The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1915-06-21
WASHINGTON, ID. G., Jups 2i,--
The .grandfAiber clause In the Anaa-
pslis MIDI election statute was ai,.
nulled as unconstitutional today by the
United States supreme court.

A special election was held on the
grandfather Clause proposition OH
August =, 1910, In which, tbFre were
l35,ii3 votes for aud lOJ'Ss1l against
majority In favOrUf 2922l.
The first prosecution Started IN n
direct result NJ the grandfather
clause WAS from Kingflsher county
when two election officials, Quinn and
Beall were charged With preventing
negroes from voting They were pros
ecuted In the federal district court fOr
the western district " oklahoma, be
fore Judge Cotternl, aud In passing
on the case Judge C0ttcral held the
law unconstitutional.
The decision was based OH the
ground that the enactment Of the
grandfather clause was an effort Il
do indirectly what could not he done
directly, aud that II was violating the
fifteenth amendment to the cOnstltu
tion ~ the United States.
The llteracy test placed against
voters has not been objected to ser
lOusly, wherever used In good faith
but the grandfather feature disfran
chised the negroes. by the peculiar
wording OF the act II allowed all de
scendnnts Of men who were qualified
voters before the civil war to vote
Of course this excluded from voting
neurly every negro of the present day
This point was that passed on In the
opinion Of Judge Cotteral, who helt
that II was an act Of doing somethlnl
indirectly which could not be done d.
rectly. Therefore II was unconstitu
tional In that II violated the fifteenth
amendment,
The Grandfather Clause" dates
from the adoption " a constitutions
Amendment In Louisiana In 1898, and
II has since found its way into IN,
laws " other southern States. In lSgt
the constitution of Mississippi wal
amended 80 as 10 exclude from suf
frage any person unable TO rend an,
section Of the constitution, or under
stand II when read 10 him and Civ,
reasonable Interpretation Of H. Tn,
effect of this amendment was the ex
cluslon of greater part of the negrl
vote and q large number ~ illiterat,
whites. South Carolina adopted 4
similar amendment, and when IN,
same action was taken In 1898 by Lou
islana the Grandfather Clause" wa,
inserted TO exclude the negroes and ye
give the llliterate whites the right /,
vote.
This clause excused from the llml
tatlons of the amendment nll descend
ants of men who voted previous 10 IA,
Civil war Somewhat similar actor
was taken later by North Carolina
Virginia, Alabama, Maryland and OK
lnhOmn.
The Oklahoma Grandfather Clause
the constitutionallty of which the q
n supreme court was called upon I,
decide, provides. following the llterac,
test feature, that mo person who WA
un January |. 1895. or any time prio
| thereto. entitled to vote under nm,
form OF government, or who ut tina
time resided In some foreign nation
and no llneal descendant Of such per
son shall he denled the right 10 reg
ister and vote because " hls lnablllt,
to read and write sections Of sal,
constitution
The Grandfather Clause" was at
tackled mainly on the ground that /
Violated the Fifteenth Amendment =,
Ne ~ &. Constitution. which provide
tAat "the right of citizens OF the Unit
"a States 70 vote shall not he denlc,
- abrldged by the United States or b,