The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-03

MT. samford (Pike)--I would like to ask the gentleman question.
 Mir. Hood-lC ertainly.
 MT. Samford--Isn't 1t an equal right under the present law with every cit- izen of this state, that. when he gets to be 45 years old. he will be exempt from the payment of poll tax?
 Mir. Hood--It is under the present Constitution but we propose not to give that right under the new Constt- tution.
 MT. Samford-will the gentleman an- swer another question?
 MT. Hood--I decline to yield further.
 It is yrged by the distinguished gen. tleman from Mobile that the provision as contained in the report of this Com. mittee will disfranchise many of the white people of Alabama, or. in other words, that many of the business men Of the city of Mobile. and other cities. will avail themselves of the fact thai the collection of this tax Is not com pulsory. and will therefore decline to pay it, and thereby disfranchlse them selves. Mir. President, it may be true that the citizens of Mobile, and of the otter cities and towns in the State, in the ordinary elections, in which they have no great interest, do not usually vote, and 1t may be true, and is to some extent, that very frequently you have to send for that class of people in carriages to get them to vote, but when men ofsthat class are required to pay q poll tax of $1.50 several months in advance of the election, sometime before they know what is- sues will be involved, sometime before they know whether their friends will be candidates, are they, for the paltry sum of $l.50, going toarefuse tosregis~ ter. and thereby disqualfy themselves to vote?
 Again, MT. President, the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Will Hams case, speaking of the legality of the Mississippi law. referred to the fact that the poll tax is made Q quail iiication there. and emphasis Is laid upon the fact that the collection of that poll tax is not compulsory. Is that not significant coming from the Su- preme 'Court of the United States? MT, Smsth--May l ask the gentleman If 1t has not reduced the vote of the white people, in Mississippi very large ly?
 MT Hood--Probably it has. I could not say It has scertainly reduced the negro vote in a greater proportion-90 per cent, as suggested by some gen. tleman. Now. the main purpose of this Com mittee in dispensing with the compul- sory collection of the poll tax was to allow the poll tax to accumulate and pile up on this very class of voters that We want to get rid of-the vicious voter in Alabama. We want chat poll tax to pile up 50 high that he will never be able to vote again. If you provide a compulsory way of collect ing that poll tax. you destroy the ob- jects and purposes of the Committee in reporting the provision as 1t Is re- ported.
 Now, believing the Convention Is ready to vote upor this proposition, move to lay the substitute of the gen. tleman from Tuscaloosa on the table MT. Sollie (Dale)-I hope the gen. tleman will withdraw that motion a moment. Expressions of disent.) MT. Hood-I decline to do so. Mir. Fitts-I call for the ayes and noes.
 The call was sustained. The President pro, tem-The question is upon the motion to table the substi- tute offered by the gentleman from Tuscaloosa. Those favoring the motion to table will vote aye and those op- posed no, when their names are called.
 Upon the call of the roll the vote resulted as follows: