The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-04-30
THE SOUTHt Rh NEGRO
No Relief From His Political
Disabilities.
DENIED BY THE COURT
Cold Comfort in Congress for the
Present
CANNON AGAINST CRUNPACKeR SCHEME
Next Winter, on Eve of Presidential Election,
Mol Likely 10 See The Question
Brought Up,
washington starr

The prospect of relief for the Southern
negro from the political disabilities i'm
posed upon him by the dominant race of
that section is not bright Yesterday
accession of the United States Supreme
Court, in the Alabama case. threw the
supplicant back upon Congress for re-
dress of his wrongs. The outlook is
that he will find cold comfort there, for
the present.
The suggestion made to the disfran-
Chised Southern negro, when hoiled
down, is that about all that can be done
in his case is for Congress to cut down
the representation of the States which
disfranchise him. The State Legisla-
lures have right to prescribe conditions
for voting, which, in effect, dsfranchise
the black man. The Supreme Court has
no right to force the election officers to
put the debarred voters names upon the
registration lists; the court cannot take
charge of the elections. Whatever relief
IS afforded must come from the political
branch of the Government.
And at this juncture the political
branch of the Government is most as
suredly stacked against the negro The
political branch means the Republican
party in power, and that party is not
inclined to load itself with any more
burdens at this stage of the proceedings
NEXT CONGRESS WILL NOT TAKE
UP QUESTION.
Viewed in the cold light of what is
likely to happen, there is no more pros
pect of the next Congress taking up
for action the Southern Acknowledgement
and apportionment questions than there
is that Mark Hanna will transfer his
political allegiance to William Jennings
Bryan.
The disfranchisement and apportion-
ment question were fought out in the
last Congress, the decision then reach
ed to last until after the next presiden-
tial election. What will then follow is
not now to be said The time for tack
ling the ugly problems was when Judge
Crumpacl1er, Of Indiana and Representa-
tive Moody, of Massachusetts, and Rep
resentative Olmstead, of Pennsylvania,
and a few others called it up before sew
eral caucuses of Republicans of the
House.
Those caucuses still are remembered
There was one when q majority was in
favor of recommending a bill to reduce
the representation in Congress of the
States that DISTINGUISHED voters (and
that might include Massachusetts as well
as MississippD, but the efforts of two
men prevented that majority from reg
istering it's will. Those two men were
Do,
Speaker Henderson. BY the time the
Eext caucus met the majority had shift
ed Another caucus, and the duck was
dead. Reduction of representation was
shelved.
1t only Is fair to say that this action
could not have been maintained without
the sanction of Theodore Roosevelt. 1t
met his tacit approval--in fact his
avowed approval The President agreed
with the political advisers of Mr.. Can
mons and Mr.. Henderson's mind. Judge
Crumpacker and his confreres could get
no help from the White House and gave
up the fight.
ON EVE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The Republican managers will not, II
is said. permit the question to come up
to vex the party in the next Congress.
The Congress will begin its work upon
the eve of a Presidential election, and
the acts of the first session will be
scrutinlzed by the voters. 1t is admit
ted by all that this Presidential cam
paign is not to be a walk ever like the
last one. 1t will be contested and the
winner will have at least been aware that
he was in a fight.
The Republican managers do not pro-
pose. it is said. to handicap the party in
the North and East with an outbreak OF
of reducing Southern representation, or
OF taking Federal eognizance in any way
of the Southern elections questions,
would, in the opinion of the managers,
bring a protest from the Southern Demo
Gratis which would ALLEVIATE thousands of
Democratic votes. clinched by Mckinley,
fl ON the Republicans.
So, with Uncle Joe" Cannon IN the
chair. the Crumpackers and the Ohm
stcads in the House may expect every
time they bob up a head to have the
gavel SHE'D at them. They will hold
their peace and bide their time until af-
ter the ides of November 1904.
Yesterdays decision of the United
States Supreme Court merely cut off
another proposed channel of relief for
the dsfranchised negro, by depriving
him of the right to get that relief through
suit in equity, and limited that he
should seek his redress in another quar-
ter.