The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-30

- The permanent plan proposed py tnls article. I could not support 1t, but standing as 1t does in the temporary tause. I cannot see how any delegate .an oppose 1t upon any of the grounds .hat have been suggested. either the ground of unconstitutionality or the ground of inexpediency. will not say anything upon the subject of its con stftutionality. That question has been lllumined by the best lawyers and the best debaters of this, Convention ana II would be surerfluous on my part to at- tempt to add anything to what they have said. To my mind it has been made clear that it is not unconstitu- tionaI. By the temporary registering pian embraced in this article. there are three great doors by which the voters pf Alabama can enter into the held ,f the electorate. The first is the door of the soldier. and that admits all sol- diers. True, in some of the wars emu merated there were no negroes who were soldiers, particularly in the Amer ican revolution and the war of 1872, but in the liberality of this provision as submitted by the Committee. the negro race has no ground for complaint. be- cause in the enumeration, wars Tn which he did participate are not left ous. and to my mind that eradicates any viciousness in the plan. If 1t was the purpose of this Committee, or It should eventually be the purpose of the Convention to eliminate the negro be- cause he is negro, then, gentlemen of the Convention, no war should have been mentioned in which he did par ticipate. It may be that this plan will be looked upon with great deal or favor, because there Is mentioned In 1t tie soldier on the Federal side dur ing the great Civil War. Those WHO stand of at a distance, or those who may be in our midst who would other wise conceive thai we had prejudice, and that we were actuated by prejudice in this article oi actuated by preJu- dsce in this clause of the section, to my mind weLld look with Kindness and with consideration upon oue effort to rid the State of the vicious and in- competent voter when we have risen to the heigh- of saying that the Fed eral soldier and the descendant of the Federal soldier may enter into the life electorate list in our State. To my mind it seems that this clause elim- mates or meets and fully answers any objection that might be raised, that we were acting from prejudice against the negro, or the soldiers who fought against us in the great civil war.
 Mir. President would make one sug- gestion. I do rot know that it has been made to the Committee, but it will doubtless, be made when the part of the article is reached, and that is in enumerating the three grounds of the temporary plan, which only runs until the 1st day of January, 1903, that we should change the position of those that who has good character and who un- derstands the duties and obligations of citizenship under a Republican form of Government. Let that be the first subdivision of Section 4, make that suggestion for the reason that in the ordinary mind. in the minds of all of us here and outside among the people, it is naturally supposed that the most important ground is stated first and 1t does seem to me that ground has a wider field and broader operation than eithe: the first or second, the soldier or the descendant of the soldier. When suffrage Is based upon the proposition of doing honor to the soldiers of our country, of course that embraces limited number of our citizens, large, it is true. but net covering the whole gi crnd. When We say the descendants of soldiers, that enlarges the field somewhat, but, gentlemen of the Con- vention, when we say all men of good character that takes in, not only the soldier and the descendants of the sol diers, but 1t takes in all those whose good fortune it may be, or whose i'll fortune it may be. has not permitted them to render service to their coun- try in the line of war.
 As I stated, MT. President, l would Al. this section, if it were placed in the permanent plan. Under our plan as presented to this Convention and as I believe this Convention will present to the people of the State, we say the SOL diers of the wars named, and that num- Der cannot be increased, because there is no enlistment going on now, and therefore, the book as to the soldier is closed. He is voter now. It is not an increasing class, so far as can see, although wars may come in the future, but the wars are specifically named, and under the temporary plan while the soldiers are taken in. we have closed the book. Every soldier in the State of Alabama of the wars named can go up to the registrars and have their names placed in this electorate list, which is a life list. Then the de-
 
 now voters, and that small number who may become voters between now and January l, 1903, are alone affected by that proposition in the temporary plan. The provision remaining in the temporary plan does not make the white man. the soldier and the de- scendant of the soldier rely upon the first proposition in the electorate. To transfer the descendant clause into the permanent plan, Mir. President, and gentlemen of the Convention, would be to. put premium upon ignorance among our own people, those whom we desire to see elevated and those whom we have met here to help elevate them selves. This Convention is confronted in this proposition with that grave question that has presented itself to every Constitutional Convention that has ever met for the purpose of ele- vating the qualifications for suffrage. It is most delicate proposition. The very fact that We want to elevate the suffrage shows that there Is an incom- potent vote inside the ranks of voters but It is hard question to deal with an incompetent voter, when he aluAady has the ballot. That Is the question which confronts us today. That aues- ton presented itself in the State of Massachusetts. She had her election law passed in 1857 and operated under 1t until 1894. Massachusetts desired to elevate the qualifications of the cleo torate and she wisely took the precau- tion in 1894, when she raised the stand ard of the electorate to put in a pro- vis0 tha, 1t should not affect a single man that could vote under the law of nAaG