Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1911-04-13

of free persons, including those bound
to service for a term of years, and ex-
cluding Indians not taxed, three
fifths" of all other persons"
That is, for the purposes of repre-
sentation it should require five per.
sons of color to count as much as two
| whites.
For three quarters of century this
"three-fifths" clause remained in the
constitution making our claim of be-
ing free nation travesty and our
professions of liberty laughing stock
among the nations of the earth, and
yet it is proposed that the Minnesota
Legislature shall restore the three
ffths" in Minnesota and that for pur-
poses of Representative it shall re-
aulre five or more persons in the
counties OF Hennepin, Ramsey and St.
Louis to count as much as two in 9th
er parts of the state
Within Sthe memory of the older
citizens of this state, Wendall Philips,
VIM. Lloyd Garrison, Horace Greely
and others might be mentioned, raised
their eloquent voices against the
"three-ffths'' and they were mobbed
by hoodlums and reviled and perse
cuted by the children of their genera
ton, but today their names shine like
stars in Americas galaxy of great
ness because of their actions at that
time--and yet it is proposed by some
that fifty years after these voices
We're heard in the wilderness crying
freedom and equality that Minnesota
shall again write "three-ffths' into
her constitution.
The protest against the s.three
hfths" was given over to the stern ar
bitrament of the sword and this pro
test was craven on the Nations bos-
ON with solid shot and plunging shell
and punctuated with the graves Of
Warrlors-and yet there are men in
this state who would re-write three
fifths'' once again into our fundamen-
tai law
a million men shouldered arms and
marched into the hell of conflict and
the pride Of Minnesota went down to
death in the bloody angle at Gettys-
burg and the sthree-ffths' was burned
into nothingness in the battle blaze
OF a thousand hard fought conflicts
where brave men died-and yet it is
proposed to reincarnate the three.
tifths'' and place it in Minnesota's
Constitution.
Abraham Lincoln won fame that
Will endure till enternity's furtherest
call, when with one stroke of the pen
he legally eliminated the "three-fifths
from the organic law of the Nation.
and yet it is, there are statesmen in
this state which was one of the first
to offer men to sustain Lincoln. who
would dig up the three -ffthsn that all
lovers of liberty had fondly hoped
vas buried forever, and once more
make it living principle in Minneso-
ia representation.
When the right-thinking Justice
loving, fair-minded, enlightened pub
l1c once awaken to the fact that there
are public men in Minnesota who
would revive the archaic. barbaric
doctrine that representation in a free
state should be based on color. local
lty, occupation or nativity of citizens
may the, Lord have mercy on those
public men for they will need it.
A Fillibuster.
Starting Friday of last week prac.
tlcally two whole days were wasted
in the House in useless fillibuster.
Such things are common in both the
houses OF congress but the people
have come to expect members of the
state legislature to exhibit better
sense and judgment than Congress
but unless the present legislature gets
hump on itself and gets down to
business it will not stand any higher
In the estimation Of the people than
the Congress of the United States.