Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-09-10
THE ALABAMA CONSTITUTIONAL
ASSEMBLY.

w
cordance with section 8, Article x. of
the Iowa state constitution, which pro-
vides that every tenth year there shall
be submitted to the voters PROPOSE
ton: Shall there be convention to
revise the constitution and amend the
same" By the close majority vote of
555 against the proposition our people
decided that their present constitution
was good enough and needed no
change, 1852 voting against and
176,337 for the proposition
The state of Alabama has recently
had an assembly at work preparing
new constitution for her people. The
assembly having on Tuesday of this
week approved of the provisions and
form of the new constitution to be sub
mitted for the approval of the voters.
1t is therefore of some interest to the
people of Iowa to know what improve
ments in fundamental law are being
worked out by the sister state. Ala
bama, of course, being in the cotton
belt, is democratic state, having
polled vote of 97,131 for Bryan and
55,512 for Mckinley last year. 1t is
also a state in which negroes eonsti-
tute very considerable portion of the
population, the census return for 1890
showing she had S33,71S whites and
67s,4S9 negroes.
One of the most striking changes
made by the Alabama new constitution
is the one providing that municipal in
debtedness for acquiring school
houses, waterworks and sewers is abb
solutely unlimited.
A second feature of the new Ala
bama constitution is that providing Sc
we're penalties on members of the
legislature and judges who accept
free railroad passes.
One of the very grave objectional
features of the new Alabama eonstitu-
ton is that of the matter of discrim-
ination against the negro in the mat
ter of the right to vote. Our late
civil war in all. its frightfulness was
waged partially for the purpose of re-
moving the shackles from the slave,
and to raise him to the dignity of cit
izenship. This intent was written into
law in the fifteenth amendment to the
constitution of the United States,
which reads. ''The right of citizens
of the United States to vote shall not
be denied OF abridged by the United
States or by any state on account of
race, color or previous condition of ser.
vitude"
Iowa has all along enforced this
principal Of equality secured through
great war, by having in her laws ar
ticle Q, section 1, of her constitution,
which provides EVERY male citizen of
the United States, of the age of
| twenty-one years. who shall have been
a resident of this state six months
next preceding the election and of
the county in which he claims his
| vote, sixty days, shall be entitled to
vote at all elections. which are now or
hereafter may be authorized by law"
Democracy in the southern states
has, since the war to the present time,
ignored the intent of the fifteenth
| amendment to the constitution of the
United States by disqualifying the
negro vote (not on account of race,
color or previous condition of servi-
tude which the law prohibits) but by
any subtle preteXt such as education,
property or other qualifications by
means of which the law can be evad-
ed and the vote of the negro general
ly republican, kept from the polls.
Alabama continues this unjust dis
elimination until January /, 1903, by
providing three registrars in each
county (who will, of course, be white
democrats) and they are to pass only
voters having such Character and un-
derstanding" as may meet the ap-
proval of the registrars. Safe to say
they will register the whites and turn
down the blacks.
Be it said, however, to Alabama's
praise that she has shown her advanc-
ing civilization, and her right to state
hood in the union, by declaring that
after January /. 1903 the judicial pow
er CT the registrars shall be with
drawn, the determinations in favor OF
the whites abolished, and both races
and all men put under the same def
mite qualifications; that is, they must
be able to read and write any article
lof the constitution Of the United