The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-26

fices and losses which you and your descendants have sustained, your State confers this political privilege upon your" Are we estopped forever and forever more from comforting a politi- cal privilege upon any one who renders service to the State simply because, in the Province of God. the entire negro race were SO situated that they could not render the same service? Why, of course there is no such purpose or meaning as th0 in the Fifteenth Amendment. The State of Alabama can select a group of her citizens who have entitled themselves. and their de- scendants who have suffered losses and sacrifices of property and educational advantage on account of those sacri- fices-can select the grandfather clause and the father and the son, and that is about as far as we go in this tenn porary plan, and on account of these circumstances SUIT cunding. this class or group confer upon them this privilege. Now. if that group embraced the entire white population to a man and no oth- CTS. and 1t were evident on the face of the matter that the purpose of se- lecting the group was not to confer the honor. but simply to exclude all others, there might be something in the argu- ment, but the facts GO not justify it.
 
 tleman from Montgomery Colonel Sam ford stated tfds morning that 25,0o0 negro troops. went out from this State to serve in the Union army, and have heard that other distinguished gentle man from Montgomery Governor Jones) state that there are probably 5,0c0 negro pensioners on the lists today in Alabama. and their descendants are in Alabama today and they probably number from 15,000 to 10000 persons of voting age who are included in the de- | scendants' clause. The gentleman, MT. Byars, asked yesterday if in, honorins | the whites who fought in the war, we did not also honor those negroes who took up arms for the Union, and my reply to that question Is that we do, and that fact confirms the constitu- tionality and the validity of this clas- sification; but 1t is further confirmed l by the fact that the Committee has de- | liberately put in another paragraph here. good character provision, which | is simple test by which every negro | can vote who ought to vote. If he should not happen to have been a sol | dier or the descendant of a soldier, | then he comes in under the character clause; If he has a good character and has an understanding of the duties of citizenship, he can vote.
 Mir Banks-Cannot the whites also vote under the character clause?
 Mir. Weatherly-Yes. sir; that is true. MT. Banks-Then what is the use of the descendants clause?
 Mir. Weatherly-Well, I think myself that the two groups overlap each other to some extent, but the primary group here-that is, the soldiers and their de- scendants-is a group which is selecte l by the State, as I have said, for the purpose of conferring a voting privi- lege upon her soldiers and their de- scendants. Now there are many many thousands-I myself could not qualify under the soldier clause, because my father, and none of my ancestors, so far as I know, served in any of the wars, and I am bound to come in un- der the character clause, if I get in at all.
 MT. Banks-will, the gentleman per- init a question?
 Mir. Weatherly-Not right at this time.
 MT. Banks-I was right nice to the gentleman.
 MT. weatherly-I believe did inter rupt the gentleman twice or three 1 times, but l would prefer to continue the thread of my argument. There are thousands and thousands of white citi- zens in Alabama who did not serve themselves and whose ancestors did not serve in any of these wars, so far as can be proved; and on the contrary, there are thousands of negroes who could not qualify under the character clause, who are entitled to vote under the soldier clause. I say, MT. Presi- dent that by the good character clause which is simple test, and which is intended to apply to all, all the citizens of the State who happen not to have served-in any war or who are not de- scendents of those who served in any war That vote taken in connection with the other clause which of itself lets in many negroes, both taken to- gether shows that there was no pur- pose or intention to discriminate against the negro as a negro. It may show an intent to exclude many oi those who were not entitled by reason of character or other qualification tc vote; it may show an intention to se- lect those who are best able to serve the State, and in the process may elim- mate many negroes; 1t may select those who. by moral qualifications are en' titled to the exercise of the govern ment, but the facts in the case; the facts whereby 1t Is demonstrated thai lthose negroes must necessarily be lei in here. and let in by the equal force
 
 fication, itself shows that there was nc purpose or intent to discriminate against the negro because he is ne gro. Now, Mir President, my time i: rapidly expiring. It has been said thai the Committee itself showed an appre' hension that its child-the grandfatheI clause-would be short-lived, because they provided means of supplying it' place when dead. Well. all can saS to that is it is not an unusual precau ton for parents to have the means a hand for supplying the places of theil children. It is a wise law of nature Now the gentleman from Lee, Genera Harrison. has said that you could strike out the grandfather clause and leaving only the character clause in thu temporary plan. and the whole thing would be satisfactory. Well, isn't tha an absolute demonstration that th' plan with the grandfather clause in fl is satisfactory, because if the charac ter clause in Its natural operation op crates fairly and equally upon the citi zens-if the negroes can get in undei that and get in fairly, how. in the nam' of common sense and reason. does th' grandfather clause operate agains them. or abrogate or deny their rights The eentleman's position Is an unan swerable argument in favor of the con stitutionsllty of the clause. Really, I adds because 1t may bring in 15,O00 O 20 GOO voters who, otherwise, would no -vote under the character clause. Now Mir. President. as said, we have got t' adopt a practical plan, something tha |. .gs-.