The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1910-07-01
NECRO'S RIGHT
TO THE BALLOT
is DISCUSSED

Oklahoma City, July Lat a recent
meeting OF the Old Hickory Demo
cratic club, Attorney Elmer Fulton
gave short talk upon the proposed
amendment to the Oklahoma constitu-
tion, commonly called the grand
father clause which, he said, was
enough to make the rankest republi
can vote for it. Mr. Fuller based his
argument upon the proposition that
the fourteenth amendment to the con-
stitution Of the United States, giving
the negro the right Of franchise, had
never been legally passed.
He contended that any lawyer or
fair-minded citizen, If he examines the
records, viii agree with him. He
urged the democrats to give publicity
to the facts. He says they are borne
out by congressional records and are
incontroyertible The question. Mr..
Fulton says, was first brought to his
attention by speech Of Senator
Money of Mississippi, delivered in the
United States senate, and since then
he has investigated it himself
The argument OF Mr.. Fulton is prac.
tically as follows:
THE constitution Of the United
States says that an amendment to the
constitution, such as the fourteenth,
must be passed first by a two-thirds
vote Of the house and senate The
records Of the senate show that when
the fourteenth amendment was
brought up in the senate to be voted
on, only twenty-six states of the union
We're represented by senators. The
southern states, those which took part
in the civil war, were not represented
at all. When the question came to
vote, out of the fifty-two senators
holding seats, only thirtyfve Of them
are recorded as voting in favor Of the
amendment In this connection, that
OF the south not being represented, II
was the argument Of the entire north,
even It's president, that the south was
still part of the union. That was
one OF the points the war waged upon,
it being held that no state could
withdraw from the union. This being
so, from the standpoint Of the north
even, the amendment never even
passed the senate.
The next step to amend the con-
stitution Of the United States IS that
proposition must me ratified by the
Legislatures Of three-fourths Of the sew
eral states. When the fourteenth
amendment was submitted to the va
rious states, Ohio and New Jersey, in
the north, first voted in favor Of the
amendment. Later the people Of these
states changed the vote to mo- The
attorney general OF the United States
decided that, having voted aye. the
proposition was carried SO far as they
were concerned. and that expression
or opinion could not be changed.
"When the war was over, and the
fourteenth amendment was submitted
to the voters of the United States,
they practically unanimously voted
no. Then the congress Of the United
States. by its reconstruction acts, said
that. II you do not vote Ayes" on this
question you cannot have the rights
OF citizen YOURSELF Worn out and
spent with the struggle Of the war
and reconstruction. they were finally
forced to vote yes and accept the
measure. The attorney general, while
holding. as stated above, that Ohio
and New Jersey could not change
their vote. held that the last vote Of
the southern states yes, was entirely
valid. Such proposition 10 unrea-