The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-04-02

Plan TO go THROUGH
With little Change
Continued from FIRST HaSe.)
and OF lne ues. lawyers WHO ilau Written
or studied the question, me Suffrage pan
was undoubtedly cons.l.u.lonal.
AN OLlGA1tCHi
In closing his argument Senator Dan
ie1 declared that the republican party
had recognized the negro problem in the
district of Columbia, and instead of de-
ciulng upon a property quallncation or
other devices, had cut the Gordian knot
by denying The rlgnc of voting To wAi.te
and black alike, and the Government was
on oiigarchy, the white citizens there
preferring tyranny even to the social ana
political degradation consequent upon the
unrestricted exercise Of negro Suffrage
IGreat applause)
lie had no doubt in his mind that there
would come a time when the people or
the North would clap their hands In
praise of Southern men who had SO un-
SelIShly and herofcaliy preserved then.
race and their political institutions from
the inevitable destruction of both by the
influences which had been at work as the
| result of a wholesale placing of the
ballot in the power of a race which was
not prepared to exercise the RESPONSE
billy OF citizenship, or had shown any
capacity for it after long experience.
| Senator Daniel was most eloquent in
| his peroration, alludng to the gravity of
| the white mans burden, and adjurinS
! all who felt inclined to criticse the I'M
| derstanding clause or taunt the makers
l. of it to remember what the people Of
/ y, 1@1,.v,
! fered for more than a generation. and
| in their determination to be freed from
| the body of death. had been able to find
| only this a the safe, sure and constitu-
| tional means Of relief. Great applause)
Mr.. Flood offered an amendment to
section 1 to strike out the three years
! prepayment of a poll tax and insert one
year.
The amendment was, defeated by a
| roll-call vote of Is to 81. This was the
| first test vote yet had, and it's result was
| greeted with applause. The Democrats
voting for it were Messrs. G. K. An
derson, Brown. Flood, 3. I. Gordon.
Green, Hubbard, Ingram, Marshall and
Thorn.
Section 1 was adopted without roll call
or division. Section 2, containing the
! temporary understanding clause, was
! taken up.
TO STRIKE OUT.
! Mr.. Thorn offered an amendment strik-
| ing out the understanding feature of the
conference plan. Mr.. Thorn referred to
| the intense desire of the people of the
..blacll belt to have been given relief
| from odious and sickening conditions
! which had resulted from the uncurbed
| exercise of negro suffrage. lie said he
| would not trouble the convention with
| a speech on his views of the plan pro
posed, but would ask permission OF the
! convention to have inserted i'll the Oh
| fetal proceedings a stenosraphic report
Of his argument made before the suf-
frage conference in opposition to the re-
port OF the minority of the SuftraE sc
/ COMMITTEES which was practically the
| plan now under consideration.
On motion of Acknowledgement Ander-
! son. unanimous consent was given to
| have the speech made 4 part of the Of
/ fetal record.
| Mr. Thorn was loudly cheered by mem
bers and visitors when he concluded his
| argument.
In supporting tho amendment Judge
Robertson said everybody knew that the
| understanding clause was intended tc
make election officers continue to do dirty
/ work by placing white men on the regis
tration books and keeping negroes Off
FAVORED STRIKING OUT.
Men here had made long speeches about
LILO cFii VI pIlDeEy III elSCllOiS WIZ
voted for Il fraudulent understanding
clause and had refused to vote for pro
vision that would prevent bribery of white
| cattle. He heartily concurred in the mo-
ton to strike out the whole understanding
feature. Judge Robertson said that Will,
he was a Democrat, he claimed to be q
white man, loving his race, and as such
he would not stiSmatize it. here or here
after, by voting for the plan now under
consideration.
In opposing the amendment Mr.. IVysol
said Mr.. Thorn was enamored of his owr
permanent understanding plan, and as
serted that the people of Mr.. Thom's owr
1 city repudiated it, and if it had never
been introduced in the convention Gov
ernOr MontagueS majority would hav,
been thousands more than it was in tn,
State election. He gave a history of TIN
various plans which had been presented
to the conference and the means b,
which the plan now before the conven
ton was arrived at. (This. history ha
been repeatedly reported in these co!
umns.)
Mr.. Wysor claimed that he gave tn
death blow to the permanent understand
ing clause, and he was proud of hayin
inflicted it and thereby destroyed tn
compromise conference plan.
Mr.. Glass called Mr.. Wysor's attentio,
Z to the fact that he agreed to the com
premise plan because a property qualifl
cation had been tackled on to it by tn
! Gordon amendment.
Mr.. Wysor, continuing. said he ha,
opposed the. understanding clause in an.
phase because he thought it unconstittl
tional, but having promised to vote TO
1t. for the sake of defeating the compro
mise plan, which carried the possibilit,
: Of "a permanent understanding clause, h
felt constrained now to defend and sup
port the temporary understanding plal
he secured the adoption Of in the Demo
e. cratic conference.
The speaker strongly emphasized tn
fact that majority Of members from
i the sb1ack belt'' had Nvoted for the relic
: which the plan now under consideration
would afford them. He said 1T was
sIgrea concession for members from tn
& white counties to make. md he desires
that the "black belt" should be sufficient
& ly- mindful. of it and grateful for it.
81 WILL VOTE AGAINST 1T.
q DR.. McIlwaine said he should vote 70
{ the understanding plan and against tn
Il amendment as much as he EdiSlfked II