The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-21
NEGRO VOTES
 OUTSIDE LAW Federal Amendments Are
 Not Legal. POSITION OF MIR. BEARD Florida Solon Makes an Able
 Speech.
.sesOlution Adopted Disfranchises Ne- ITO With View to Secure First Ruling by Supreme Court
 e1 the United States.
BY J. H. REESE.

Tallahassee, Fla, April 2o.-(Spe- o1al)-That the Fourteenth and Eff teenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States were neither con- additionally proposed nor constitu- eionally ratified. and are not parts of the Constitution. was the subject of an address before the State Senate by Senator John Beard Tuesday.
 The speech was in support of an amendment offered to the Constitution of the State of Florida by Mir. Beard. the effect of which is to disfranchise the negro. MT. Beard claims that if the amendment proposed Is ratified by the people of Florida, it will force the constitutionality of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments before the Supreme Court of the United States for the first time.
 He is satisfied from the investiga. lions so exhaustively made by himself that the amendments will be declared void. In view of the wide publicity which it is reasonable to predict will he given to this subject precipitated by the Florida statesman. 8 portion of his speech on the subject Is given:
 Views of MT. Beard.
 MT. Beard sums up the purpose of his resolution in the concluding para graph of his speech as follows:
 "I concede that 1t would be useless to appeal to the political department of the Federal Government to inaugu- rate a repeal of these amendments. In that department of the Government which Is actuated and controlled by sentiment prejudice, malice or poltti- cal interest, or all, our adversaries are in an overwhelming majority; and while a large majority of them may agree with Secretary Root that negro suffrage was an experiment which has proven a failure, they have not the Independence, manliness, frankness or political courage to undo these great wrongs by repeating these amend ments. My proposition is not to ap- peal to the political department and ask for a repeal of these amendments, but to appeal to the judicial depart rnent, which Is supposed to be con- trolled only by the law and the facts, upon the ground that these amend ments were never constitutionally pro- posed or constitutionally ratified, and are not now parts of the Federal Con- stitution.
 "If to be conservative means to pre- serve existing conditions and if it is desirable to preserve existing condi- tions, then my proposition is both con- servative' and expedient. Absolute white and Democratic supremacy is now maintained in the Southern States by the unity of the white people who settle their political differences by white primary elections. But the grow ing intensity of antagonism between the two factions in the Democratic party in this and every other Southern State. must indicate to every thought full man that issues of such magnitude will arise-andI fear at no distant day between the two factions that they cannot be determined by primary elec- tions. Both factions will contend for mastery in the primary. The losing factions. unwilling to accept the deter imitation of those issues by the pri- mary, will appeal to the general and constitutional election. With the white people in this way divided upon these issues. the negro will hold the balance of power, and each faction will bid for this ignorant, venal vote in the gen. eral and constitutional election. The negro being again forced by these con- tending factions into politics, and knowing that he holds the balance Of power. will demand and get conces- sions in consideration of his vote.
 Pessimist on Future.
 Political equality under such con- ditions is inevitable, and certain amount of social equality an unavoid- able corollary. Under such conditions absolute white supremacy in the South ern States. so essential to the preserva- ton of civilization in those States, will be thing of the past.
 '"rhe proposition that I make is con- servative, expedient, necessary; and