The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-30

I will condemn us? MT. President and i gentlemen Of the Convention, the adop- tion of this Constitution VIII work
 one great revolution in the black Deit. | There are thousands or the pest men in the State of Alabama, woose hearts have always ached because we
 had to go outside of the law to main | tain ourselves. We have clamored for
 an opportunity to stand up in court with very truth upon our lips and we nave prayed and worked for this hour.
 and is is to be said now because this l Constitution is adopted that we VIII | continue to live outside of the law. So
 far, MT. President, there has been such
 a dire necessity upon the white people of the black belt to go outside of the
 law that there was not and could not be any public sentiment to condemn
 1t. But a.S I said with those men in the black belt, when they tailed into
 existence this great Convention, and | It IS a great Convention. to do this work at an expense perhaps of seventy. i've thousand dollars to the State of Afabama, and open up the way by
 which our people can live inside of the
 law, there will be a public sentiment in
 the black belt ,and a public sentiment
 in favor of all things rising far above
 even Constitution or a statute. we
 Will have a public sentiment that will
 aid this Constitution we will have the public sentiment that called the Con-
 stitution into existence. We will have | public sentiment that will permestc every statute passed upon the subject. Therefore we say that 1t is gratuitous, l that 1t is uncalled for. and that it fs | mortifying, that insinuations should be made that the door is left open for | certain counties. Mir. President. the | permanent election law, the perma- nent quail. .fications to the franchise = we have met to elevate the qualifica- | tions for suffrage. As stated in the ar gument in the morning. no State can | take the whole body of people and | raise them up to the ,second story at one effort. We have built by this ar- | ticle stairway from the flonr upon which our suffrage now rests, up to a second story. We have laid the steps. three grades of steps, to elevate our people into the second story, into an elevation on the suffrage question. Wa want to build our people up, a govern ment should seek to elevate It's people. | We have put step by step good charar- | ter, the soldier and the descendant of | the soldier, and then after the first day | of January. 1903. we have made a l broad platform-as good qualification l for suffrage as exists in the United | States. We have said while that is | high compared with where we were. still it is not too high. We have said | he who can write and read an article | of the Constitution of the United States and who has been employed regularly | for the last twelve months can vote. that is to a man after the first day of | January, 1903, or if he cannot write | and read or should be wanting in reg ular employment and cannot come un. | der that clause, why then this instru- ment says to him, if the Convention | adopts 1t, any man who owns certain property, forty acres irrespective or us value, and there is wrapped up in that | forty acres the germ of a noble prin- ciple in suffrage. It Is crowning the | home with honor; any man who owns I his forty acres irrespective of it's value, | or other real estate of three hundred dollars in value. or personal property 1 of three hundred dollars in value. or | if his wife and he the representative | of her and his children own three hun | dred dollars of real or personal prop erty. should be entitled to vote. That | is saying to the people of Ala bama. | taking the two systems together the | temporary and the permanent. the tenn | porary saying here Is the life boat ih | is coming along for sixty days through l the country. and few more days in | the large counties where they have | large cities. and all soldiers. descend | ants of soldiers, all who arc of good l character get in on the life boat. Then the book closes and the State of Ala | bama says to all of her people, no more | -nl faly yfT10 fhan1 | and have taken care of them; no more descendants of soldiers, because we do
 not want to put a premium on ignor- | ance in our own blood but you must | come up on the question of intelligence and industry, you must come up on the | question of intelligence and industry. | you must come up on the question of property, in order to take part iD the conduct of this great government. MT. Sanford (Montgomery)-Do you | take care of the descendants beyond | 1903. or soldiers either?
 Mir. Miller-No, sir; the soldiers are all in. MT. President, this is the per-
 manent plan, and the two plans taken | together, when this Constitution goes out to the people it says here is prOvi-
 sion for all you soldiers now, and all of you are of good character and un-
 
 | ties of citizenship. whether you be
 black or white Then close the book. and then it says there Is the school house, and there is the appropriation | to pay the teacher, and you voters who | have been made safe must put your children in the school room, you must | tea ch your children to accumulate. We have made no guarantee to unborn | ages of the ballot. We would be trait. ors to our own blood if we did, outside of their personal exertions. We must
 put the coal of fire upon the backs of those of our blood when we are put ting it upon the back of a black man We must not remove the incentive from
 one race and keep it upon another Much less would I remove the incentive from my own race.
 Mir. Oates-I would like to ask the gentleman question.
 The President pro tem.-Will the
 gentleman yield?
 MT Miller-Certainly.
 Mir OateS-Just now understood
 you to say that it has been insinuated
 in the Convention that the present
 scheme in registration was to enable
 the black belt counties to make a false
 registration or perpetuate a fraud?
 MT. Milier-Yes.
 Mir. Oates-Do you attribute that
 or any of it to the minority members
 of the committed?
 heard a syllable from a member of the
 1t was made upon this floor and 1t hoe