The Cairo bulletin., 1904-12-11


accoun ,of taefr color the law doe.
[ not bear cut tic Republican contouF
lion. In Louisiana, for instance, !
voter must be able to read and write
las in Mas sachn Ell -or nc must
1 own 500 worth OF nropcrty-as re.
quired in some northern sialos--ol
his father or grandfather must have
been entitled TO vote on Jan !. 1867.
Under this law all educated nagr1es
can vote aud all illitcrate neGrcc,
who own certain amount Of propcrte
can yo,c. Under the last provision all
white foreigners naluaIized s.nc'.
/ 1867, are their sons who are illterato
or haven't $500 worth Of property art
eliminated. Hence it can moi be said
that any man is disfranchise;l in Lou
isiana or North Carolina. where sim
liar law prevails, on. account OF his
color
The constitutions OF Missi sippi.
Louisiana and The 'wo Carolnas are
not near 50 tringant as those Of
Vermont, Massachusetts, AMI New
Hampshire The former contain
qualifications for suffrage the opera.
tons of which shut out those who
cannot read or write, excepting those
whose crandfathers were electors As
the negroes form the large.,t portion
Of the iliterate OF the south the law
bears heaviest upon them. The New
England constitutions contain similar
but more stringent qualifications
the operations of which prevent alienJ
ates. from voting. The south has
never averred that New England was
forcibly diCfranchising is foreign pop.
nlation, but the conclusion can be
drawn with as much fairness TO truth
as the deduction made by New Eng,
land with regard TO tie southern con
stitutions.
New Hampshire for ins ance, has
: voting population Of lSo9S7. Of
whom 1925 are illiterate Her for
eign voting population is $1,000 and
of these 1O.22S, or 81 per cent of the
total white illiterates, csn not read or
write. This state dlsquaiilds from
suffrage 'paupers, also persons ex
eused from paying taxes at their own
request, and those unable to read the I
state constitution in English, or
write Thirty per cent-nf he foreign
population OF New Hampshire is dis. |
tranchiseas and If this CLAW were ap. I
oiled to Mississippi 50 per cent of !
The negro voters would be disquali- |
led.
Massachusetts has voting popu
lation of Si3,465, of whom 34S,522 are
aliens OF the latter, f7,4SG or "a |
1er cen. of the total white illiteracy, |
are unlearned The Massachusetts |
disquaifies those who
cannot read or write, and if this law
was applied TO Louisiana G5 per cent |
of the negro voters would be disfran.
chised. or the ten thousand negro |
citizens of Massachusetts 10 per cent |
are DISTINGUISHED by the state consti'u-
ton, and if there is any state in the |
union where every negro should be al |
lowed to vote, 1t is Massachusetts.
Vermont has a total voting popula
ton of l0S,356. of whom 20,s46 are
aliens. Thirty-nine per cent of these |
foreigners are illitcrate and 20 per
cent Of the negro citizenry is in the
same class. No man can vote in Yer
mont without frs. obtaining the ap
rotation of the local board of civil au-
thority Thee boards can arbitrarily |
90 per cent of the voting
population of that state and If such a |
law existed in any southern state not |
a single negro could vote.
III the Republican party should |
pass The Plat bill 1t would commit a
gross violation of the constitution. |
There Is nothing to show that It would
have any conscientious scruples