The Washington herald., 1909-01-04
Former Republican Senator
Replies to DR.. Taylor.
TnLMAN IS GIVEN PRAISE
w E Chandler Takes Exception to
Magazine Article Written by
Former Minister TO Spain on The
Solid south a National Calamity
Warns Against Hasty Retreat
Editor The washirrton Hsrala:

n the January number OF the NOTti
American Review on The Solid South q
National Calamity, II occurred TO m,
that my letter might be read with in
terest BY other Democrats VINO cOatem
plate hastily rushing into the ranks OF
the Republican party under a misappre-
hensi0n as 10 the position Of that party
and its Presidents on the question OF
suffrage for colored citizens; so send
you a copy OF my letter for publication.
Please also take notice that in the same
number OF the Review there IS an article
entitled -Invalidity Of the Fifteenth
Amendment" by Mr.. Justice ". F. Nor
riS, retired, CT the Court Of Appeals of
the District Of Columbia. IN ten pages
he deliberately demonstrates the uncon-
stitutionality Of the amendment; says ii
was conceived in iniQuity;;" that instead
Of evading IL in its operation. 1t should
be wholly expunged from the statute
book by proper judicial construction, and
apparently Judge Morris intends TO have
this done But he should talk his dread
full purpose over with DR.. Taylor before
rendering a final judgment as 10 the best
method OF wholly suppTessing the colored
vote Possibly Senator TnlmRn has a
method better than that Of either jurist,
--0Iy Dear Dr. Taylor: have read with
care and interest your article in the
North American Review in advocacy of
the abandonment by the South OF its
political solidity-so that any man there
may as safely and happily be q Repubii-
can as al the North. You recognize
the question of negro suffrage as hav-
ing been disposed Of by the 'constitu-
tiOnal and efficient remedy devised by
the great and resOlUte Senator George
Of Mississippi application through
the reserved powers Of the States of the
principle that only the specially qualified
few possess the right 10 vote and you
rejoice that when in the application Of
this principle persons are deprived Of the
franchise by reason OF iIIiteracy or
poverty they can gain the right 10 vote
by removing the disability
Legal Research.
Knowing your capacity for deep legal
research. and recognizing your pre-
eminent fairness hitherto as a publicist,
I looked at once TO see your method Of
treatment OF that fundamental feature Of
the plan Of the great and resolute Sen
ator George. by which, after depriving
citizens OF the franchise BY reason Of
iIliteracy. he proceeded to enact that the
deprivation should not apply to white
voters, but only 10 black citizens. and.
10 my surprise. I found you made no
allusion TO this little peculiarly Of what
you call Senator Georges new system OF
Southern constitutions. upon whose lu-
minous wings you say the South has
risen from her ashes
Please, in your less sanguiue moments.
consider the effect Of your omitted feath-
ers Of the luminous wings upon which
you have taken your inspiring fight. The
iliterate whites viii have no occasion 10
gain the right 20 vote by removing the
disability for they have never been de-
prived OF It. The IiiteraJe blacks will
as you know, never get the right 20 vote
merely BIZ claiming that they can read
and write. Thev alone will De tested. and
they viii have not only 10 read the Con-
stitutiOn, but give a rational intsrpreta-
ton thereof to the boards OF white cleo
tiOn inspectors. Your luminous wings are
transparent receptions. Senator Tillman
IS franker than you are. He SAYS that
the negroes shall not be allowed 10 vote
Having omitted 70 give any notice what
ever TO the fundamental and fatal Objec-
ton 10 your lUminous-winged system Of
suppressing black votes. while in no wise
reducing white votes. you proceed 10 de
prive the nation Of whatever benefits
may be derived from reducing repre-
sentation IN Congress in proportion as
the suffrage IS suppressed This the
fourteenth amendment clearly and ex-
pressly SAYS shall be done The South
gets forty Representatives and forty cleo
tOral votes by reason OF the existence Of
the cOl0red voters who do not vote This
wrong. you say. shall never be righted. I
You say there Is a settlement which IS |
a sealed book. which can never be. opened
by anything less than a political revolu- /
ton You say that upon the basis Of /
the present suppression Of the negro vote
CT the South by the luminous system Of 4
Senator George. which have correctly /
described, and 70 the damnable part Of I
which you have not alluded. Presidents 4
Mckinley and Roosevelt have made
peace with the South upon a basis de- 4
vised by herself
Or Taylor, you are grossly mistaken 4
The Republican party in its recent plat
form declared Itself pledged TO enforce /
the thirteenth. fourteenth. and fifteenth
amendments, and Mr.. Taft has recently
denounced in apt and UnmistakabIe ian
guage a pending Maryland system Of I
suppTessing cOlOred Fotes-exactiy the
same system as that which had the IumI-
nous wings Fabricated by the great and
resOlute Senator George. Has Mr.. Taft
already kindled anew the fires of the
revolution which you say Presidents Nc
kinley and Roosevelt extinguished? Mr.
Roosevelt, on November :, said that he
did not believe Southern representation
would be cut down. because he believed
that the election laws would be constitr1-
tionaily enforced without discrimination
as to color. on December : Mr.. Taft de-
ClsTed 70 the North Carolina Society that
the fifteenth amendment should be main
tanned, as the convention which nom
mated him had proclaimed il should be:
and in his announcement against the
proposed Maryland movement he declares
what he VIII not consider an enforcement
of the fifteenth amendment, namely. the
system Of the great and resolUte Senator
George, upon which you have built your
whole declaration OF a settlement Of the
negro question. which. however exists
only In your optimistic imagination
which would be commendable If it did
not unwisely ignore situation which all
Americans would do well fairly to con
front, and not weakly to run away FROM h
Effort to Reduce.
What was the recent effort 10 reduce
Southern representation which. you say,
persisted in temperature below the freez-
ing point?' Was it the bill which passed /
the House by unanimous Republican +.
vote and is now pending in the Senate2
Representation is not likely 20 be reduced
because the suffrage is UneonstitutIonaIIy
suppressed 1t is rather the duty Of Con
gress TO prevent the suppression. That
the North viii submit to the forty Rep 7
resentatives and forty electors in the J
Southern States based tpon the coIorad 7