The Denver star., 1915-07-03


hundreds of thousands of Negroes while
m,tting any white received its death blow from
Supreme Court of the United States Monday June
The decision of the that the grandfather clause
unconstitutional and virtually the hrs.
ruling by the highest this point. The has
this issue several times but the question
fatty in the negative that it is doubtful whether
further laws aimed dsfranchsng the Negroes Will
include the grandfather clause
This decision nvalidates the grandfather clause; of
the Maryland law, only recently adopted and applied only
State and city elections and the similar clause in the Ok
ahoma law, which applied all elections The Maryland
law avoid national issue which the
could be taken to the Supreme Court.
Property and other for enacted by the Mary
land legislature the in which the
grandfather clause inserted held be closely
related the latter clause make all the
fall.
In the case of Oklahoma the clause was embodied in
amendment the State Constitution. which imposed lit
from which those who entitled to vote prior
January those who then foreigners and their
lneal descendants exempted. AS to Maryland the
clause embodied in law relating registration in
ncpa courts
The immediate effect the courts decision up
hold the conviction of Oklahoma election officials who
denied Negroes the congressional election
three Maryland Negroes damages from elec,
ton officials in Annapolis who refused register them he
held that these election officials could ignore the
potency of the fifteenth amendmen in wipng out OF state
constitutions the word white qualification for voting
In Maryland the decision establishes the
point that the fifteenth amendment applies alike munic
pal as we'll to federal election
Discussing the Oklahoma cases, Chief Justice White
said the suffrage amendment the state constitution first
fixed iteracy standard and then followed it with
creating standard based the condition existing
January 1866, prior the adoption of the fifteenth
amendment and eliminated those coming under that stand
ard from the inclusion in the literacy test.
The had difficulty, he said. in finding words to
clearly demonstrate it's conviction that this action of
recreated and the condition which
the fifteenth amendment intended destroy than the
language used in the amendment.
ut continued the chief justice that
express exclusion from the standard which it
establishes of account of race color
condition of sevitude prohibited by the fifteenth amend
men the standard itself inherently brings that
to existence since is based purely period of time
before the of the nth amendment and makes
that the controlling and dominant of the right of
suffrage In other words seek in vain for any ground
which would sustain any other Interpretation but that the
recurring the cond existing before the f-
teenh amendment adopted and the continuance of
which fifteenth amendment prohibited, purposeIy sub
and effect lifting those conditions period of
time after the amendment make them the basis of the
suffrage conferred direct and positive disregard of
of the fifteenth amendment And the result of
opinion demonstrated by considering whether it posi-
Bile discover basis of for the standard thus fix
ed other than the allowed stated We this
unable discover how unless the prohibitions
Of the fifteen amendment, considered the slightest
afforded for basng the classification period
of time prior the fifteenth amendent Certainly
be said that there peculiar the time
named which engendered attributes affecting the qualihca
Ition which would another and dfeen
period unless the fifteenth amendment in view" "
The chief Justice had prefaccd this by de
velopment argument that the restriction imposed b.
fifteenth amendment the Of the sui