The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-10-27
POLL TAX AND FRANCHISE.
Question Discussed From Viewpoint
 of Present Law.

To the Editor of The Age-Herald
 An effort is being made to bring before the public as live question the effect of that clause in the election law which makes the non-payment of poll tax dis franchise the delinquent. It is claimed that very large number of white males of voting age refuse to pay this tax. The Montgomery Advertiser claims that this clause disfranchises 5000 otherwise quail flied voters. The Age-Herald goes fur ther and gives figures to show that 100,- GOO at least "compose this hopeless army of the disfranchised-hope because the poll tax clause is cumulative" MT. Alex London follows The Age-Herad, adopts their figures and then goes further. Re- ferring to those who are disfranchised, he says: If they do not constitute a
 majority, they soon will" And then
 predicts revolt" that this majority
 will assert itself;' that no intelligent
 majority will submit to a minority, etc.
 So that we may consider that an attempt
 will be made to alter or repeal the dis franchising clause of the poll tax, and that discussion is in order.
 i First as to the number who are dis franchised by the clause, it is not known,
 and may not be 10 per cent of the 100000
 calculated by The Age-Herald If the author of that calculation in The Age
 Herald of October 20 will apply the same line of reasoning and the same assump-
 tions to the year 1900. he will arrive at | the reduction ad absurdum that there
 was an army of 67,000 dlsfranchised by
 the poll tax clause in the year 1900, al
 though the clause was only adopted by
 the convention in the year 1901
 The disfranchising clause Is right in I principle, for while citizenship gives the | right to vote, it also imposes certain du-
 ties, one of which is the duty of sharing | in the burdens of the state. To demand | the privileges Is to acknowledge that you will fulfill the duties of citizen. Fail ure to fulfill the duties endangers the | privileges. One of the duties of the citi- zen is to pay his due share of such taxes
 as are imposed by the laws, and the law | lays down the penalty for the non-pay- ment of any tax.
 | The tax in question is for good pur- pose, and is levied, like the road tax, in
 such way as to reach a number of citi-
 zens who are not called on to pay ordi- nary taxes. The tax is special tax and is levied in special way for dual | purpose The men who framed the dis 1 franchisng clause had difficult task
 before them. Their primary object was
 to limit the suffrage of a race without | coming into collision with the fourteenth | and fifteenth amendments to the United l States constitution Whatever law they
 made was to attain it's object indirectly,
 without mention of race or color.
 They knew that the negroes were more 1 ignorant and had less public spirit than i the white men, and they believed that
 few white men would refuse to pay so
 small ia sum as $1.5O per year towards education. The men who framed the
 poll tax clause were not bunglers, but 1 shrewd, farseeing statesmen. All the l clauses referring to the franchise are
 admirably designed to attain a certain
 end And this poll tax clause in particu-
 lar has, so far as it can be judged, been eminen.1y successful. For instance, the proportion of negroes in the state is four | ninths, and in this county they paid only
 IF per cent of the total amount raised
 for poll tax
 | In the year 1904 Birmingham paid for
 poll tax $SS25. of which the negroes paid
 SIP. In Jefferson county, less six towns, 1 there was paid for poll taxes $3521, of which the negroes paid sS9 In three
 towns of the county only s6 was paid by