New-York tribune., 1903-06-30
propriate moneys provide fer national deIence.
or perform any other constitutional onlisatioa;;

Thus we discover these great constitutional
powers-streams of national soverelsnIy puu ;a',
ing forth from the fountains of the Constitu-
ton irresistby potent to set IN motlon I1e us
mendous machinery of the Nation to educate
every illiterate American, in all the Iulc'ioii'
and duties Of American citizenship. 49,.
Ill Such being the sovereign powers OF the
nation, call upon 1t tonight TO perform Its tu
and bounden obligations. Is 1t concelyaDle tha'
they can be less than the education OF every IL
literate citizen in the body polite!
FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT CANNOT BE
REPEALED.
ID Yet it is urged by many that the nation
would perform its full duty if 1t should repeal
the Fifteenth Amendment. Ihe negro Fotsi' II. H.
crate and iterate would be eliminated, out
how would that solve the problem! Inc negLo
would still be citizen still illiterate sun VI
cious and still an increasing menace 20 tiie
States and Nation. The repeal of the fl1teenth
Amendment is visionary and chfmer1caL Iiie
Amendment, moreover, is a revolutionary meas
ure, and revolutions, Wendell Ph1ll1ps saIa'
never go backwards. The Thlrteenth elidit.I ~
pated the negro, the Fourteenth citzen1zed hih'
the Fifteenth guaranteed his suffrage; IL is one
step only in the irresistible. onward movement
all it's people. THE sum-" said Horace Mann,
can easily be turned back in its course as
can one particle of that power
DISPARITY OF VOTES OF NORTH AND
SOUTH.
% 1t is also persistently urged that the nation
would perform its full duty If it should prohiplt
the South from further disfranchisement of the
negro. 1t is urged that gross disparity exists
between the votes or the North ana SOutnr tIief1
the cause is negro disfranchisement, and that
the Fourteenth Amendment empowers Congress
to penalize the South therefor by reducing lis
Congressman and Electors. Let first con-
slider the question of disparity. Take the Con-
gressional vote at the last Presidential election
of five representative Northern and Southern
States. Maryland's vote, for example, for eacn
Congressman averaged 44, ,0S5 and Ohio's 1857;
Missours a. 72S and Illinois 1920; Kentuckys
42626 and New-Yorks 41,S26; North Carolinas 5
30 267 and Pennsylvanias 36662; Vrginia's
26 400 and Massachusetts 29,62S. Here is as
suredly startling disparity. But the North
and South are not the whole country Compare
also the East and the West; Rhode Islands vote,
for instance, was 2S,2S4 and South Dakotas
96 131: Verrnont's 2S 10S and Colorad6s 81, loi;
Names 26, ,430 and Utah's S4,S42. If, therefore
Congress should penalize the South for disparity
when contrasted with the East, should it not
also penalize the East for its glaring disparity
when contrasted with the West?
1t is true that in the six Atlantic and Gulf
States where the ignorant negro vote was great
est the Congressional vote was least; Alabamas
was II, T31 Florida's, 12.6lI Georgia s, LIDO;
Louis;ana's, 9770; Mississippis. 1883. and South
Cardinals 1859. Still the disparity between
these States and the East is less than that De
tween the East and the West For instance
Rhode Islands vote is 1.59 times as great as
Alabama's bit South Dakota's is 3.39 times as
great as Rhode Islands. Vermonts Is
times as great as Florida's, but Utahs is 3.O1
times as great Vermont's. Names is Z.5o
times great Georgias. but Colorado's is
34S times as great Names.
Granting however. that diSfranChisement is
the evil and disparity only establishes basis
for the penalty let US remember there may De
disfranchisement of whites as we'll as blacks.
There is no lirnita ton in the amendment. Where
does this lead? Outside of the South many
States disfranchise voters and five have educa-
tional qualifications. In Massachusetts, in l9Oo
8 per cent of the voters were disfranchised pe-
cause of illiteracy. thus withdrawing from rep
resentation $4,000 of the inhabitants; IN Con
necticut I per cent withdrawing $1,000; and IN
California 6 per cent. Withdrawing 10000
Massachusetts and California would thus lose
one Congressman each by general penahzins
statute.
But aside from questions of polty, maintain
that a penalizing statute would be unconstltu-
tional 1t is immaterial how many State con-
ventions resolve that justice requires any state
excluding GnU Of its citizens from the ballot TO be
proportionately reduced in it's representatives
and electors. Such is not the law. Representa-
tives" says the Constitution, shall be appor-
toned among the States according 10 ReF re-
snectire numbers" These numbers" the Su-
preme Court has decided the census" Go
Wall, 347), or, Chief Justice Fuller more re-.
Gently expressed it, the population on as = ascer-
fore any attempt to substitute the r0fing p0pH-
Iation for the population as basis for ap-
portioning representatives would De apSolutely
unconstitutional and void.
Moreover the power of Congress to penalize
under the Fourteenth Amendment was abro-
gated thirty years ago. when the Ffteenth
Amendment was adopted. The power to reduce
being in the nature of q penalty must De
strictly construed. Jurisdiction is as necessary
to valid legislative action to valid judicial ac-
ton I'll Wall, 430: ia U. s., 20S) The juris-
diCtion of Congress depends solely upon the con-
ditiOnS precedent laid down IN the arnendmenI'
and should it assume to penalize the States ire
spective of such precedents its act. as Mr.. Jus
tice Swayne said. would be ultra wires and
void" G Wall. 441) The first condition prec
edent is that there must be corporate act of
the State. The provisions of the amendment re-
fer to State action exclusively not to acts OF
individuals. 900 T. s, 31S). State can dis
criminate against negro suffrage only by an or
ganic or statutory law, Hence, there must be
such State law before Congress can penalze
State. The second condition precedent is that
such law must be valid. The amendment says
when the right to vote is denied or abridged"
the representation shall be reduced. A rOid at
tempt by statute or a grandfather clause in
constitution to deny or abridse does not comply
with this condition. A State law must not only
purport to, but must actually, discriminate be-
fore Congress can act.
The Fifteenth Amendment has made the first
condition impossible. During the few years be
tween the adoption of the Fourteenth and Elf
teenth amendments a State might have passed
valid law denying negroes the right TO vote on
account of their race: but now, says the Su-
preme Court, it is impossible. (92 L. s.. 21TD
A law purportng to discriminate is void;
not voidable, but void Gb in{t'0; and void law
Is no law. q Cr.. 1870 The Fifteenth Amend
ment has also made the second condition impos-
sible. There be actual discrimination.
The negro cannot be disfranchised by void
State suffrage law any more than by the Dingley
tariff. AN unconstitutional act is not a law"
said Mr.. Justice Field: 1T is imperative
though it had never been passed" Q1S U S.
142) If the negro does not cast his vote it is
his own folly, timidity or Indifference At least,
it is his fault and not the act fault of
the State state discrimination being thus i'm
possible, both conditions precedent are impos-
sible, and Congress cannot exert its power to
penalize. Any law of Congress attempting to do
so would be palpaby unconstitutional, and
would be as promptly set aside by the Supreme
Court as We're the Reconstruction acts and Civil
Rights bills.
NATIONAL EDUCATION THE ONLY REM
EDY.
CD Since the nation neither repeal the
Fifteenth Amendment enforce negro suf-