The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-08
MIR. CARMACK WAKES WROTE Attacked Platt Bill in
 Senate. i THE EASTERN CORRUPTION Plays Measure to Reduce
 Representation. Tennesseean Says Pennsylvania and Delaware Are Far More Rotten
 Than Any State in
 South.
THE EASTERN CORRUPTION

Washington. Dec. 7.-(Special)- With characteristic boldness, Senator Edward W. Carmack spoke ou. today on Sena- tor Platt's bill to reduce Southern rep resentation in Congress. It Is said that the bill was handed the New York Sem ator by Henry B. Tremaine. a member of the Republican Club of New York.
 Discussion among members of both the Senate and House makes evident deal of skepticism as to the sincerity of the Platt bill, and 1t is doubted whether it will ever get out of the committee to a vote.
 Said Senator Carmack today: There are several remarkable things to be noted in MT. Platts bill. In the first place, he proposes a purely arbitrary reduction of representation in tho Southern States alone. The preamble recites that the bill proceeds under provision of Article XIV of the Consti- tuition which provides that where there is an Infringement of the right to vote exception certain specified causes, the basis of representation in such States shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such disfranchised citizens bears to the whole number of male citizens 21 years of age.
 By what process has MT. Platt or the Republican organization which framed his bill. arrived at the exact number of citizens In all the Southern States whose right to vote has been thus denied? There has been no in vestigation, official or otherwise. as to the effect which the various laws and constitutional provision in the South ern States have in limiting the fran chise? How did Mir. Platt find out, for instance. how many voters there are in Mississippi, who can neither read d clause of the Constitution nor explain its meaning when read to them?
 Another remarkable thing Is that the bill recites that the various so-call- ed disfranchising acts in the States named are unconstitutional as being In violation of the Fifteenth Amendment. Now a law that is unconstitutional is void. aud the only remedy Is to have 1t 50 declared by the courts. It Is plain usurpation of judicial functions for Con |. gress to arrogate the right to decide whether or not a State law violates the Constitution of the Uu States T repeat that there is but one way under our form of Government for dealing with an unconstitutional law, and that is to have it declared unconstitutional by the courts when 1t at once ceases to be law.
 "The Fourteenth Amendment pro- vides for a reduction of representation only in cases where the right to vote has been lawfully and constitutionally abridged--o~ in other words, 1t recog- nizes the right of the States to limit suffrage except in certain eases. pro vided they were willing to pay the pen- alty. In cases where the right to limit the suffrage Is absolutely denied, the Ft senth Amendment does not apply, as a matter of course.
 anfh Aupendn0ent- unIa4S. as some insist, it is entirely nulltfied by the Fifteenth, would apply to cases where the right to vote has been abridged for illiteracy or by property qualifications or for any other cause which the State may lawfully impose as a condition. The bill has been put into its present shape undoubtedly for the purpose of limiting its operations to the Southern States.
 Speaks on His Bill.
 "My resolution was not intended simply as a counter-irritant to the Platt bill, but to reach an acknowl- edged and growing evil. The collec- tion of immense sums of money from great corporations and the use of this money to debauch the electorate of the country is today tb greatest evil, ana one which will, If nvt checked. surely destroy the substance of free govern ment in this country. When. as lead ing Republicans in Pennsylvania de- clare, the ballot boxes in the city of Philadelphia are stuffed to the extent of S0,OO0 votes, S0.OO0 honest citizens are thereby practically dirsranchised. When Addicks's machine 1T Delaware buys voters by the thousand 1t not only disfranchises the corrupted voters but nullifies the votes of an equal num- Der of honest citizens; and these are but illustrations of what Is going on in numbers of Northern States. For many years the attention of the people and of the world has been concentrated upon the alleged election wrongs per petrated in the Southern States.
 The Lodges and the Crumpackers and the Platts. coming from States rotten and rocking with political corruption, have felt free to point the finger of scorn at Southern election laws and practices. I believe that Southern Democrats should take the lead in an aggressive agitation which may lead to vital reforms and which will inci- dentaIly expose the Pharisaism and hy- pocrisy of our critics.
 "For this reason I want a thorough inyestigation into the expenditure of money in the last three Presidential elections, and the sources from which that money was derived. There are some who fear that the agitation of this question will strengthen the move mant to reduce Southern representa- tion, but I am inclined to think it will have the contrary effect. But, how ever that may be, it would be better to lose part of our representation, at once than to have the whole of par alyzed for any good and useful pur ose by a constant threat or apprehension of such reduction. I believe that such an investigation as I have proposed would demonstrate beyond question that Bryan was defeated in 1896 by the sheer power of bribery and corruption"
 R. H. Watkins.