The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1903-05-01
CAN STOP NEGRO VOTING

By sustaining the decision Of the United
States Circuit Court recently made in the
case of Jackson w. Giles VS.. the registra
ton board of Montgomery county, Ala
bama, the United States Supreme Court
Monday ruled that the Government at
large has nothing whatever to do with
DISTINGUISHING the negro in the South, and
that the matter rested entirely in the
hands of the State officials.
Giles, a negro resident of Montgomery
county, Alabama, was not permitted to
vote at the last county election. He filed
suit against the registration board of the
county and the Circuit Court judges ruled
they had nothing to do with the matter,
as it was out of their jurisdiction. Giles
counsel decided to take the matter before
the highest tribunal in the United States
and asked for ruling in the Supreme
Court.
Justice Holmes, who delivered the opin-
ion, said that for the court to interfere
would be unheard of relief in cases pre-
senting only political questions.
The court as whole did not pass on
the question of jurisdiction, which was
the question certified by the Circuit
Court for the middle district of Alabama,
and Justice Harlan dssented on the
ground that the court should have declin-
ed to assume Jurisdiction.
Justices Brewer and Brown united in
a dissent, in which they upheld the jurs-
diction of the Federal courts, on the
ground that as Giles was denied the right
of voting for member of Congress by
refusal of the right to register Federal
question was involved.
According to this decision every State
in the Union can disfranchise the negro
and keep him from voting. The ruling
is consequently of the utmost Importance.
Justice Holmes written opinion was
not made public, but he made quite an ex-
at some length Giles petition in which
Giles claimed to speak not alone for him
self, but for 5000 other negro adults of
Montgomery county, who, he said, would
be disfranchised as a result of the enforce
ment Of the suffrage provisions of the
State Constitution of 1901. The case had
been dismissed below for want of juris-
diction, but Justice Holmes said ajority
of the court was of the opinion that the
Supreme Court should not confne itself
to the question of jurisdiction, but should
consider the case on its merits
He then announced that it would be i'm
possible to grant the relief asked. He
pointed out that while Giles is contending
that the franchise system of Alabama is a
fraud, he declares his competency as a
voter under it, and closed by saying that
it was beyond the power of court of
equity to grant the petition.
Justice Harlan in dissenting. said that
in his opinion the case should have been
dismissed for want of jurisdiction alone,
as was done in the Circuit Court. and he
criticised the courts opinion, saying that
it left the question of jurisdiction in the
air and that he was not willing to be a
party to such proceeding.
Justice Brewer delivered the other dis
senting opinion, in which Justice Brown
concurred. They expressed the opinion
that the Circuit Court should have been
reversed and that it should be directed to
assume jurisdiction of the case.