The age-herald., 1901-07-28


 was in the greatest good humor
 Yet President Knox Is always con- genial and happy statesman, man of great good-hearted kindness and chari- ty!
  that twenty-five distinguished men of this convention should unanimously recom- mend a plan for perpetuating Sraudf lie p1 acss led to explain the profis ssns of inc registration plan and said fhere were two provisions which ought to be specially noticed, one, that the Legislature should, if the courts struck down any part of the plan, supply it's place, and the other that none could vote at primary elections who could not vote at regular elections.
 The personnel of the supreme court was constantly changing, and it could not De told what they might decide in the future, hence the first provision was precau- tionary measure. The other, which would prevent negroes voting at primary elec- tions would cause all the white Republi- cans in the State to vote for the consti- tuition.
 The fifteenth amendment says the right of citizens of the United States to vote (not citizens of any State) shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, etc. Thus we see that the State can prescribe qualifications for State electors He reviewed the political history or the American people and said that when the declaration of independence and the con stitution of the United States was writ ten the negro was not considered when the rights of citizens were spoken of. He was a slave then and the constitution of the United States expressly recognized slavery. The slaughter house cases in 16 Wallace clearly define the difference between citizenship of the United States and of the States. The plan of our fore fathers was not to give the negro either civil or political rights We do not want to go back to that. The negro has been allowed his civil rights. As to his political rights let US go back to 1856 when Chief Justice Yancy in the Dred Scott case de- cided that the negro had no political rights After this the hue and cry raised by 1t was followed by the war. Then came Abraham Lincoln's proclamation of emancipation in 1885,
 The fourteenth and fifteenth amend ments were aimed against the South. The fourteenth was intended to make the negro a citizen. But then it dawned upon them that a citizen did not on that account alone have the right to vote. Therefore, they adopted the fifteenth amendment. This does not. says the Su- preme Court of the United States, con- fer the right of suffrage upon any one, l. merely says that certain discrimina- tons cannot be made The right to vote in the states comes from the states Here he read several decisions of the Supreme Court to sustain his position as to the construction of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments The fact that our purpose in adopting this suffrage plan is to disfranchse the negro dose not make any difference as to the le- gality of the plan if it is otherwise con stitutional. Has not the United States made discrimination in awarding pen- sions to it's soldiers and does 1t not to some extent recognize the principle wid- heredity by giving pensions to their wid- ows? Does not Alabama give pensions to her soldiers?
 If you will look at the constitution of Connecticut you will see that they have made provision as to voting based upon education. Nearly every state has somel qualification.
 Governor Jones enormously and doubt less unntentionally said the fifteenth . mendment put the negro on an equalit with the white man. But only as civil rights was the negro put on an equas- itv by the fourteenth amendment, aI the fifteenth did not make him eqi2 as to political rights or the right to vole He spoke of the Confederate soldier an, said there were a few who could no1 Ere dSsrad write and they should be al- los teS
 E Wi. 4, It was tired of fraudulent cls NfM -dnd of fraud leads to another ats ant to go back to these citizens ana tel them that fraud is ! < longer necessary and that Alabama : relieved once and for all from this curke.7 He was applauded as he sat down.
 pr. Cunningham of Jefferson.
 Dr. Cunningham of Jefferson said he had, while in the Senate and as president of that body, done everything in his pow CT to bring about the convention, yet he hardly knew what to say. He might throw few flowers at either the major ity or minority. but inasmuch as each had promised the other funeral he would wait and send the flowers as wreath. (Applause). He would not make con- stitutional argument. and was glad for