The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-06-25
THE SUFFRAGE PLANK.


IL 10 Going to Create Great TAX anu
Become q Mig Issue.
Chicago Special to New York Heraio.
The talk tomorrow will not be OF tne
tariff plank, but of the Southern sur
frage plank. That will appeal 10 al
thoughtful men of both parties as the
most important utterance OF the con.
vention, because IL means the 81 eatSst
truggie In American politics since the
civil war. The declaration means that
the Republicans are at last pledged 10
take up the question Of the re lI,nc5erai
college of the Southern States that re-
strict the suffrages of the negro Vot-
ers.
tional politics until today when the
party, under the leadership of Presi-
dent Roosevelt. practically admits that
1t Is hopeless task to try to get the
South. and makes an entirely new at
tack by planning to cut of the South
ern representation.
II e freely admitted here tonight
that this new stand of the party on
the Southern question may cut an i'm
portant figure at the St. Louis Conven-
ton: The raising of the issue, with
candidate who does new and daring
things. and undoubtedly will be ex-
pected to make a stern effort to carry
out the policy. will make the Demo-
Gratis of the South inclined to lay aside
personal differences and look for the
They have been for Judge Parker but
Tammany says Parker cannot win. They
Will now want the very strongest can
didate they can get. and will spend
such one If they have any doubt
about the running abilities of Judge
Parker they are likely to turn. in the
great emergency which confronts them,
to a stronger candidate. IL he can be
found.
This candidate may be Cleveland. If
there Is any means of getting him to
consent to serve.
He is the man who is regarded as the
strongest to run against Roosevelt.
The South has not felt warmly toward
Mr.. Cleveland, but under these new con-
dltions the South would swallow all its
preJudices and vote for any man who
has gone on record in favor of the con-
tcntion of the South on the race ques-
tion. This Mr.. Cleveland has done.
The negro suffrage plank also brings
Senator German prominently in the
public eye as candidate. always as
Stunning that the nomination of Judge
Parker is already doubtful
Senator German is the foremost ad-
vocate of the rights of the Southern
states to regulate their own political
AFFAIRS. He was the leader of the Sem
ate when the Democrats defeated the
Lodge force bill in 1900, and under his
leadership the state Of Maryland has
become Democratic again. through the
operation of an election law of his own
devising, which excludes many negroes
from voting.
Altogether. the adoption of the South
ern suffrage plank today has injected
into the Presidential situation, as it
exists here and as 1t will exist in St.
Louis In little more than a week, new
elements of absorbing interest. 1t is
likely to revive interest in the Repub-
lican organization. and 1t will undoubt-
edly infuse life and spirit into the Dem
ocratic Party.
1t should be recalled that Senator
Lodge. who is responsible for today's
platform, was the author of the last
force bill the Republicans tried to pass
and is imbued with the Massachusetts
view of the Constitution. that "all men
are created free and equal" His in
huence is seen in today's declaration,