The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-22
DECEMBER ea, 1903.
THE rIsxE GROWS SHORT.

The Advertiser must again admonish the white people of Alabama that the time within which they can secure for them- selves the freeman's right of suffrage Is rapidly passing. But little more than d months time remains for them to become what every citizen should value beyond price-An elector. Voting in a free gov- ernnment like ours Is both a right and a privilege for those who attach enough im- portance to it to prepare themselves. We commend this language from The Rich mond, (Va.), Times-Democrat:
 The conclusion is irresistible that if men wlll not pay $I.J0 a year for the privilege or voting they feel yer" little interest In the affairs of the Government, and if the voters do not take an interest in theIr Government, popular government must be a failure. We have great faith in the American people. When the people as- sert themselves they are usuaiIy right. The great danger in Government nke ours is indifference When the voter be- comes indifferent, the professional poli- tiicans take advantage of the situation, and run the Government in their own interest. Hence, it has passed into prov erb that Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" If the people do not attend to their own affairs they cannot expect the Government to prosper.
 Those words apply with tenfold force to Alabamians. for in this State we will next year have important elections, not only Presidential and Congressional, but State and local. There is not a white man in Alabama who has not an interest in these elections. If he is so careless as to care nothing for the principles involved he will almost surely have some friend in the field whom he will wish to help, and one of the most effective ways of doing this is to vote for him. Talking may be of help but voting counts.
 Remember that registration is a pre- requisite, but registration alone does not qualify man to vote. If he.is subject to poll tax he must pay it r'he cannot vote in any election, general, special oI primary, next year. It is not enough thaG he pay the tax for the present year, if any arrearages are against him. If he pays for one year and leaves the other two unpaid, or if he pays two and leaves one unpaid he is not qualified voter. He must have paid an the taxes due from the time the new Constitution went into effect or he is barred.
 As The Times Dispatch argues fin an- other place of those who are falling to pay their poll-taxes: This sort of in- difference is worse than discouraging; 1t lS alarming" That's just what it is. It indicates that such people are not willing to pay little mite towards the educat ton of the children of their Stae, and it also shows that they are so indifferent to the welfare of the country that they care not what men or what kind of men make and execute the laws.
 It is idle for a citizen to talk about good government. about the kind of laws that should be enacted and about the eharac- ter of men who should hold the offices, if they are not willing to do some little part towards getting the right kind of officials. The time for registering will close on the first day of next February and the reports show that there are yet many thousands who are not qualified to vote. It will be shame and a reproach if they do not qualify themselves It will be all their own fault. and they cannot be proud of such record. Let them Ie- fleet on this matter and resolve to avail themselves of the opportunity yet open to them to become fully qualified citi- gems of Alabama.