The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-19
SEAT IN CONGRESS-
NOT FOR DAIMLER
SOUTH CAROLINA NEGRO
FAILS IN HIS EFFORT TO GUST
LEVER.

House Committee on Elections No. L
Was Not Elected-It Does Not Say
That Lever Was So That He Is Left
I'm Such n Position as He Would
Occupy II no Contest Had Been
Made for His Seat.
Washington, March 1S.-In making
its report to-day in favor of Mr.. Lever
in the Dantzler-Lever contest from the
Seventh South Carolina district, House
Committee on Elections No. takes
the ground that the investigation
shows that DantzIer, a colored man,
was not elected. At the same time
the committee refuses to say that Lee
yer was elected, and the report leaves
him in position as if no contest had
been made.
The basis of Dantzler's claim was
that the South Carolina constitution
adopted in 1895 was contrary to the
reconstruction act of June rs, 1868, re-
admitting South Carolina and other
states to representation in Congress,
which contained no provision as to ed
ucational and property qualification as
fixed in the present constitution and
laws passed under it. He averred that
if certain citizens of his district had
been allowed to vote under the pro-
visions of the act of 1868 he would
have been elected.
The report of the committee passes
over this claim by declaring it to be
plain that Dantzler was not elected,
but it goes on to say that if the House
should declare that there was no valid
election, then there could be no one
chosen to fill the vacancy thus created
until the constitution and election laws
of the state should be changed. If
the House should declare the seat va
cant and thus set a precedent, the re-
port goes on to say, that as practical
ly the same fundamental conditions"
exist in Virginia, North Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas, the
House would be obliged to unseat
almost all of the membership from
those states, until the constitutions
should be changed so as to comply with
the reconstruction act. Continuing, the
report says:
For Courts to Say.
However, desirable it may be for a
legislative body to retain control of
the decision as to the election and
qualification of it's members, it is quite
certain that a legislative body is not
the ideal body to pass judicially upon
the constitutionality of the enact
ments of other bodies. We have in
this country a proper forum for the
decision of the constitutional and 9TH
er judicial questions. If any citizen
of South Carolina who was entitled to
vote under the constitution of this
state in 1868, is now deprived by the
provisions of the present constitution
from voting, he has the right to ten
der himself for registration and for
voting, and in case his right is denied,
to bring suit in a proper court for the
purpose of enforcing his right,
or even recover damage for
it's denial That suit can be car
.ried by him, if necessary, to the SUI
preme Court of the United States. If
the Supreme Court of the United
States shall declare in such case that
the fundamental conditions in the re-
construction acts were valid and con-
stitutional, and the state constitutions
are in violation of these acts and hence
invalid and unconstitutional, every
state shall be compelled to Immediate
ly bow in submission to the decision.
On the contrary the decision Of the
House of Representatives upon this
grave judicial question would not be
considered as binding or effective in
any case except the one acted upon or
as a precedent for future action IN the
House ITSELF"