The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-07-10
QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS.


Although the Patterson organs ant
partisans are behaving since the pr
mary as though they thought thei
candidate could be elected in Noyem
Der BY the some crowd that voted To-
him in Saturdays primary, little IN
vd sion Of that vote would soOr
cob - %. them Of their error. Had
tha Jeen a poll tax requirement IL
Saturdays primary Mr.. Carmack'i
majority in the State would have beer
overwhelming. In this county it would
have been not less than 1000 and prob
ably more. OF the 1900 votes thai
Patterson received it Is safe to say
that 1000 of them were under fifty
years of age and of this number less
than half are poll tax payers. On the
other hand comparatively few OF
those who voted for the temperance
champion fail to make their contri'
button of 50 annually to the school
fund.
No Democrat should vote in the pri.
mary who is not qualified to vote at
the election where the nominee of the
primary must submit his claims. 1t
is unjust and Unfair to the taxpayers
to have foisted upon them a party
nominee who is not the choice of a
majority of those who contribute to
the support of the government. Since
a primary nomination in Tennessee is
generally equivalent to an election
there is not and has never been any
good reason why the qualifications
for voters should not be just as strict
in the preliminary contest as in the
general election. The primary should
be guarded and hedged about by just
the same restrictions and qualifica-
stions which are imposed upon the
voter in the general election.
The poll tax requirement is Demo
cratic. The Democratic party, twenty
years ago, over the bitter and de-
termined opposition of the Republican
party, enacted a law making the pay
ment of poll taxes prerequisite to
vote in d general election. The party
has stood by and defended that law
ever since. 1t has been the policy OF
this State during all that time to with |
hold the sacred privilege of the bal |
ot from those who shirk their duty as |
good citizens. The State has said |
hat no citizen should participate in |
he affairs Of government who will not
Jay his proportion of the taxes neces-
AIRY for its support. No citizen should
hesitate to pay his poll tax. This tax
S spent for the most laudable purpose
or which any of the public funds are
expended. 1t is used exclusively to
Import and maintain the public
chools without which free govern
yould be a failure.
No man who has not enough interest
4 the affairs of his State to make his
contribution to the public
chools should expect to participate
l the election of those who will direct
re expenditure of the funds con-
'ibuted by those who do pay their
lxes. In the interest of the Demo-
'atic party; in the interest of good
overnment and as an act of simple
Istice the governing authorities OF
.e party should prescribe qualifiea-
ons for voters that will insure an
,nest expression of the popular will.
Because the first marriage Of record, 2
at between Adams and Eve was
erely mutual contract between the
incipals, Kansas City Court has
stained common law marriage. "
lie court in finding for the wife In Is
suit against the administrator of o
r late alleged husband said The n
arriage of Adam and Eve was not only lN
thout witnesses, but so far as the rec Il
DIS show, they married themselves. Il
) repeated the contract and she ac- CT
iesed by silence" Common law F
arriages, that is an agreement to live Of
man and wife without any cere- lie
my were generally recognized in a
my States in the early days of the g;
public and were not abolished In o'
w York until a few years ago, but pr
W the ceremonial marriage is the di
ly nuptial contract recognized In of
liority of the states. D.