The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1901-01-24
sfarAKu rAxTy DlArs3a1


The Peoples Party Convention |
sssem bied In Raleigh, April ls;a.
reaffirms the principles set forth X |
the Peoples Party National plat
form adopted 1T st. Louis In is-"~.
and iustrucss the delegates - .ns
National Convention at Sioux Pa
MAY Stn 70 vote for the nomi nation
of William J. Bryan for President.
We commend the present State
Administration for its high pc.
sonal and official integrity, and
challenge Q comparison OF iss REG
ord with any and al OF Its p rede-
cessors.
We condemn sne Democratic Lsgis-
lature OF 1899 for its extrsvagaas az
penditures of public money Amounting
| to 81 BET, 7o5-76 in 1899, IS opposed 70
| 81 asa, 81 IL, expended By the preced-
ing Legislature, an excess Of $500
794 IS, NOT including the sum OF $780,
900 for public education nor the $50 $50
| for purchase of State farms.
| We further condemn said Legisla-
tnre for the careless hlundezing and
careless legislation, including more
gross biunders and unconstitaStonai
AWE LU1u over ChASeCO o1J
General Assembly in North Carolina.
We further denounce the machine
leaders of the Democratic party for
laying the whip on the backs II the
Democratic Legislature and forcing
them into enacting and submitting .
disffahchising constitutional amend.
ment in violation Of the solemn
pledges of the party, made not only
officially in their campaign handbook
but by members Of the General Assem-
bly, and other Democratic candidates
for office in their canvass before the
people. We denounce them not only
for doing this in violation Of their
pledges, but also for submitting mea'
sure most odious in form and danger
GUS in effect. That General Assembly
being composed of, some of the bes
lawyers OF the party, must have
known, or at least had q REASONABLE,
doubt, not only rs to the unconstitu
tionality OF the mOnstrous provision o
Section s, known as the "grandfathe
clause" in said amendment, but als
Of the great danger of that unconstitu
tional sectional section falling, leav
ing the remainder OF the amendmen
to stand, thus disfranchising by an ed
uoational qualification Atty or sixt
thousand white voters of North Caro-
lima, who in 1898 gave the DemOcrsti
party power In the Legislature, an
whose ignorance is no fault OF thei
own but is chargeable to the neglect G
the Democratic party, which now seek
to disfranchise them and make thei
ignorance crime alongside that q
the felOn.
But even il the proposed amendmer
were not unconstitutional Gas it clear
~ is), still it is especially objection
able in the following particulars:
(a) In that it d. gnifies with the rigf
Ia OF suffrage the most vicious, troubis
10 some ard obnoxious class of the negf
- population, aud completely disfrsr
~ chises the most faithful, kindly and Oh
III Derby element OF that race.
~ Oh In that,WhIie ciamoring for whit
ofl supremacy and declaring that no whit
maD shall be disfrsDchised under I'd
amendment, they have so written che
d. amendment that every white boy b.
n, coming of age after 1905 stands on Il
q same footing with the negro. ann ca
not vote unless he is able to reSd an
write.
Co. III that u the latter psovlsiO
they have made IT possible for Ehe ei
ucated negro after 1908 TO cast has ba
white men who have been the streng1
w Of true democracy stands without
vote at che ballot box. They sisuxht
=, the suffrage Of the son whose fatn
: they dare not openly attack.
m id) In thGl this suffrage amen
I'll meut does not remove the negro fro
politics or settle the negro question
North Carolina.
(e) In that every voter who has n
paid his poll tax So much as T.
months before the State election 81
eight months before the national Gle
:. ton, shall be disfranchised as much
if he were convicted of felony or We
es an ignorant negro. The purpose
til this provision is not only TO disfra
chise every good honest citizen wi
unfortunately cannot pay his taxes
the first of March preceding the ele
tion, but further to try to bride the v
ter to surrender his suffrage at the e.
pense of the public school fund Of u
;o State, which is derived from poll take
Is There Turks behind this proposition
ID still greater danger to the publ
an schools of the State, for with the ado
do ton of the amendment the opponen
Of free schools In North Carolina W
at once raise the cry that every doll
raised for public instruction means ii
&c. increase of the number of negro Y
bo ters, and thus the poor white nar
son will be chained in bondage of j
r. norance and disfranchised so prove
n the education of the negro vots
ed There is no white supremacy In this
The constitutional question mr.