The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-02

The national legislatofs, who, twelve years later. offered the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constftu- ton. did not have in mind at the time existed in this State. They did not wish to admit of an educational qualification because their aim was to provide for negro voting. and they reansea s,taad that an Tn the reconstructed Southern States. would be entirely effective In prevent ling the negro inhabitants from cast ling their votes. In most of the States we have in Massachusetts never obtain ed favor. It was part, and, on the whole an exceedingly salutary part, of the Knownothing agitation of half a century ago. We were at the time having large numbers of immigrants coming to our shores from Ireland. In an entirely uneducated condition, for at that time the national school system did not exist in the United Kingrom and there was no method such as there now is of public education. It was l thought desirable to insist on this min imum amount of knowledge as a pre- and unquestionably 1t has had the ef- feet of stimulating the desire to ac- quire this minimum of education on the part of many thousands of our in-
 stiIl, the result is a marked diminu- ton in the vote of Massachusetts Iwhen compared with other States of the Union. Thus the ayerage vote in President at the last election in this State was 31,793. or to 6 of the pop ulation of the State; but in the State of Washington the average vote in dent was 4S,3S3-that Is, quite 30 per lcent more than the vote in Masachu- setts, or in the ratio of 1 to 1 of pop ulation. In Iowa, wisconsin, Kansas, | fa nd nt the ratio of voters to population was about 1 to { 1-2, so that we do not make favorable showing in this re- spect Indeed, Kentucky Maryland and Missouri. States having quite a large negro population, make in this respect a larger showing-that is, in the ratio of voters to population-than does the State of Massachusetts.
 The probability is that, if, under the constitutional provision. our represent alton was cut down because we had this educational qualification. we should be given only ten or, at most, eleven
 the fourteen that we now have. It seems to us that if Congress were to | Iattempt a change of this kind it would be simply aceording ,o IIc,sr a premium g to ig cratic republic Is to continue to main tain itself through an indefinite future, it must be in consequence of the in teIligence of its citizens If our coun-
 
 people who were without education, who could neither read nor write in the English language, we do not be- lieve 1t would be possible to maintain unimpaired our political institutions for single year. If, therefore, edu- cation is a prime requisite in our po- liticaI system. why should 1t not be made a condition-in the qualification of citizens to the full enjoyment of the lrights and privileges of citizens?
 | It will, of course, be said that what
 has been aimed at by restrictiSA of Congressional representation is not Massachusetts, but the States In the South where, in consequence of educa- 1 tional restrictions and property quail lifcations, the negroes have been de-
 prived of their right to vote. But even would be very difhcult to provide a method of determining how many per sons, should be permitted to vote Texas has white popualtion of 2,426,669, but the total vote that 1t cast at the last Presidential election was 232,542. Iowa has a population of 2,281, 1,S53-that is, Iabout 100000 less than the white pop lulation of Texas-but at the last elec-
 4S5.703. or more than twice that of Texas. Now. either the white inhab- litants of Texas did not take the trouble
 to go to the polls and vote because they lbelieved it was a foregone conclusion, or large number of these white peo- pie were deprived by the educational Restrictions from voting. The popula- the last election 10000 more votes than
 Massachusetts, but the State cast at the last election 400, 900 more votes than Massachusetts. California has about half as many inhabitants as Massachu- setts, but cast three-quarters as many votes. With us it would be difficult to determine how many were kept away from the polls by indifference and how many because of our constitutional re- stricti Besides, as has been point Ia r.T t,A Do
 striction in their case applies quite gem
 erally throughout the Union, while
 some States accord them equal rights with men. If Congress is to rule in favor of ignorance, why not also in favor of woman suffrage7 But may 1t not be the case that the truest test of popular representation is that each State shall be represented in Congress by it's numbers, as shown by the census. without regard to whether all vote or do not vote?