The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1901-09-27
ALABAMA DEMOCRATS

O6uusV Witt ~
Disfranchise Poor Men by the
New Constitution.
- Es
Discriminates In Favor of Wealth In
the South as 1t Did In the Old
Slavery Days.
To know what q political organiza-
tion is it is always well to go where
it has plenty of opportunity of its own
to do just what it likes, and is not re-
stricted in its newspaper expressions
or campaign professions by the fear
OF even wholesome and vigorous
minority. Of course, where party is
itself in a minority, it is often guard
ed in its public utterances by press and
speech and platform, because its ap-
peal is to the moderate people who
stand between the two great political
divisions, and may be Influenced
enough to change that minority into
majority, at least once in a while.
Consequently, in Ohio, the full flower
of Democracy can never be seen in its
perfection. hat we get in this state
is simply a faint shadow of what party
may be where it is in unrestricted and
nmitless control.
The Southern states show Demo-
cracy in its true condition, and Just
now we have particularly good OBJ
5ect lesson in the new constitution that
the Alabama Democrats, by 1872 to IL,
in the state constitutional convention
have adopted, and that the Democratic
state committee of Alabama has Off
cially commended to its party as the
fulallment Of Democratic pledges and
good Democratic doctrine, urging their
supporters as party to do all in their
power in its behalf. The instrument
provides for a system of state regis
tration that reaches every precinct in
the state, but with only one reglstra-
| ton day and one registration place in
any precinct; and no voter who fails
to get his name on the list on that
| single day whether by his own fault
| or the obstruction or other fault of
| the registration board), is thencefor-
ward disfranchised, with no chance for
getting on the list.
Worse than that is it that after 1903
the principal qualification is one of
property. This hits the poor whites
Just as hard as it does the colored men,
and betrays the old and everlasting
animus among the ruling class of the
South against "mudsills." The aris-
| tocratic Southern Democracy has no
| use for men except as its subordinates
and servants, and by this scheme
manages to use them without having
| to bother about their votes. There is
q nominal educational qualification,
but that is practically within the con-
troll in every case of the registration
board, and as such will be the same
humbug in Alabama as it has proved
In other Southern states, being only
slick scheme for excluding voters
that they don't care to have. The
| property clause requires man to have
| $500 in personal property and real es-
| tate, either in his own name or that
| of his wife. Still harder is the re-
| uuirement as an alternative that a
| voter must have had constant employ
ment for a year previous to the day
of registration.
/ How would the workingmen
throughout the Northern states like to
take their chances during Democratic
hard times of being disfranchised un-
der that kind of eDmocratic ruling?
That party, having got them into trou-
BILE and thrown them out OF work, un-
der the Alabama plan, would shut
them out from the chance to undo the
mischief, and start the shops and the
mills as Mckinley SO well appealed to
them to do. The Birmingham (Ala-
bama) Times has some eaustic criti-
cisms on this whole scheme for dis
franchising the poor whites of that
state, saying, among other things:
with what weapon will the poor
defend their rights when the right to
vote is taken away?
!. Suppose the registrars appoint the
very busiest time the farmer has as
, registration day, what per cent. will
|; register?
will any Christian vote for the
adoption of a constitution that would
disfranchise Christ If he should ap-
| pear upon earth, and become citizen
/ Of Alabama?
, 1--WE expect to see few illiterate
Democrats believing the Democratic
, speakers vote for the ratification of a
= constitution, that will forever disfran-
: chise them.
"The permanent plan for registration
, treats all alike; under it a colored man
e can vote under any circumstance
white man can, and the temporary
plan is so arranged as to make it pos
t sible to refuse many worthy citizens
who can not make the satisfactory
i proof Of service in war, etc.
!. "If Dives and Lazarus were here, un-
Y der the new constitution, Dives would
be a voter and Lazarus would be dis
franchised; as it is Lazarus is in
. heaven and Dives in he'll, where he
9 will eventually be Joined by nearly
: every member of the constitutional
q convention, who voted for its adop-
/