The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1908-10-08

:" The Workings of the disfranchise-
nient law on the people, white and
black alike, in the Southern States,
the same law which the Democrats
seek to have enacted iii West Virgin
Ia, was exhibited to the e5pubIic gaze
by Hon. Upshur Higginbo ofham. CHAIR
man Of the Third Congressional com
mittee, Thursday night, when he
quoted in his address to- the voters OF
West Cha arleston,- accurate figures to
prove to what extent the people rule
In che solid South, the. only Demo
cratic State sof fhe Union. < T.
N>s~ A Startling Comparison. -: &,
The Third Congressional district,
he !, asserted. has "a population OF
l88,452 and polls. a vote Of 37,683.
We have one Congressman, In this
district. In the States, Of Mississippi
and Florida they have eleven Con
gressmen, with a. total population of
2,l63,811,s and & the vote polled in
there two States was only 42,567, or
in these two Southern States only
1884 more tahn in the Third district
Of West Virginia. Z. ,.,.sa 10y s.. y,
=" Mississippi and Georgia. s< =
The States of Misslssi ppf Ind Geor-
gia have twenty Congressman, with
a total population of 8, 787,60I, and
yet only 48.3S2 voters were allowed
to go. on the polls and deposit their
ballot West Virginia with Ave, Con-
'gressmen, a. population Of 958,80O,
>polled a total vote Of T182,695, or
1874, 1913 votes more than the two
Southern States, although, their pop
1lation was four times as great.
= Kanawha and Fayette. ~
AT the s4&iast general election in
West Virginia, SKanawha! and Fayette
counties polled! more votes by 800
men than the whole seven. Congress
sionals districts in the State of Mis-
stssippi. ;tG:Z:: 4 s= 3 1& IS.
he sftsfs ttSb os 81 arSgsanla Has paps,z
]. .slaatpI sasI {. ef 90 q more than west
Virginia and, twice, the. : nlm hers g of
Cong ressme en- The vote pofied Ia the
state Of Virginia; id 1900 was ri 5
729, whereas 3the total vote In the
Third and Fifth districts of West
Virginia was 1878 83l these two dis
tricts polling 1854 more votes than
the..:Mhoie State OF Virginia. 81. E..
Littte Rhody and Mississippi. =
Rhode, island has, a population Of
480,000, and has two congressman,
polling a vote Of 65,5QO. Mississip-
pi has, three and half times the pop
ulation Of Rhode Island, and Rhode
Island Dolled four times the number
Of votes polIed in Mississippi. : .&T
The Third district Of Mississippi
at the last election polled 40 moro
votes than was cast at the. same cleo
tion, in Clay county, one of the small
est counties Of the Third West Vir-
gina district. ~-...,.s ::,.* ...<
Seven Southern States. |@
In se$en Of the. Southern States,
Chairman Higginbotham showed
from his compilation Of the returns
that less than 1000 votes were poll
ed in each of the four Congressional
districts; less than $500 in each Of
eight districts; less than 1900 in
each of fourteen Districts; less than
1000 in each of twenty districts, and
less than 5 900 in each of twenty
four Congressional districts. Seven
Congressional districts in the State
Of Mississippi cast less than $500
votes each and only one cast more
than $500. -.
The Southern Ratio
The common ratio ia the Southern
States, where the Democratic. party
is in power, Is that 80 per cent. of
the colored men are disfrahchised
and six per cent of the white voters
No law which the Democrats could
frame would be held by the courts to
be constitutional, unless it disfran-
chised both races for, the, Federal
constitution guarantees, that no yo-
ter shall be disfranchised because of