The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-07-16
PRIMARY needs REFORM
DISCUSSION AS TO PROPER BASIS
OF SUFFRAGE IN STATE.

John j. McMahan Tells of the Sound
ness Of Constitutional Provisions
Of 1S95-Some Requirements.
To the Editor of The Times and
Democrat:
"The primary needs reforming"
Let us hammer at it. Line upon line
and precept upon precept."
We have seen that the voters
should be all the white men Of intel
ligence and character, and that most
# lhsse will be admitted by the test
of reading and writing or by the al
tentative test Of owning $500 worth
of propety. We have also seen that
the heroes OF the sos and rs deserve
to be permanent voters, and that all
these (and likewise all other white
men who were Of age before January
l, 1889 have had ample opportunity
to be registered for life under the
special temporary understanding"
clause of the State constitution Of
1895. The suffrage article provides in
section 4: "a separate record of all
persons registered before January /,
1898 sworn to by the registration Of
hcer, shall be fled, one copy with the
clerk Of court and one in the Office of
the secretary Of state, on or before
February /, 1898, and such persons
shall remain during life qualified
electors unless disqualified by the
other provisions of this article"
The few deserving men who may
and write in this era Of free schools,
important for the personal welfare of
each man-as well as for his fitness
IN citizenship-that the illiterate
ought to be given progging now
and then to prevent his contenting
himself to go through life misht in
this world of reading, reading every
where. If he really values the bal
lot, he can learn to read and obtain
it; and unless he can read he can
not truly use the ballot though it be
be excluded by these tests must be
after emancipation. The rising gen
GRAFTON, who are to furnish new vot-
young and can still learn to read and
given to him, for he is dependent up
write. Many negro learned as much
ers each year hereafter, are being
now encouraged to slothfulness and
to lack of ambition except to excel
the negro if they are assured the high
privilege of manhood suffrage
though growing up unable to read
cheap newspapers, and unavoidable
catalogues and other advertising lit
erature of every kind. Reading is so
on others to prepare 1t for him, and
he can never know that he is voting
his own choice-he may be the help
less tool Of the ballot-fxer.
# a man can not read-thanks to
his parents who denied him white
mans chance-he ought to be the
more anxious to do better by his chill
dren, and not doom them to bear the
handicap he labors under. He should
therefore welcome any reasonable ad-
ded stimulus to- spur his boys to
learn. But the prevalence Of litter
acy indicates that many an illiterate
is not concerned to save his children
from a repetition Of his own fate,
and rather permits or forces them to
abstain from the rudiments of school
ing and to propagate and r~Iltiply
their fathers defects. If he himself
were denied the ballot-shut out
from mans voice in the community
affairs because Of his illiteracy and
until he overcomes that deficiency, he
would probably have less contempt
for schooling and more respect for
the ballot as the final badge Of equal
manhood He might for the first
time perceive some reason to send his
children to school. Well for him If
the laws of the party as we'll as Of
the State should thus wake him from
his present Indifference, make him
realize that he and his are losing
something real, bring home to him
the error of the policy pursued by his
parents and himself. 1t would be
mercy to put this coal Of fire on his
back. Denial of the suffrage because
Of illiteracy would operate as an in
direct compulsory education law,
selt-enforcing. It would afford also
an education in civic duty. Let us
stop a practice which teaches that the
ballot is a cheap play thing handed
out to all whether or not they can
use it understandingly. Let us rath-
er teach that the ballot is a prize to
be striven for and when obtained to
be reverently cherished, sacred
trust to be merited and never to be
misused.
It is humiliating that we have ig-
nored all these considerations in the
practices of the Democratic party pri-
mary. But our State constitution of
1895 has provided just these stand
ards for suffrage in the general cleo
ton. 1t took care Of all white men
becoming of age by 1898, and gave
to the youger fellows two or more
years of warning that they must
learn to read and write If they would
become voters independently of the
property qualification. 1t provided
especially for their education by rails
ing the age Of school attendance to
21 years, and increasing the school
fund in several ways and with par
ticular reference to the ensuing three
years-1S96-7-S before the require
ments should become rigid. There
was thus every precaution of fair
ness in giving notice and affording
opportunity to get ready for the new