The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-03

3or,ty here. that this Convention is getting heartily tired of the man who talks of the thousands majority that will 20 this way or that way because certain amendment may prevail, or nav not prevail. CApplause.) l was born and reared, am proud to say, in that section of the State that has been talked about. I have lived among those people, I love them and l love their association still, and do not know single one of them that has a ring in his nose, sack ove- his head or lines about his hoofs. The people in that section of the State are independent, and interested in the subject of schools. and will point you to the fact that there is scarcely white county in all that section that has not chartered a private college. Haw do they get their support? By taxation? Not at all but by the voluntary contribution of white men who are in favor of the educa- tion of white children. I have handled every dollar of poll tax in large county in this State for the last twelve years. and have never heard any cit- izen complain at the payment of the poll tax, except negro laborers whose wages were garnished for the purpose of collecting their poll tax Gentle men, if the declaration of every dele gate here who has made one in regard | to the vote in certain sections being af- fected by the passage or non-passage of | certain amendments and ordinances, | should become true, there would not be a single delegate left to vote for the Constitution after We adopt it-not one. I say I am getting tired of that | argument in this Convention. You must vote for this, or must not vote for ! 1t, because know so many votes, that | won't go for the Constitution if you do not do this or do do that" All want | is to appeal to your common sense on matters of principle. and if the people of Alabama do not want the Constitu- ton that We adopt when it is adopted as a matter of principle. let them re- | ject it-and stop pandering to supposed prejudices in order to put something in here. Now they say why discriminate between 45 years of age and over that? I will answer that. If a man Is already | 45 years of age, he has acquired this | exemption as a right under the law
 but if he has not reached 45 years it is no right of his and he cannot an- ticipate it as right. Did the people who sent us down here expect that we should send the old Constitution back to them unchanged? Did they? If we do make this change and bring in those who are not 45 years of age, I submit | that the people cannot complain that any burden has been put upon them. state it as my opinion, and without reference to what the vote will be, that the people will not object if the money is used on the public schools. and
 base that opinion upon my experience in handling the poll tax in one of the
 largest counties in the State of Ala yama. Gentlemen. answer two propo- | uif dn fa "
 for public schools after 45 years of age? IT you are in favor of extending the schools, vote for it. If you are in
 favor of shielding the Black Belt from
 the negro vote after he Is 45, then vote for the Committees substitute The
 man who has already passed 45 years possibly has his children provided for,
 and he will not complain that he Is given the privilege and opportunity of contributing a small amount each year for the education of his grandchildren or of the childpen of his neighbors who are coming on after him. I ask you to vote against the amendment pro- posed by the gentleman from Talladega
 MT. Browne) and support the substi-
 ute. That substitute is not in here
 without concessions. made conces- sions in the Committee, every man
 made concessions in order to get this, and ask the delegates of the Conven-
 tion to meet the Committee on half-
 way ground and make some concession
 because there Is no principle
 involved here. The statement about
 its being a most vicious thing
 you hear that about most anything
 it is vicious and I oppose it'-and
 that is the extent of the argument.
 ask you not to lose sight of these
 things. Get rid of the negro after 46
 years of age. help the white counties
 with a poll tax fund for public schools
 These are two principles that rise above everything else, and, on behalf of the
 Committee which has made conces-
 sions, and trying to do the best thing
 possible under the circumstances, ask
 the delegates to support this substitute
 which is fair and right to all sections
 of the State of Alabama.
 Mir. Sanford (Pikc)-I would ask the
 Convention and the Committee to lose
 sight of the fact that the Committee
 is on trial, and let us discuss this mat
 ter as if it were a simple suggestion
 from the Committed. and that the Com
 mittee was willing to abide by the
 action of the Convention. In the frs
 place, the gentleman who has just pre- ceded me seems to think that thu
 words in this substitute would limit tho age for the payment of poll taxes tS the present time of 45 years, when. al matter of fact, the substitute is SC
 framed as to permit the General As . sembly, at any time it sees fit. to raise
 the age limit, not only to 60 years, bu
 to 160 years if it sees proper Thi!
 amendment, as offered by the gentle man from Talladega (Mr. Browne), il l, in effect the same amendment that offered to this section upon yesterday and I had in mind this line of though
 at the time I offered it. It is claimed
 by the gentlemen from the Black Belt . for whom I have the highest regard
 for whom I have a feeling akin to af fection; it is claimed by the represen . tatives from that section of the State that the requirement of a payment O.
 poll tax is necessary to eliminate tht
 ignorant and vicious voter from theil
 politics. It is also claimed, and I rec ognize it as a fact, that 1t will largel, assist us in the white counties, to dt identically the same thing. But dele gates will consider the proposition tha , the scheme purposes, that from anC
 after the first day of January 1903. al
 poll taxes must be paid in order to en title a man to a franchise, and mel
 coming of the age of 45 years will no be entitled to cast the ballot unless the! ! have kept up the payment of their pol
 tax before they arrive at that age. I
 may be that our suffrage clause is al
 we expect it to be with the age lini
 as it is. It may be that we will no , desire to change a single solitary lette ! in in f1ture wears. 1t may be tha