Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1916-07-27
Honest Voters in All Parts
of State Demand Honest
Elections.
LITERACY MEASURE
NOW LOOKS HOPELESS
Fairminded, Respectable
People Unite in Oppos-
ing Measure.

Special to The World
nkLAHOMA CITY. Okla, July rs.
~ That the proposed literacy test
amendment to the constitution will be
defeated by an overwhelming major
ity is the prediction made at the po-
litical headquarters of all parties in
this city.
Decent Democrats. tired of the reiGn
OF crooked politics in oklahoma, are
making just as much of fight
against the law Us the Republicans and
Socialists. From every section of the
state comes reports of Democratic
workers who have declared they will
bolt the organization rather than
stultify themselves by trying to put
the literacy amendment across.
The ballot is clearly and purposely
and corruptly made as trap TO de-
ceive the uniformed voter.
Disfranchiscment.
If the amendment carries it will
take from every man. white, Indian
or negro, who cannot read or write any
section of our state constitution. the
right to vote, unless he has been in
war. or is a descendant Of someone
who has either been in war or mill
tary service.
''If this amendment is defeated"
said Ed S. Vaught. president of the
oklahoma City chamber of commerce
and prominent Republican. today, sit
defeats the whole effect of all the
corrupt election laws passed by the
last session of the legislature. Can
there be any honest reason for such
a form of ballot? It's only purpose
must be to deceive or mislead the
voter"
If this amendment is defeated the
registrar cannot disiranchise any
voter. If 1t is adopted everyone will
be REQUIRED to register all over again
in September, and in five days time,
and the registrars will then have a
free rein to arbitrarily. and at their
will refuse to register any voter they
decide to disqualify under this new
constitutional amendment.
Men ut Polls.
The Republican organization has
made arrangements to have men at
every poll in the state next Tuesday,
well supplied with lead pencils They
will instruct voters how to vote
against the amendment and furnish
them with pencils to mark out the
words For the Amendment"
State Republican Chairman Gels
sler today gave out the following
statement:
'In order to check the Independent
1Cter, and to keep the state from go
ing Republican. the state adminis.ra-
ton, with the apparent sanction of
WOODROW Wilson, and other national
leaders devised a most audacious
scheme OF disfranchisenent Of recall
citrant voters
Recent Special Session.
ITO provide for this system OF dis
franchisemert, the legislature was
called in special session, in January,
1915. The universal law was enacted.
which provided that one Democratic
state official appoint a county regis
trar in every county, whom he may
remove at will: and that the county
registrar shall appoint registrar for
every precinct. whom he may rem owe
at will. A more autocratic form OF
election machinery certainly could not
be devised.
The Registration System.
Then it was provided that every
voter must get a certificate of regis
tration from his precinct regist "ar
during the first ten days OF May, 1915.
or be forever disfranchised II was
provided, however, that any voter
might be registered during the fol-
towing ntty days II he could satisfy
the precinct registrar that he was dur
ing tho ten-day period absent from
the county or prevented from regis
tering by sickness or unavoidable mis-
fortune. The registrar was not re-
quired to be at a certain place during
the registration period He was not
even required to be a resident Of his
precinct Ample latitude was given
TO that official to look up and register
those who were politically congenial
and to evade and even to refuse to
register political opponents IN this
wise quite a number Of Oklahoma cit
izens were disfranchised, but the ad-
ministration calculated that the num-
Der thus disfIanchised would not be
sufficiently large to keep the state
from going Republican, and SC pro-
vision was made for submitting 20 a
vote of the people on August first a
constitutional amendment known as
the literacy test.
Litcracy Test Amendment.
"If the literacy test amendment is
adopted then every OklahOman IN or
der to keep from being permanently
disfranchlsed must find the registrar
during a ten n-day period in Septem-
CONTINUED on PAGE SIX