The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-07-29
FOR SOUTH TO THINK ABOUT.
Some Reflections on the Grandfather
Clause Decision.

When conversing with you few
days since on the recent grandfather
clause decision OF the supreme court
of the United States, | promised to
send you some reflections thereon.
The public prints have been discuss
ing this decision and its effects con-
siderably. The Northern prints
seem to hail it as bomb flung by the
supreme court into the South that
would have an effect upon the suf-
frage laws Of the South, and bring
some imaginary good to the negro.
The Southern prints seem to fear that
it will disorganize our election laws
and give us trouble. do not think
that it is going to have any effect one
way or the other: and that it will not
disturb US politically in the South,
except perhaps it might teach the
Southern people the strong necessity
for the whites to stand together po-
litically and not allow the republi-
cans to enter a wedge and divide the
South and thus break up the solid
South politically.
The decision of Chief Justice
White in the Oklahoma case is moth
ing more than this: That State had
enacted a constitutional provision re-
quiring every elector before he could
register to show that he could read
and write some section of the consti-
tuition; but it excepted from the re-
quirement Of this provision any per-
son "who was on January l, 1866, or
at any time prior thereto entitled to
vote under any form Of government,
or who at any time resided in some
foreign country, and every lineal de-
scendant of such person. In other
words, Oklahoma established liter
ary test for voting and excepted GER
tain classes of people as aforesaid
from that literary test. Under this
constitutional provision negroes
could vote, if they could read and
write, but illiterate white people
were exempted from this require
ment if they descended from those
who prior to January 1. 1866. were
entitled to vote-and the supreme
court of the United States simply
decided that this exemption from the
literary test was a violation Of the
fifteenth amendment of the constitu-
ton of the United States, because it
was simply subterfuge to operate
against the negro on account of
race, color or previous condition
Of servitude." Let it be distinctly
borne in mind that the court in no
way intimates that the literary test,
excluding illiterates from the suf-
frage, is unconstitutional. In fact.
the court strongly implies that the
States had the right to establish a
literary or property test, but that in
doing so they must not leave its ad-
ministration to partiality that would
work an exclusion of any person on
account of race, color or previous
condition. I am not at this time in
formed of how many Southern States
adopted this grandfather clause. but
it was a matter of public discussion
and understanding at the time that it
was merely a temporary makeshift to
get over a certain period, wherein
illiterate whites could be allowed to
vote, and they were warned to pre-
pare their children by education so
that in the future they could come up
to the legal literary test. | do not
imagine that the trainers of the Ok
lahoma or the Maryland constitution
expected that that clause OF their
constitution, called the grandfather
clause. which excluded illiterate
whites from the literary test would
stand fire before the supreme court
of the United States, in view of the
enunciations which had been made
by that court time and again since
the days of reconstruction. 1t does
not seem to us that there is a serious
consequence to follow from this de-
cision in such States as have enacted
the grandfather clause in their con-
stitution. All that the people of Ok
lahoma and of Maryland and Of other
Southern States in like plight have
to do Git would SEEM is to let the
people adopt an amendment eliminat-
ing from the section of the constitu-
ton in question the grandfather eX-
emption and leaving the literary test
as the sole test.
How Does 1t Stand With South Caro-
lima?
The people of South Carolina, 1t
would seem, need have no fears that
this grandfather clause decision will
affect our status under the suffrage