The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-04-03
AN EARLY CHAPTER IN plsFRANcHlseMeNT.

It has been claimed political virtue for Massa
chusetts that It's DISTINGUISHING or rather disUal
flying, ignorance Mt the polls. without prejudice
against any class and enacted solely with
n view to secure an Intelligent ballot
On this hypothesis the Massachusetts, papers have
been very freely denouncng the acts limiting tho OK.
eoee of outrage in the South These prints have not
hositaed to charge political nurrowncss and Injustice
against the Southern people and to shed large vol.
une of crocodile tears in behalf the poor oppressed
blacks"
II recent issue of the Boston Herald however.
the baselessness of the claims put forth by Massaehu
sets and the inconsistency the New England critics
who have been attacking the South because 'poitcs,
was at the bottom of the dsqualifyng acts are str
ingly, If thoughessly or unintentonay shown II an.
pears from the Boston papers comment that these edu
catona' qualifications relating the suffrage were the
outgrowth of Acknowledgment" in that common.
wealth and We're clearly Inspired by partisan politics
al the time as any of the In the South to
get rid of the negro vote In recent editorial the Bos
ton Herald makes this confession:
And yet il is almost always the case that restriction,
when may be wise IN themselves Introduced not because
o. sif wisdom but for the purpose of attaining some tenn.
~ p9aeM penent axe the twentieth amendment to
inc constitution Of this commonwealth, which reads
a person shall nave the right 70 vote be eligible to
oee under the constitution OF this commonwealth ho shall
not be abic to read the constitution The English aSgnog
OF this amendment Shall not AMY to an mat me provisions
oy physical disability from complying with its requiremen,s
this amendment shall take eject 'P""'' AZ inc time
- ms amendment was adopted by the legislatures of tss6
anu io5H respectively and ratified by popular vote o a.
isl DAY OF May 1885,? The time is significant The an,.nd
eh Was obviously brought forward and passed MS Lnn
holhihg measure In the years following tSto y,e,t @
stSuon TOOK place from Ireland and AN inense S,,b ~
s ha,tseS Oh that island Game the DATED States tot as,
@ <auoi papers, and prepared take nar IN mn ~
lteM us VINO were entirely ignorant even OF Inc r,,;,c,,
" leiuhR ana writing II keep this class from,
uepSting " politics and in this way giving The
Iessoe political possession o. the State thar ,bs anen
mem 20 INC eonstt tuition was proposed aud carried ~
ispe was INC deliberate disfranchsement az a
White vote class or vote il you win for nnr,,
PARTISAN purposes It aimed against no doS
crate party and constituted the first conspenous Az
REIMBURSEMENT Tor political ends which was
ID THIS country In word, Massachusetts sol Inc ~
eaent Tor the action which has in later wears ba
taken by the South 'ee's peen
But IHE Posr has no fault to find with the common
wealth OF Massachusetts, for insisting that those only
shall vote who are intelligent enough TO read their h
lots and to know what they he doing Such opa,,aca
tons OF suffrage are right and proper They do rot
constitute Acknowledgement except Temporarily no
cause IS within the power OF any citizen IN these
Dimes TO qualify himself intelligent voter within
few months, or from one election to another The
criticism to be brought against our New England c
gems Is their failure to remember that they have bean
guilty Of exactly the political narrowness and ppsiudice