Barton County democrat., 1915-02-05
KNOCKS OUT LITERACY
CLAUSE IN ELECTION LAW
Barton COunty's Representative
Was One of the Leaders in
The Movement.

The educational clause is to be
stricken from The Massachusetts
ballot law adopted in 1913, the
house of representatives decided
yesterday in the committee of the
whole. The Laing bill, providing
that the voter may receive help
to mark his ballot, unless intoxi-
Gated, was recommended for pas
sage, subject to amendment and
debate. All action on bills yes-
terday by the committee was sub
ject to amendment and debate
when the bills are up on third
reading.
The debate over the education
al clause of the ballot law was
warm. H. NJ. Laing, of Russell,
who introduced the bill to allow.
as he expressed it, "all citizens to
vote" received support on the
floor from Grant Waggoner, of
Cherokee; w. A. S. Bird, of Shaw
nee; Fred Zutavern of Barton and
a number of others.
c. A. Caudill, of Comanche; J.
A. Gibson, of Crawford: and A. A.
Doerr, of Larned, led The fight TO
retain the educational qualifica-
tiOn.
Education Not Necessary.
"Do you mean to say" shouted
Caudill at Waggoner, "lhat you
consider the foreigner who cam
not read or write as capable of
casting an intelligent ballot as the
children we have sent through
school and cOllege?"
81 mean to say" responded Wag
gOner, "that if we allow the for
eigner to become a citizen, we
should allow him to vote. Edu-
cation neither is made the basis
of citizenship, nor is ii necessarily
the measure of a good citizen"
81 have the map of Germany
on my face" piped up Zutavern,
"and could read and write Eng
liSh before | came to this country.
But many of my countrymen who
are good citizens can not. They
are good citizens. We recognize
them as citizens. Ii is wrong to
diSqualify them from The rights
of citizenship"
DOerr, of Larned, took a diff
ferent view.
81 am of German blood" he de-
clared. But know that my fa-
ther never would have admitted
his inability to read or write when
he went to the polls. Ninety-nine
out of every 100 Germans in this
country learn to read and write
the English language. The sue
cesSful type of foreigner, the good
citizen, can read and write.
voted for this law two years ago,
and will oppose any effort to re-
peal il"
Acts on Other Bills.
But the Laing bill carried by
a safe margin. There undoubted-
| ly will be another warm fight
when the bill comes up for a third
reading, subject to amendment
and debate.
The Saturday sessions in COM
mittee of the whole were more OF
less successful. Four bills were
recommended for passage in two
hours and a half in the morning
session. Two of them were pure
ly local, affecting Cloud county
only. w. H. Todd'S bill TO give
The board of health control over
the mauSOleum business in the
state finally was acted on favor
ably after a thorough rewriting.
Senate bill No. s, providing fOT
the assessment of real estate every
two years, finally was accorded
recognition for consideration by
} the house, after amended to give
} the county commissioners power
to order an assessment any year
they saw fit.
In the afternoon session seven
bills received favorable consider
alton, including the proposed
amendment to the Massachusetts
ballot law. Shuey'S bill to allow
county high schools organized
under special acts to come under
The provisions of the general act,
and POmeroy'S measure to allow
the children of cured insane to
marry after the patient has been
pronounced cured and remained
so for at least twenty years were
among those recommended for
passage.
Mr.. and Mrs. Claude SipeS were
here from the farm near MackS-