Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1904-05-20
NEGRO DISf RANG SlSEMENI /.

That under existing cart de-
risious and present legal practice
the southern states have lawfully ae-
complish the disfranchisemen Cd
the negro; that the only step til
federal government can TAX is to
reduce proportionately the south 5
repre- scntation in the congress ana
the electoral college and that jul
dicia relief is to be had only by an
Anliksly extension of jurisdiction OF
the United States supreme court by
virtue of that tribunals own nat
power, were the conclusions reached
by Il. Burnham Moffat, of The New
York bar, in the principal address
before the American Social Science
Association at its Boston convention.
Mr.. Moffats address was he ard
with the closest attention. 1t was
most thorough and scholarly cen
tributonA enriched by more than
two Sc,.'e references to CONVENTION
minutes, state constitutions aud d :
cisons, both state and federal and
will be notable feature Of Tho pub
lished proceedings Of the present
meeting, for its reference value
alone Nh Moffat said in part:
Within the past few years seven
states in the south have adopted new
constitutions. amended their I Old
ones OF resorted to legislative de-
vices which have resulted III the
practical disfranchiseme mt of the
II gro voter in each. Mississippi
constitution SO framed became tffec-
tive November l, 1890, by plcclama-
ton without submission to the peo-
PIE: and the supreme court of MisslS-
sippi subsequently declared il To
have been lawfully adopted as the
organic law Of the state. South car
o.ina's new constitution went int
operation December 81, 1895. Louis
ianas cunv yntiCI. despite the fact
that the act Of the legislature which
constituted it proved that tive new
constitution must be submitted TO
tn people, voted this restrict II I'll
ira vires, and the new constitution
was promulgated without submits
sion. The supreme court & Louis
lana has since declared it to have
been duly adopted and TO have been
effective since May y. 1898. North
constitution, which submitted an
entirely new suffrage article. was
adopted at q general election and
became effective July j. 1902 Ma
rylanu did not attempt 10 change her
organic law. but at an extraordinary
session the legislal passed an act
imposing an educational Gualltica-
ZION, Aiahama's new constitution
vas ratified by the people and be-
came effective \ vcmber os, 1901
In Virginia again, although the
act Of the legislature distinctly pro-
vided that any constitution trance
should be- submitted 10 the peoi le
the convention decid i TO proclaim
TN constitution without submissi n.
It became effective July 10, 1902.
ThaI can be no reasonah q doubt
that the intent of these various con-
ventions was to frame their eonstl-
buttons to stand the test of the fiji
tenth amendm< nj To the federal cCl-
stitutIn and at the same TIM with
hold the ballot from the great mass
Of negro voters. The intent f the
Trainers of the law can. of course.
have no bearing On the validity OF
the measure except in so far rs thar
intent may be gathered from It's
phraseology cr may be properly IN
terable from the results obtained by
provisions; and what the motiv,
may be that prompted the individua1
delegates To vote as they did is never
a proper subject ct judicial inquiry.
Nevertheless ii is inter sting and in
s,ructive. in considering these W
suffrage provisions from the stand
point of the legal critic. to note the
frank admissions in speeches ON the
floors Of the conventions that the
object sought was the disfranehise-
ment of the negro, and the result,
certainly, has been, generally speak
ing, to disfrapchise him.