Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-06-25

editor has put UP knotty question.
The supreme court" it says, 'must
pass on the constitutionality of tho statute
have never awaited themselves of ii to
shut out negroes. Neither in language
nor spirit does it contravcne the four
teenth and fifteenth amendments. The
supreme court can hardly, by the strong
est stretch of interpretation hold other
wise. If the court upholds the Vermont
statute the South will at once adopt it
and nothing can stop it. And then the
Southern negro will he dsfranchised as
offectually as he is now. but without tho
remote glmmcr of hope before him that
the federal courts may intervene and
hand him back the ballot"
The worthy Tribune, as it seems to
us jumps a little too soon to its con-
clusions. The supreme court may not
be called upon to pass on the constitu
tionality of the clause; nor is it plain
that the tribunal would interpret it in
such way as to make it any easier to
exclude the negro from the ballot box
than it is at present-which is
easy enough. most Of the South
ern States having fixed their con-
stitutions to permit such exclusion, and
the United States Supreme Court having
decided not to interfere
The clause which so delights the At
lanta editor dates back to the first cleo
ton law of Vermont, passed in Februdry
1179. In that it reads: NO person shall
be admitted to take the freeman's oath
until they have obtained the appreciation
of the sclectmen Of the town signifying
that they are qualified under this act
In the revision of 1929, the clause appears
corrected in its grammar, and made to
read that no person shall be admitted
to take the frccman's oath until he has
obtained the appreciation of the select
men, etc, signifying that he has the
qualifications of a freeman agreeably TO
the constitution of this State
In the Revised Statutes of 1899, the words
or vote" are added after oath" and
the remainder of the clause reads: until
he shall have obtained the appreciation
| of the selectmcn and justices present at
the meeting" The clause ends there,
the words explaining that such appro-
baton signifed that the voter had thu
qualifications of freeman being omitted
doubtless as surplusage.
The clause remained unchanged there
after, till in the Revised Laws of 1850,
hoard of civil authority" was substituted
for selcctmen and justices, meaning th'
same. the selectmen and justices of th'
| peace constituting the board. In the Yer
mont Statutes of 1894 the town clerk j!
rddcd to the board of civil authority in tn
towns and the aldermen take the place
of selectmen in the cities and the trustees
and baliffs in the incorporated villages
OF course the clause never meant, or
in connection with the other provisions
of the election law Of which it forms IA
part could be construed to mean tina
the selectmen, or the board of civil au-
thority, might at their arbitrary pleasure
exclude from voting any man who did
not happen to be approved by them be
| cause Of his color, or the cut of his
. beard or of his coat, or of his unwashod
condition, or of his habits, or politics. Tn
board of civil authority is simply the
| tribunal which when the vote of mar
| is challenged because he is a non-resi
dent, or not naturalzed, or because hi;
name Is not on the check list, decides
whether he shall be admitted to take the
freemans oath or to vote. 1t is in re-
spect to his legal qualifications undel
the statute as whole that the would-b b,
voter whose vote is challenged mus
"obtain the appreciation" of the board
In every State or precinct in the lane
some board or inspector, or officer, mus
of course decide the question in sucl
cases: and the Vermont clause, if uniqu;
is so only in respect to the antigua tee
phraseology used Plainly it does not cor
travene the fourteenth or fifteenth
amendments, nor If enacted by ever!
State in the South would it make thu
disfranchisemen of the colored voter
any easier or simpler, in the face o
those amendments.