
The Grandfather clause leaves every
imaginable white man voter forever by
right of the color of his skin and five or
six thousand colored men, scattered
thinly through the State, voters by right
of descent from those who haVedOne serv-
ice for the country
The system of fraud now regularly
used in this State. and in other Southern
States in the same situation consists OF
ballot-bOx stufiing, false counting and re-
turns, with some OccasiOnalintimidatiO
The best of uswink att because we know
il is less harmful. morally, politically,
commercially and otherwise than Negro
rule, which we have tried and seen
tried. In present conditions we have the
hard choice between some rascality and
moral degradation and universal rescali-
ty and general destruction The Grand
father CLAUSE" will sweep away that sys-
TEN by removing the excuse for it and
the conditions which gain for it the
avOwed or tacit support of good people.
White men will not be encouraged nor
permitted to cheat other white men
when there is a purely white electorate.
Richmond News.
The foregoing appeared as part OF
an editorial in that bright and rather
Independent paper, the Richmond
News, a few weeks ago. Ourcontem-
porary falls into error in several re-
spects-more. We imagine. from an
ante-electiOn desire TO say a good
word for the Convention probable
action on the suffrage than from any
really hard thinking. The Grand
father claus" will not guarantee tC
every white man the right to vote
How are foreign born illiterates help
ed by this clause? More important
still. because more far-reaching, is the
status of those whites born between
the years of 1910 and 1861 whose
fathers may have been ineligible to
vote land there were many such and
did not enter the Confederate service
if living in 1861. They tell Us that
there are many OF this class
throughout the State particularly
in the Southwest. There isnO saliva
ton TO these in the "Grandfather
clause" In promising that no white
man would be DISTINGUISHED MesSrS
Montague and Swanson and theil
friends could do it only under the
presumption that board on quail
fcations would pass all whites with
out reserve. Did they mean that?
The News is not alone in cOnfessing
publicly the frauds which have beer
perpetrated by the Democratic party
Leading speakers during the cam
paign admitted it from the stump
without a culver Of the muscle OF
flush of the cheek. What the Repub-
licans have been openly charging fol
wears, and until now as openly de
MED. has been confessed. The time
seems opportune for these admis
siOns. Now that the people know the
truth they will the more readily con
sent to the cause Of such dishonor tC
be obliterated. But with the shelly.
ing of the negro will this ballot box
stutting and cheating cease?
The News falls into error Il second
time when it says that white men will
not be permitted to cheat each other
when there is a purely white electO-
rate. Why, bless YOU, there isn't one
faction in the Democratic party to-
dav that will trust the ballot box il
the hands of the other when the issue
is between the two. They will not
trust each other to name the judges
for party primary; but outsiders
of known integrity, must be called Il
to count the votes as cast. 1t Is wei
known that in some localities where
the negro has long since been elimi
mated in the manner the News de
seribes one Democratic faction has
been cheating the other whenever II
cot the chance. II one side should
win a nomination and the other side
CHANGED to control the machinery the
latter did not hesitate to openly DEFY
the successful side TO elect their MAI
if they could. heyimmediately pul
up an Independent candidate, the ma
chinery counted him in, and, ii "A leg
islative fight, the august body gave
him a seat in the caucus. Injured tC
long cheating the negro we feal
that many of our Democrats have
forgotten how to tote fairas between
white man and white man.