Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-02-21

States must retain the power to make
those elections honest and fair and free,
the power to say, if the regulations pre-
scribed by the state are not adequate
to that end, that they shall be superseded
by regulations made by the congress of
the United States My proposition, fur
Their, is that without that power accom-
panying this change in the method of the
election OF senator's, if the change be
made, the government of the United
States has surrendered the power for its
own preservation and protection.
Mr. Percy. Mr.. President
Mr.. Bacon. If the senator will pardon
me just one second, then 1 will yield to
him.
Mr.. President, do 1 understand the
il the states have now upon their statute
books laws which regulate the suffrage
in those states, such as the senator
speaks of as 1.-The grandfather clause
though that Is simply a term generic in
its character which relates to a general
class Of legislation-does the senator
mean that with the laws now upon
the. statute books of the several southern
states, if the proposed amendment of the
senator from Utah (Mr Sutherland
should be adopted and we should pass
the joint resolution to, amend the con-
stitution. and it should be ratified by
sthree~fourtfs Of the states, II would then
be within, the power of congress, IL 1t
conceived that these grandfather clauses
as they are called all the body of laws
with reference to the regulations and linn
itations' of the suffrage in the southern
states-Aifo congress should conceive that
they were unconstitutional, does the SEN
ator mean that in his opinion, congress
would have the power. under the amend
ment of the senator. from Utah, to annul
those provisions and to. make federal
laws to control the election OF senator's
in such way as to insure the right to
vote to- all persons thought by congress
TO be entitled ITO aVDte24 sfaslIssyn1 !.
Mr.. Root without. the slightest doubt
Mr. Bacon Wellf Mr. President, it is
we'll that We are given this notice of
what the senator does mean and what the
Sutherland amendment means.
MI. Root. meant to put you on no.
tice, and I mean to put the whole coun-
try on notice II my words are able to do
SOL ..yS bs4ss t.rsfT51 sza -
Mr. Bacon Mr.. President have per-
formed o service in having the senator
announce it, not in general terms, but in
particular terms. Sir. with this view it
IS certainly very grave risk to run to
adopt the Sutherland amendment and to
put any such power in the hands of, con-
gress.
L do not desire. Mr.. President, to dis
cuss the question: of the grandfather
clause and thei laws of that class adopted
by the southern states for their protec-
ton, but will say this to the senator
from New York and to- others: No peo-
pie ever went through so dark a day as
the southern people when they were call
ed upon to deal with the question wheth-
er they would submit to- what was then
the intention of the, legislation of con-
gress, that by enfranehisfng the blacks
and disfranchising many whites their
government should be surrendered to the
ignorant blacks. A =
Iwant to say to- the senator that If the
southern people had not heroically con-
tended and battled for white supremacy
in the south, had they not subordinated
all else to that issue, civilization would
have been destroyed in the south; and If
civilization had been destroyed in the
south, the fatal poison would have speed
lily affected the whole body polite, and it
would have been destroyed in the whole
American nation. f