The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-09

levied, there will be two people who own no property to one who does own it. and they will be voters, and those two votes will always out-vote the one vote of the man who owns the prop erty.
 | Now. in the city of Selma, we have | five million dollars of assessed prop eIty-a little over that; Tn the whole county. nine millions of dollars. We have forty-six thousand negroes in that county and about eight thousand white people. Of that number probably one thiId of the negroes in that county will be able to vote under this educational qualification. and we may not console out selves with the thought that these ignorant voters are not gong to come up to the requirements of th.s Consti- tuition, for many of them will do it. There are more of them in our county that pay their poll tax than there are white men, and that is the case in a great many counties. Now, there are a great many women in our cities and throughout all the cities in the State who own property, and that is all they have got, and what l want to do Is to let the people who own that property come up and cast a ballot against the ballot of those people who do not own any. I understand the prejudice of
 
 stand that thoroughly. I have been raised right here in this Southern n coun- try. and have never lived anywhere else. and never expect to, but believe in property matters, women have some rights as we'll as men. I have been told by a lady in this town who heard the discussions on the floor by the gen. tleman from Montgomery two or three years ago, not speaking on the question particularly, but she said to me: "I had to pay fifteen hundred dollars for improvements in front of my house. and I had nothing to pay it with. had to mortgage my home and have nothing with which to pay off the mort gage, and when the law day comes, may be sold out unless 1 can borrow the money and extend the debt" She had nobody to vote for her or represent her. and yet she has property here and she must either sell it and get out or let the city come and take 1t, and that matter was brought to the attention of the gentlemen on this floor. Now, all I want in this matter is to let the people who own the property, Is well as those who don't own it. vote on this matter. That is all ask for.
 Mir Fitts--I think that the amend ment offered by the gentleman from Dallas is eminently correct. I am aware of the fact that when you come up with the proposition in this State, yet awhile, to allow the women of the land to vote that, at first blush, the proposition that they are to vote at all sounds novel and carries with 1t more or less of a shock to the usual and or dinary proprieties as we are accustom- ed to look upon them But in this mat ter of creating a bonded indebtedness in towns where they are property own CTS. and where they have no male mem- Der of the family to cast ballot that represents that property, when that property is to be taxed, and 1t is to become as much a burden upon their property as upon the property of any other person in that town, 1t does seem to me that the idea that all the men can. vote for the creation of that bonded indebtedness and put that bonded in- debtedness upon all of the property of all the widows and all the women in that town who happen to own property, and who are as much interested in that bonSed issue and in that indebtedness of the municipality as the men, an in justice that they should not have some voice in the matter. it being as much their debt as that of any man who lives in that municipality. It does seem to me to be nothing but ordinary and even anded justice that women who own property in their own name, and who have no male member of the fam lily to represnt them, should have the light to pass Cpon whether or not they want that bond issue made, which be- comes a burden and tax upon their property. They are as much the tax payers as the men.
 I see smiles on the faces of these old roosters around here who have an idea ha vote. I see smiles of scorn and deri- sion. This is no woman's suffrage This is but equal justice, common and even handed. to the women of the land. It has been done in Louisiana and other States of this Union. What earthly reason can there be why 1t should not be done here? Where Is the justice in the idea that a man, right on the same street. occupying the next house to woman, should go to the ballot box and cast his ballot as to whether or not he wants a bond issue in that city, for which the city becomes liable and upon which taxes have to be collected to pay the interest on that bond issue and the principal of it. and the woman who has been left without any enc To represent her, who owns the adjoining property. cannot vote as to whether or not that DOnQ issue SHdll De Ilduc and whether or not she shall be bur dened with that additional tax? That ia just simple even handed justice, and the rights of the women to have some ation as to the burden which shall be fastened upon their property and as to bonds which shall be issued for which their property has to be taxed to pay the interest upon the bonds themselves whenever they are paid
 MT. Coleman (Greene)-Wouldn't 1t be better to let the majority of the rule?
 Mr. Eltls-Wei! tha; brings back the idea ot measuring the rich and the poor of letting them vote in pyramids according tO what they have, and it | always causes dissatisfaction, but cfr- tainly woman who owns property | has as much right to vote upon this | question as a man who owns property. | I don't know how 1t is n other cities, | but l happen to come from a town | where there are d large number of la | Ges Who are property owners. l have | in mind now one particular street in | the very best portion of the city that | is tn a large ex ent owned, up and | down on ore side and up and down un | the other. by widows of the very h. gh- est class. and the widows Of dis | men who have served their | State in all the grea! walks of life. | and right now, if the proposition came Up n that town as to whether or not | to issue bonds, whether or Hot to bur den that ci;y with a bond issue, there |