The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-22
Letters to the Editor.
Equality Before the Laws-This is
 Liberty"

Editor The Advertiser.
 have read with very great interest the argument of Mir. Gunter on the dstribu- tion of power among Democratic electors in this county.
 There may have been conditions in the past which warranted this anomalous dis tribution, but those conditions have pass ed away, and now we are at liberty and it is our duty to return to the essentials of Democratic polty.
 The mode of electing State and county officers in this and all other States of the Union is the best which the wisdom and experience of the American people have been able to devise. The law of the land tolerates no aristocracy of the elec- torate-no privileged class: and the Dem ocratic Party should tolerate none. Verify. equal rights to all is the distinctive feature of American liberty"
 The electors of precincts each has one vote and no more; and as will appear more fully in the sequel. the electors of a particular precinct. as such. have no responsibility for. and, therefore, no right whatever to represent the disfranchised inhabitants of their beat, and the claim that an elector of one precinct should have greater power than an elector of an- other precinct. in selecting the officers disfranchised population in one than in the other. Is palpably absurd.
 Originally the demand for dominant in- fuence on the part of the county beats, ana the grant IneTeOl Dy liits COuHlS' W d1 based, as is well known, upon service which was illegal and dangerous. but ne Cassary to the welfare of the county. The necessity for such service has long since ceased and the opportunitv for it, Whirh was much abused, has been entirely re moved by the new Constitution.
 The claim that each elector of county beats shall continue to have from i've to ten times as many votes Tn l'emoeratl, nominations as aa elector in Highland Park, or in one of the city beats is based, I take it. upon the idea that the electors of a beat represent the inhab'tahts there of. especially negroes. who are dlsfran- chised by law Is there any good ground for such contention? MT. Gunter has made 1t so clear that there is not that I feel that it is something like killing the dead over again 10 restate the arS'i- ment. But when well and established political precedent is in conflict with a great principle of our government. it is often necessary to point out the fallacy and the danger. time and again before the true situation tiS thoroughly appre- hended, especially by those who are ad- vCrsely intere6ted.
 In county elections, the law takes no cognizance of precincts except as divi- sons of the county convenient Tor col lecting the votes of the several parts thereof.
 In county administrations, the disfran- Chised negroes make up large part of the constituency of the county which re- uuireS and receives protection, and, as provided by our new Constitution, VII be represented in the Legislature of the State. Within certain limits prescribed by law the county as whole is responsi- bic for the protection of the persons and property of the entire constituency fnA cluding the disfranchsed element just mentioned The beats, as such. have no resnOnsibility whatever for such prOtec- tion, and the electors thereof would re- sent any attempt to fix such responSi- bility upon the beats. as an outrage upon justice. They demand the priNheSe and wear the honor of representing the entire constituency Of the beat, but they neither recognize nor have any respoasl- bility whatever for protecting the per sons and property of such constituencN They claim and enjc- the of1ee Of rep resenting Cuny in County Conventions, hut if hc happens to break his leg on a defective bridge over Pinchona creek th' very nrOperly leave the responsibility of taking care of him and of defending a damage suit for the injury to the county
 The duty and responsibility of protcrt- ing the persons and property Of a con stitutrcy and the right to represent th m are clearly correll ltiVe. The one depends unon inc o:nCr. Tha responsibility to .l '- tart has haan fixed by law in the county ss whole. and the right 10 represent arises out or such responsiblity and at tarhee to the electors collectively or the county so far as Ii belongs u the cleo torate at all. The beat, as such' hdS ID responsibility for the protect.oh or the constituency of the peat ana the electors thereof as such cannot righuully repre- sent the disfranchised negroes 0t 'HeiE