The log cabin Democrat., 1912-07-20
DISCOVERS JOKER
IN SUFFRAGE BILL
WILL DISFRANCHISE NONE
DR.. D. Y. THOMAS SAYS PRO
POSED AMENDMENT is
A HUGE JOKE"

In a communication to the Arkan-
sas Gazette DR.. David Y. Thomas.
former professor in Hendrix College.
and now a member of the University
of Arkansas faculty, declares that
the grandfather clause if adopted
viii effect no limitations on suffrage
in Arkansas on account of absurd
ties in the phraseology of the pro
posed amendment. The amendment
itself is printed in another portion
of this paper and it may be of inter
est to examine it in the light of DR..
Thomas Interpretation. Dr. Thorn
as writes:
The amendment providing for the
initiative and referendum contained
a clause which provoked a good deal
of discussion when pending, and
which was called the Joker" because
believed by some to be either mean
|ingless or absurd. The supreme court
has accepted the former view and
has declared it imperative.
If this clause was a little joker"
the pending suffrage amendment is
one huge joke. The object of the
measure probably is to dsfranchise
a good many negroes, and leave illit-
crate whites with the franchise. AS
a matter of fact, it makes no change
in the present suffrage law and dis
franchises nobody The proposed
amendment says that persons meet
ing certain requirements described
therein, one of which is the ability
to- read and interpret, or interpret
when read to him, any clause of the
constitution of Arkansas, shall be
allowed to vote 1t does not say
that no others shall be allowed to
vote and does not repeal the present
suffrage article of the constitution.
1t does say that persons meeting Ger
tain ancestral qualifications shall be
allowed TO vote. even though they
may not be able to read the constitu-
ton. Rut nowhere does the amend
ment or the existing suffrage article
say that persons not meeting the ed
EDUCATIONAL test shall not be allowed to
vote. Had the words, land no 9th
ers," been added after the deserip-
ton of the enfranchised class, the
end evidently aimed at would have
been accomplished.
rs the amendment now stands it
is worthless, for a man may qualify
under it or the old provision, as he
sees fit. am not very much in favor
of grandfather clauses on general
principles, but if | favored them ever
so much, l think that | should have
to vote against this one because it is
so poorly drawn.
While writing on this subject it
may be well to call attention to
popular misconception of the social
ed grandfather amendment. Most
people think that it DISTINGUISHES the
negro. 1t is not a DISTINGUISHING,
but an enfranch;sing clause. Such
amendments, when properly drawn,
disfranchise certain classes, white,
black, red and yellow alike, on ac-
count of the lack of certain educa-
tional and property tests. Then to
prevent DISTINGUISHING the iIliterate
white man, a clause is added to the
effect that no man who was voter
in 1867 and no linear descendent of
such person who possesses the other
qualifications, shall be dsfranchised
because of his inability to read and
write. Our pending amendment con-
tains the grandfather clause. but the
Trainer forgot to include the disfran-
chising clause
DAVID Y. THOMAS.
Fayetteville, Ark, July Is, 1912.