The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-11-18
government ownership Of the transportation 5t
lines.
AN ABSURD SUGGESTION.


AN ABSURD SUGGESTION.
j The New York World and some of its news
paper echoes like the Davenport Democrat
want the present method of electing presidents
! changed at once, without discussion and with
out delay. The World demands an election by
the direct vote of the people and is so positive
that this is the only proper way to select CHIEF
Executive that it has no hesitation in declaring
that one of the first duties of congress when it
reassembles is to take the first steps towards
an amendment Of the constitution to this end
/ It is possible to regard the country as very
fortunate in having high authority as ca
pable as the World is of settling great questions
like this off hand; yet it is probable that con-
gress when it meets next month may think 1t
wiser to consider the matter from various
points of view before making change of such
Importance. Of course the precipitate and un-
reflecting passage Of the Adamson bill shows
how fearless congress is and how little in the
way of consideration it requires in order to pass
a revolutionary law. Nevertheless, the solid
south may wish to look into the matter of di-
rect elections and figure out what the effect
might be in the cotton states. The south is
quick enough to pass tariff or an income tax
law that bears heavily and almost exclusively
upon the north; but when it comes to legisla-
ton that might make the suppression Of its ne
gro vote more difficult, it moves with exceeding
|circumspection
There are some millions of colored voters in
the country most Of whom are domiciled in the
south. Figures Of precision are unimportant
but there are several southern states where
the negroes outnumber the whites, and several
other states where the democratic party could
rarely be sure of carrying an election if every
constitutional voter was free to go to the polls.
AS parties stand today this colored vote, which
is additionally republican, would elect any
president for whom it was cast. The ma
ton has practically assented to its suppression
in the eleven states Of the solid south; but how
long would this suppression be permitted if
presidents were to be elected by direct popular
votes Would not every northern state which
counts its own vote fairly insist on fair count
in the south?
The north has voting ignorance to contend
with and meets the situation in the only lawful
way by tireless attempts to educate it's natural
lied citizens to an understanding Of the institu-
tons of the country. The south takes dia-
metrically different course. It discourages the
education of it's ignorant legal electors, and de-
yises various effective means Of keeping them
from the polls. Of course, there is a southern
side to this. No commonwealth desires to be
controlled by civic ignorance and recklessness.
But the fact remains that shotguns and grand
father laws cannot be said to solve this problem
ideally; and if the result of the late election
was known to hinge upon the popular vote of
South Carolina, let us say, is it not manifest
that public sentiment would insist that the legal
voters in colored population Of over eight
hundred thousand should be free to cast their
votes and have them counted as cast.
There very many other reasons why
IL:
any time that can be foreseen to be elected by
direct popular vote. There powerful argu-
ments against it. If the total vote of the ma
ton should elect its president why should not
the total vote of state elect its congressman
and its representatives in the legislature9 But
in that case local or sectional representation
would be at an end though this is one of the
cornerstones of our representative republican
institutions. The Worlds proposition is too
fantastic to be considered.
Newspaper correspondents at Washington
all agree that Iowa need expect no favors in
the way Of political appointments from Presi-
dent Wilson during his second term. It is said
that neither President Wilson nor his advisers