The Washington herald., 1913-04-06

uaSiS Va totcS CdSt IL Will CouucHS aii'
conditions against which it h4 pro
tested. 1t will be placed in the Pc
sition, according to their view, of de
nouncing, on one hand, the action o
Southern Democrats, and then, on tn
other hand, of furnishing Southern Re
publicans for the deprivation which
they suffer. 1t is the opinion of man,
Republicans of prominence that this /:
not only an illogical position to as
sumo, but it is unjust to adherents Of
the party in the South. Although only
few of them have any hope of chang
ing the political complexion of any
Southern State, Republicans ought moi
to give force and effect to disfran-
chisement by placing all .nonvotine
Southern Republicans beyond the pale
Another Constitutional Amendment?
One of the suggestions brought for
ward to meet this objection is certain
to be widely discussed.
This proposition, briefly stated, is
that neither the Republican convention,
which may be held next fall, nor the
convention scheduled for 1916 shall un-
dertake to regulate representation I'M
der present conditions. The idea is to
60 to the very root of the matter and
recommend the adoption of a consti-
tutional amendment which shall change
the basis of representation in Congress.
At present this basis is population. The
proposed change would make repre-
sentation rest upon the number per-
mitted to vote in each state.
The argument in favor of the propo-
sition is simple.
1t recognizes the right of every State
to make its own laws as 10 the qualifi-
cation of voters. In Massachusetts, it
may be a question of education, and
in Mississippi it may be the position
occupied by the voters grandfather.
The point is made, however, that if
any State passes law which disfran-
chises any considerable number of its
population it should not be on the
same plane as a State wherein the right
of suffrage is freely given. The con-
tention is made that it would be much
more dignihed and effective if the Re-
publican party committed itself to
broad proposition, such as here stated,
instead of dealing with the Southern
situation exclusively. The result, il
attained, would in the end be the same,
but the method would, it is asserted,
be more apt to appeal to public senti-
ment
The suggestion is not entirely new.
II has made its appearance in Congress
in another form several times, when
it was proposed that representation in
Congress should be based Upon the
number of votes actually cast. The
proposition never went further, how
ever, than the introduction of a pro-
posed law or constitutional amend
ment, but now it is intended to push
it with considerable vigor not only
as an evidence of good faith toward
the Republicans who are dissatisfied
with present conditions, but also as a
step toward more equitable basis of
representation throughout the entire
United States.
Enter Woman Suffrage.
AT this point enters woman suffrage
as a disturbing element. 1t is a fac
tor which must be reckoned with.
If the Republicans, when they as
semble in their proposed conference,
should decide to gauge the number of
delegates at each convention, accord
ing to the aggregate of votes cast for
the Republican candidate at the last
preceding Presidential election, they
will undoubtedly reduce the strength
of the Southern delegations, but they
will also increase the number of dele
gates from the nine States which al
ready have granted suffrage to women.
In California, for instance, the Pres
idential vote has doubled from 100000
to 100000 because of woman suffrage |
In Washington the increase is also 100
per cent. The representation from
these States in a national convention
would thus be very much greater pro-
portionately than that of States which |
has male suffrage only. At the same
time, the electoral vote would remain
unchanged, so that the increased
strength in the convention would not
have its equivalent increase in cleo
toral votes. 1t does not take the gift
of prophecy to predict that when the
Republicans reduce the influence of the
Southern States by making the num-
Der of votes cast the basis of repre-
sentation, there will be due considera-
ton of the fact that the proposition
is sword which cuts both ways.
States where woman suffrage has
not been granted are not going to al
low themselves to be relocated to the
rear by States where the total vote has
been doubled because of woman suf-
fr,rz lNb>., D