The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1920-09-25
LOCKWOOD EXPLAINS HOW THE
SOUTH STAYS I'm SADDLE"
CONTINUED from Page u.

collected. The Democratic machine
holding all the offices and cmouments
lis able to provide voters of its own
persuasion with poll tax receipts. and
has been known to arrange TO have
them issued on credit in sufficient
quantities to make its calling and
election sure in any doubtful dis
trict. IL man is too poor TO pay
this 81 in any one year. he loses out
as voter for three years; ne must
start all over to qualify. Bv this sys-
tenn most of those who work with
tneir hands in the state are dis
qualified as voters; these are the
very men who need the ballot most
TO better their condition, and they
very men national leaders of the
party. including Mr.. Gompers, profress
to be especially interested In.
the u matter o of paving SiGT this sa admission
fee, he must next run the gauntlet of
y partisan registration board to be
'eXamined' as to his qualifications.
If he is the descendant of a deserv-
ing Democrat who was voting a half
century ago he is allowed to vote
without further inquiry. But other
wise nc must be able to read and
understand the constitution" Of the
state. Here's the way this works. An
intelligent Virginia farmer appeared.
before registration board. He was
known to be a Republicans He was
therefore asked to name the Ave
members of the state board of edu-
cation He was able TO name three,
but was "flunked by the board.
George. L Hart. Of Roanoke, secre-
tary of the Republican state commit
tee, had this case called to his at
tention He called upon the judge
who had appointed this board and
propounded the same question. The
judge was able to name only two
members. Then Mr.. Hart told him
what the board he had appointed had
done. and shamed the. judge into
ordering the card to register the vot-
err. Usually, however no such as
sistance is at hand and voters who
viii not bow to the will of the oil
garchy are turned aside. while lit
tie or no inquiry Ia made into the
ability of any man known to be
flower of the machine to meet the
tests prescribed by law.
In order TO prevent troublesome
increase in the number of votes the
Virginia oligarchy encourages Hit
eraoy. The constitution Of the state
says a man must be literate in order
to be u voter. The government of
his state denies him the opportunity
| to qualify. An official report recently
| published has shown that there is
more white illiteracy in Alabama than
there was in 1910, when illiteracy
f., This plan of the Democratic oligarchy
! to keep power in the hands of a few
| helps explain this alarming phenO-
menon of Southern white illiteracy.
\ is spent on project more desirable
| TO the olgarchy, and less liable to
raise up an educated electorate that
will throw off the yoke of political
But this doesn't end the trouble,
| by any means. These partisan regis
| tration boards may fail on election
! day 10 find the record of registra-
zion of man who isn't expected to
vote right In North Carolina the
clerk of the board hid the registra-
| ton book which didn't look good for
the oligarchy in that precinct, and
went hunting on election day. This
disqualified all the voters In the pre-
cinct One of them appealed TO the
courts, but got a decision that the
absence OF the record DISTINGUISHED
him. This was one of thirty-two
methods of defeating public opinion
cited by North Carolina Republican
state convention held for the purpose
of protest in Greensboro sixteen
months ago. There was a valise full
| Of affidavits or the stage ito establish
the cases. The answer made by the
North Carolina machine to that pro-
test was to recommend the appoint
ment of the state chairman who en-
ginecred these practices as United
| District Attorney. the prosecuting Of
| fetal in such cases, and president
| Wilson made the appointment which
| the Senat has not yet confirmed, and
| probably never will.
In South Carolina. even though Re-
|
| have adopted this plan of preventing
| Republican registration. The law
| provides that ali members of the
| board must be present when voter
| is registered. When Repuploan vol
1 er Is seen coming one member of the
| board leaves the session. If the vo-
| ter has time to wait the members of
| the board spell" each other, one by
one in absenting themselves. If the
Republican makes too much of a
| ''roar" about it, he is likely to get
winged from behind a tree on his
way home.
| box. the election board may. and
/ often does, just as 1t pleases, about
/ the little matter of counting. Eviden-
| ce in congressional contest case
| from the Asheville district two years
ago showed that in one Of the pre-
cincts the ballot box was held until
\ the district chairman telephoned down
| and told them how many votes We're
needed to elect the Democratic candi-
date in a close contest. In one of
/ the virginia counties few years ago
they rather overdid the matter Some
| troublesome Republicans hung about
| the place and even insisted on looking
into the room where the votes were
! being counted" The members of the
board decided to take the ballot box
away from there. As they fled from.
them were shot and killed by Re-
publican, which called the matter to
general public attention.
This is the sort of business that
goes on fully, freely. flagrantly. all
over the states dominated by the
Southern Democratic oligarchy,
1t does not. as before stated and
demonstrated, by the Acknowledgement
Of more white men than black, have
lanything to do with the race Ques-
Ition. It does not bring about the
domination of the better element of
Southerners. There was q time when
the leaders of the Southern Demnc-
racy were the real aristocracy of tie
section the cultured people of wealth
who welded a dominant personal in
fluence and who did not misuse their
power: they regarded tthemselvs ms
trustees for the masses of the peoDle
In later years, however. this system
has brought about the rule of the
strong, greedy and interruptions, who
find in this system n method of con-
troll to their liking. The average call
Der of Southern representation in
Congress is today VIGOROUSLY low,
though there are some exceptions to
= the rule of mediocritv. Once the
South had the rule OF quality over
Iouantity: now II thas the rule. on
the whole. of neither.
Despite the almost insiiperable OBJ
stacles to majority rule. 10 fair cleo
lions, to the square deal in nolitics
and public affairs in the South the
spirit of peaceful political revolution
is In the air, and the oligarchy has be-
come uneasy The people are asking
that the money they nav in taxes be
lspent for schools roads better PEN
~ and benevolent institutions. instead
(of being wasted for the maintenance
of deserving Democratic oligarchv-
They are tired Of having the South
'Iinger at the toll end of the national
procession in all that represents po-
liticsl end. social progress. WI v the
air is 7lied with clancr about Dri-
mary and election methods in states
north Of the Jhio while COMPRESSION
al cognizance OF this rotten borough
| ,vstern Of the South is persistenflv
irefused is beyond the comprehension
OF the writer How Governor Cox
President Wilson and other Democrat
&c leaders. get awav with their talk
about corruption and croolcedness and
coercion in Penubiican notifies. whiii
counting confidently upon nearly 150
L ...4..a tl..a..c..