The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-06-29
|RAyDFATHER CLAUSE
Il UNCONSTITUTIONAL
,r COURT OF THE UNITED
npc HANDS DOWN IMPORT
ANT RACE DECISION.
.p.RfACHING EFFECT EXPECT

Touard Invalidating Electoral |
nislation of Southern States, In
,ndine Georgia. The Appeal
went 1lsra Up From Oklahoma. |
rmr,cH1NGTON, D. C.-The SUI
WV court. in what is considered
ane Of the most important race de-
,"ns in history, today annulled as
onstitntional the Oklahoma con-
itO+ionaI amendment and the An
soTs Md. voters qualification law
gstricting the suffrage rights to those
10 could not vote or whose ances-
:, oonId not vote prior to the rati-
ator Of the Fifteenth amendment
So tho federal constitution.
rbiof Justice White, native of the
nth and a former Confederate SOL
=, announced the decision, which
90 unanimous except that Justice
opovnoIds took no part in the case.
pr holding that conditions that ex-
tod before the Fifteenth amend
ont which provides that the right
vote shall not be denied or abridg-
an account of race, color or pre-
49,, condition of servitude, could
Of be brought over to the present
:. si.rooard of this self-eXecut-
. amendment, it is generally believ-
that the court went a long way
Inward invalidating much of the So
billed grandfather clause" legisla-
on of Southern states.
DECISIONS Immediate Effect.
The immediate effect of the courts
ocision was to uphold the conviction
two Oklahoma election officials
Tho denied negroes the right to vote
a congressional election, and to
ward three Maryland negroes dam
gAs from election officials in Annap-
His who refused to register them.
fbe court held that the Oklahoma
Iection officials could not ignore the
Fifteenth amendment in wiping out
IN state constitutions the white as
qualification for voting. In the
MARYLAND case the courts decision es-
hbished the principle that the Fiji
aeenth amendment applies to munich
al as well as to federal elections
Discussing the Oklahoma cases
3hief Justice White said the suffrage
amendment to the state constitution
frst fixed a literacy standard, and
Then followed it with a provision Gre
Ating a standard based upon the con-
Rition existing on Jan /, 1866, prior
10 the adoption of the Fifteenth
amendment and eliminated those
Booming under the standard from the
Rnclusion in the literacy test.
\ The court held that this action re-
Created and perpetuated the very con-
siitions which the Fifteenth amend
sment was intended to destroy.
1T is true" continued the Chief
Justice, that it contains no express
words of an exclusion of any person
ION account of race, color or previous
Condition of servitude, but the stand
|Rrd itself inherently brings that re-
gult into existence.
In other words, we seek in vain
sfOr any ground which would sustain
any other Interpretation but that the
provision, recurring to the conditions
existing before the Fifteenth amend
|ment was adopted, proposed to make
Ithem the basis of the right to suf-
Ilrage. And the same result, we are
lOl opinion, is demonstrated by con-
ISlderlng whether it is -,ossible to dis
cover any basis of reason for the
standard thus fxel other than the
RpWb9se above stated"
Inc chief justice had prefaced this
statement by a development of the
argument that the restrictions i'm
posed by the Fifteenth amendment
|on Ine power of the states over suf-
i[age were coincident with the limits
VI We power itself He also set forth
'Ne principle that while in the true
sense the Fifteenth amendment gives
~ Hgnt' of suffrage cit was long
seso recognized that in operation its
OD'Oltion might measurably have
.-'' eHect; that is to say, that as the
'"ilnend of the amendment was self
Ne'uIlng and reached without legis-
1--WE action the conditions of dis
'u,latlon against which it was aim
- Tue result might arise that as a
;, sequence of the striking down of
discriminating clause a right of suf-
"se would be enjoyed by reason of
generic character of the pro-
k5, @'0n which would remain after the
~ 'ulIhation was stricken out"
ohVEN FISHING BOATS ARE
'ONk BY GERMAN SUBMARINES
l,ro1 -'DoN--Seven fishing vessels,