The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-09-10
BROTHER BOB'S BAD LUCK.
Disfranchisement Without Color or
Stripe Oyertakes Him.
EDITOR ADVERTISER, SIR

EDITOR ADVERTISER, SIR
| dislike to express myself in the heat
of passion, but under certain provoca-
gets cool to enter protest. [ have been
d%isfrancised without the color of the
Ethiopian or the stripe of the convict.
1t may be reckoned Il sad commentary
on our political machinery to admit it
but it crept upon us at last. We have
heard much about the dangers of the
innovations of politics for the last ten
years, of how a pendulum being swung
too far in n direction will by force OF
gravity inevitably swing o far to the
other extreme oOner or later. But
had little dreamed of sleeping idly on
the precipice of Acknowledgement only
to be walloped so soon beneath its lash
ing waves. It's bad, it's terrible just to
think of so many clever men, brilliant
and sound, one would like to vote for,
and so many more he would like ever Sc
much to vote against and then all of a
sudden wake up and find himself all dis
franchised "a grown man, free and
white. without the stigma of stripe or
color, %squarely set down on and de-
prived the privilege the constitution
guarantees to every citizen of the com
IllOllM culUli. GU ull IlllS DuDDcllS III
this great, free, fourth-of-July country
of ours,-a country of the white, the
brave and the free. Gentlemen, it's
terrible. | had my ticket made out. |
had given much thought to the prepare
tion of it and much. L had like to
have said much prayer, but | didn't.
(By the way, I'm afraid III prayers
along this line are too few, too short,
too superficial and altogether perfume
tory. 1t might be interesting to take a
hand primary over the county some
time to see how many voters actually
pray earnestly and deep for wisdom to
guide in the ~dispensation of Suffrage
especially of years when | happen to
run. But this is u parenthesis.)
No, | didn't loose over much training
along this line, but will say that what
ever of effort put forth by way of pre-
liminary preparation was all showed
under on the 10Th ult., when | was not
allowed to cast my vote at the primary.
"Aye.", says some smart Aleck, ''you
should have enrolled five days before
the election" Not that sir. Haven't
| been voting at every election without
enrolling?Don't the boys always see that
the names fall known Democrats are on
the roll? / have lived to see boys walk
UP w VIC pOiiS NlOSC lluillcS SOulo llOl
be found on the roll, and then half an
hour later, after diligent research he
would be notified hat his name had
been found. So you can call it what
you please or count it as you please.
only say | didn't get to vote and fee
mighty like a fellow who has been de.
prived of casting his vote for men he
wanted to elect and against men he
ever-so-much wanted to defeat. 1t is
only one voter to-be-sure, ' . the ques.
tion suggests itself, Wher re matters
tendingY Who next? ] II you, gen.
tlemep, on last Tuesday my blood boiled
hot and there poured through my pore.
more sweat and hotter perspiration ir
one hour than ever came from me ir
so short q time in all my life. | was hot
under the collar, over it and all about
It's terrible, [ say to be disfranchiseC
as j HAYS been. May zone of the read
ers of this epistle ever reach such hui
initiation. 1t was not Il matter of en-
rollment at all: it was a matter of roll,
ment. just after leaving home for the
election precinct / was stricken with {
spell of Renal Collie. Returning home
L began to grunt and roll and when the
Madam put me in q tub of hot water
got better but that is what made me 81
awful hot, and hat is what made me
sweat SO, and that is how | was disfran
chised. It's terrible.
BROTHER Bob.