The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1909-10-09
Provisions OF The
Proposed Amendment

Under the proposed amendment,
o.rsnns are divided into two classes,
privileged and unprivileged.
Which do you belong to.
Among the privileged and specially
f,,nred classes are the following male
ci,izens, provided they have the pre-
s,ribed qualifications as To- age and
residence.
ISt \ person who, ON the Ist OF
January 1860. or prior thereto, was en-
;tled To vote under the laws OF tbs
S,,,c ar any other State oi the United
states wherein he then resided.
DO Won belong To this class and are
con IN position Ia prove ~
5ud ! male descendant oi such
person. 80, -, ,L:.
scr,inn do YOU think il will be as easy
as il !, to qualify under the present
simple constitutional provisions' You
NAV he q descendant ui such voter
hct are YOU prepared to swear Ia this
as a TACT and, II i, is disputed. to prove
!, by satisfactory evidence.
ard \ foreign born citizen OF the
Limited States naturalzed between the
Ist Of January, 1869. and November,
1909
p Are YOU such and can YOU show IL
uh \ male descendant al such per
son.
II ynu claim. under this. YOU may be
rur Ia considerable trouble 10 aScer-
lain lust when your ancestor was nat
uralizcd unless YOU have an easy con
science and are willing To take an oath
without knowing very much about the
facts In the latter case you may be
liable iur perjury. Suppose you or
ynur ancestor were naturalizcd at some
other date,
And again. j, it fair to others OF
yonr countrymen who may come here
i,,rr Ia mt them in an entirely differ
en-, class: This i hardly the spirit OF
american lair play.
sth The next class ui persons en-
,,,Ird to vote because they belong to
a ,pccial class. are the men VINO own
$500 worth oi property or whose wives
own that amount ul property, ON when
taxes have been paid Tor two yearS'ln
the latter case a man comes III SIMPLY
lbtcauSc his wife owns properly, al
hhu' gh shc can not vote herself. ne
applicant must produce the receipts
bor the taxes paid.
! Unless the applicant comes III under
any OF the above classes he can not
vote unless he complies with the so
called educational test. This test re-
qurcs the applicant III his own hand
writing, with pen and ink. without any
aid suggestion or mcmorandum what
soevcr. and without any question or
direction addressed to him by any oiti-
Ger OF registration, To make applica-
ton to register correctly, stating IN
such application the answers io at
least fifteen questions which are not
asked him. Persons who are unable
20 comply with this requirement solely
because they are physically disabled
are excused from complying but no
provisions are made Tor testing their
knowledge There is probably not one
person in a thousand who can answer
these questions correctly. Remember
that the questions are not asked and
you are not permitted To use any writ
ten memorandum II is not an cduca-
tona but memory test pure and
simple II YOU are obliged to- comply
%S'-5-.. you will probably lose your
vote. There will be thousands Of other
voters otherwise qualified disran-
chiscd by reason 81 this provision.
The above is a brici outline OF the
\ leading features 81 the proposed
amendment
You are recommended Ia vote
against the amendment iur the follow
ing reasons:
lSt. II is actuatcd by the same gen
eral purpose rs was the Poe amend
mcnt which wa. so diSa>trouSly de-
ieatcd in 1905,
and 1t is I'M American. un-dcmo-
cratic and unfair
ord 1t is unconstitutional and may
be So declared by the Courts
4th. 1t sets up a privileged and
hereditary class oi voters.
- sth. 1t furnishes ma educational
test. the >n-callcd examination being
a mere device to trip the persons who
are subjected to i.
9th II puts too much power in the
hand, ~ the officers ni registration,
9TH. It cndangcrS the rights OF every
man, white ar black. not known to be
3 in sympathy with the party in power
9Th. While providing iur an appeal
to the Courts. this proves Ia be practi-
cally useless il any considerable num-
Der at persons are DISTINGUISHED Few
men are either willing or able to ex
pend the time, money and trouble to
get themselves rcin>tated ON the books
after they have been turned down by
the registration officers.
9Th. The object ui the amendment
is partisan and its results will be To
iastcn one party government ON the
State and to render Intellectual the in
dependent sentiment in national. State
and local elections and To build up
powerful party machine
Go to the polls on November end
and vote against the amendment
- Woods Descriptive q