The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-31

l have named have aiready acted As abama and Virginia will act, and those States that have not done % will act hereafter, and they Will act because they believe that the time has come to put a stop to frauds in elec- tions; because they are unwilling to continue a system which makes per- jury honorable and bribery a badge of distinction. because they are unwill- ing to impose on posterity the awful incubus under which we labor. and which is honeycombing the morals of our people with fraud and perjury. be- cause they desire their children to be reared in an atmosphere of moral pu- rity, because they wish to establish a purified electorate. and to decree a perpetual reign of virtue and inteili- gence. and when they have so acted, they will be sustained by the moral sentiment of the world and no power of finite intelligence will dare to dis turb their decree.
 Now. what are the objections that are urged to the plan of the majority of this Committee? These gentlemen expressed the opinion. one of them ct least. very doubtfully, my distinguish ed colleague from Montgomery Gov ernor Oates) that what Is called the grandfather. clause is unconstitutional, That is a misnomer as has already been said. It is not a grandfather clause. but they have succeeded In fastening that name upon 1t, and therefore l will so consider it. do not propose or purpose or intend to SO Into legal argument upon this proposition, but from my reading of the decisions and from what I have been able to gather in the course of this debate 1t Is my opinion that this clause Is not unconstitutional. The proposition 1t seems to me Is this. That unless it is plainly written in the letter of the law. or plainly establish ed in it's administration by the agen- cies of the State. that discrimina- tion is made because of race or color, or previous condition of servitude the clause must stand as constitutional. No court can look at the letter of this law. No court can look at the man ner of its administration, if 1t Is ad- rntnistered as 1t is proposed to be done, and say that there is written either in it's language or in its admin istration any discrimination against any man because of his race or his color or his previous condition of serv- itude. and therefore 1t stands to rea- son under the great weight of author ity that the clause is not unconstitu- tional.
 It has been said that this is a great scheme on the part of the Black Belt l do not mean merely upon the floor of this Convention. but in public press that this is great scheme on the part of the Black Belt to perpetuate itself in power in Alabama. Who, gentlemen of the Convention, started the call for a Constitutional Conven- tion? It came from the Black Belt of Alabama. They wanted relief from the terrible situation in which they had been for twenty-five years, they want ed to stop fraud in elections: they wanted to put an end to those influ- ences which were corrupting the morals of their people. and they per- sisted in that call until, by the direc- ton of the sovereign people of Ala bama, you are here in convention to day seeking relief from fraud, begging that the incubus of perjury be taken off their shoulders. urging a purified electorate. We are told here that, when this Suffrage Committee has re- ported it Is a scheme on the part of the Black Belt to perpetuate the meth ods which have heretofore always pre- vailed. and to entrench themselves in power. and 1t is said, that as a part of that scheme we have put In that grandfather clause to temporarily catch the votes of the white counties, knowing that it will be stricken down by the Supreme Court of the United States, and that therefore they will be excluded from suffrage under the per- nanent plan of the Committee, when the registration has taken place under this grandfather clause. with the other clause in 1t that permits registration because of good character and the un- 6aK. K.eN N0 fKzrx . { h. ~let. Gm ! ask you. gentlemen of the Conven- ton. what court can determine that the men who are permanently regis tered as voters. were registered under the grandfather clause. or the clause of good character and understanding? It is impossible for that to be deter mined by any court. and therefore the men who come into our registration under this grandfather clause will be permanent voters and there Is no court in the world that can strike down their rights. But it Is said that 1t creates a permanent and hereditary class. It Is not hereditary. because no man secures the right to vote by req son of the fact that his father had It. and it is not permanent because the man upon whom 1t is confer red must soon pass away. It is said in further objection to the clause that 1t will insult the white men who cannot read or write-that 1t will insult the sons of Confederate sol diers who cannot read and write--to make them come into the electoral e under such terms Insult them by say ing that because your father went forth to die in glory with Sidney Johnston. or to live in immortality with Robert Lee you shall have the right to vote? They will wear that right, gentlemen of the Convention, as proud a distinc- tion as you old men year upon your breast the bronze badge of corrage put there by the women of the South. (Ap- plause).
 We are told that the adoption of this plan will make capital timid and check immigration. We heard before this Convention met, and I read 1t in an article prepared by my distinguished friend from Montgomery Governor Jones) that capital was timid, that in- dustry halted and immigration stopped at the doors of the State where the suf- frage was subject to manipulation. We come into this Convention and we offer a plan that forever stops manipulation of the suffrage, and we are told that if we do that thing, capital will become timid, that investments will stop and immigra ton will fail to seek us. Where i3 the country, and when in history did 1t ever occur that capital was timid of entering a State where the reign of virtue and intelligence was made per manent and eternal? When did 1t hap pen that immigration ran away from ha hordapa ne q o0Y,pfrxy uhora alao-