The age-herald., 1901-09-20
CONVENTION COMMITTEE GIVES
 PEOPLE OF STATE REASONS WHY
 / ITS WORK SHOULD BE RATIFIED

form of government. This provision saves to every man who avails himself of 1t, the privilege of suffrage for life. The result will be that the ballot will be left in the hands of those of our present vot- ing population who have demonstrated their capacity to exercise the privilege in the interest of social order and progress, and the right to place on such perma- nent registration will be denied only to that mass of vicious or unworthy voters which has so long threatened our welfare. The fact was recognized that the quail ties of good citizenship and the capacity and disposition to exercise the voting privilege properly, are so generally pos sessed by that part of our present vot- ing population which is composed Of those who have honorably served in our wars and the lawful descendants of such per sons, that a due regard for the public welfare would not warrant any interfer- ence with that right as now enjoyed by them. All such persons, and all who are of good character and who understand the duties and obligations of citizenship. will have the unchallenged right to regis ter for life. It is confidently asserted that no worthy man, now an elector. or who would become an elector under ex- isting laws prior to the first day of Janu- ary, 1903, can have any difficulty in reg istering as a voter for life; or once be- ing registered, can be debarred from fu- ture participation in the government. The question of the consistency of this pro- vision with the requirements of the con stitution of the United States was fully and patiently considered by the conyen- ton The only doubt developed was Tn reference to the feature securing the right to vote to those whose claim rests solely upon the fact that they are descendants of men who honorably served in our wars. This objection was made by four of the twenty-five members of the com mittee to which the subject of suf- frage was referred by the convention; and, though the objection was concurred In by some other members of the con vention, after patient deliberation and full discussion by the committee and by the convention, an overwhelming major ity of the convention remains fully sat isfied of the wisdom and validity of their action in this particular. The delegates who differed on this point from the great majority of their asscciStes (save only the few who represented political ideas which proclaimed hostility in advance to our work), agree that, whether this one special clause of the article be stricken down or upheld, the several provis- ions of the article. whose clauses are separate and not dependent the one on the other, embody the only practicable lines in reach of any reform of the pecu- liar conditions which breed bad suffrage; and that opposition to the ratification of the constitution, because of this one clause, Is not only the rejection of the manifest good in the other articles, but inevitable hostility to any feasible at- tempt to better our suffrage, and Is. therefore, not Justified, but deeply to be deplored. We have all to gain and noth- ing to lose by ratifying the new instru- ment It must be apparent to reflecting minds that federal interference, the risk of which Is sometimes put forward as reason for opposition to the new instru- ment Is much more likely to be provoked in the future by the continuance of exist ing methods for the control of the suf- frage, than by any changes wrought by the ratification of the new instrument.
 The above mentioned registration will be made In each county by a board of three reputable and suitable persons. resi- dents of the county, to be appointed by the Governor Auditor and Commissioner of Agriculture. The effect of that regis tration will be the elimination of a great mass of vicious and incompetent voters Further provision is then made to main tain for the future the standard of the electorate. A lack of the qualities of in- telligence, thrift and a regard for the public welfare generally characteriZes that part of our present voting population whose participation in the government of the State Is sought to be abridged. The object Of the educational and property qualifications proposed for those who shall become of age and seek the right to vote after January l, 1903, Is the exclusion of that undesirable class. Those qualifica- tions should appeal strongly to the moth CTS and fathers and youth of the land The requirements will be within the reach of all worthy men. The desire to fulfill them will uplift those who are to come after us to keener appreciation of the privilege of suffrage and better fit them for the ennobling and responsible duties of citizenship. What manly and self respecting youth, in this day of abund- ant opportunities of free education and self-advancement, will listen to the de- passing cry of those who wish to prevent our delfverance, that the State wrongs the youth when 1t asks in return for the privilege of voting two years hence, that he prepare himself by learning within the ample time given him, to read parts of the constitution of the United States, or develop sufficient character and thrift to accumulate very small amount of prop erty, which the humblest, starting life un- der the most adverse circumstances, can quickly acquire? What right-thinlsing or self-honoring man Is willing to claim and enjoy all the benefits of government, and Is unwilling to make any sacrifice or con- tribute anything whatever to sustain 1t? scarce d generation SlTCt tHousduuS Ol Alabamians gladly risked and sacrificed their lives for the welfare of the State; and now their children are thought by some so unworthy of their fathers. that they are told that the payment of a poll tax of less than a half cent a day, in aid of the public schools, as one of the helps to a higher and better suffrage, de- mands a sacrifice which they should set in the balance against your efforts to up- lift our civilization. We leave the fit ans- wer to this ignoble suggestion to that love of country which has always marked our people, and borne them upward in all their struggles and trials. Shall We Descend Into the Mire In
 Order To Be cIeansed.
 Of those who profess desire to be rid of our evil condition and at the same time proclaim hostility to our efforts, 1t Is proper to ask what, if any, remedy they propose Can defeat of the new consti- tuition promote any good end? Will 1t not fasten upon us the present curse and cut off all hope of relief for a generation to come? Is 1t not far better and wiser to take the present step. and if experience prove 1t intellectual to seek further remedy by prompt amendment of the constitution, which is easy under the new instrument, than to fall back again deeper in the mire, and then hope to rise from it's depths and cleanse our institutions?
 FaIr Elections.
 The surest and most enduring founda- tfon for fair elections is honest and in telligent voters. The new instrument fur nishes this great support, by sitting the