Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1901-12-12
furnishing the South.
Philadelphia Press.

The one and only plea made against the
bills introduced into Congress to compel
the Southern States to obey the Federal
Constitution in establishing suffrage regu'
lations is that these bills are intended ITO
punish the Sonth." This plea is not en-
tered by the Democratic or genuinely in
dependent newspapers. The former have
long since ceased to defend the methods
| by which the Southern States have dis
franchised the colored voters, and the
independent newspapers like the Brook
Ign Eagle, the Boston Herald, ;the Provi-
dence Journal, the Springfield Republi-
can, the New York Sun, the New York
Times, the Chicago Record Herald aud
the Chicago Chronicle, have frankly told
the South that it is perpetrating an injus-
tice on the North and that this injustice
will have to be atoned for.
1t may be well to quote the language of
a candid Southern newspaper on this ques-
ton for the benefit of those who are chat
tering about furnishing the South by re-
quirng it to obey the Constitution. There
is no ADLER newspaper in the South than
the Richmond Times. 1t is straight Dem-
Ocratic, but in commenting on the recent
utterances of Representative Moody, who
introduced the suffrage investigation bill
in Congress Monday, the Times says:
'Sooner or later the Republicans of the
North are going to have reckoning with
the people of the South on this question of
suffrage. The various devices that have
been adopted by this State and that to
evade the Fifteenth Amendment are going
to be brought under the review of the
United States Supreme Court, and we do
not believe that any one of them will stand
the test. If this be not done then certain
~ an effort will be made to deprive those
States of representation in Congress in
proportion to the number of negro voters
dsfranchised by reason of their race,
color or previous condition of servitude. "
The statement that some Northern
States are violating the Constitution by
prescribing suffrage requirements that
transgress the United States Constitution
is no argument at all. 1t is simply say
ing: you're another" If Massachu-
sets and Connecticut or any other North
ern State have placed any restrictions on
tue exercise of the suffrage which violate
the terms of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments they must pay the penalty
for that violation. And it is pertinent to
note that Representative Moody, who has
made the first and most energetic move
against Acknowledgement, is from Massa-
chusetts, one of the accused States. OF
| MI. Moody and his bill the Boston Tran
script saws MIR. Moody is one of the most
prominent as well as one of the ablest OF
the House Republicans. He is quite as
cauable of forcing the consideration of this
issue as of falling into line on pre.ar-
ranged plan.
There is no purpose of furnishing the
South" in this effort to rectify the wrong
done by disfranchisemeut III the Southern
States. 1t is gross outrage which has
been endured too long and which should
be ended as soon as possible. Mr.. Moody
put it in the right light when he said: 81
DO not know why forty white men in Mis-
sissippi, even if they all vote, should have
the same voting power as one hundred
men in Massachusetts,. Public opinion
demands that this wrong shall be rectified
and it will not he turned from its purpose
by childish talk about furnishing the
South"