Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-10
MUST RIGHT TO VOTE BE
DENIED THE IlLlTERATE? ?
New York Electors viii Have an op.
portunity to Decide Whether an
Educational Qualification
Ia Neeesearv

SSNohS'd'
Is Necessary
THE voters of New York are to be called
u upon 10 decide on November s whether
to restrict the exercise of the electoral fran
chlse to citizens who can read and write.
An amendment to the State Constitution
has been drafted, ami 1t has been approved
by two successive Legislatures and now 1t Is
to he submitted to the people. 1t provides
that only those who can read and write
the English language may vote.
Numerous attempts have been made In
New York in the past to prevent the IL
literate from voting In the seventies of
the last century n commission of distin-
guished citizens. appointed to suggest
changes in the election laws, recommended
an educational qualification for voters. The
report was submitted to the Legislature
and printed. The politicians conspired to
ignore 1t. and they also conspired to prevent
any of the men making the report from
getting a nomination to an elective office.
Sentiment must have changed consider
ably in the intervening forty or fifty years,
or it would not have been possible to induce
the Legislature to vote to submit the pro-
posed amendment to the people.
1t may be that the up State legislators
are growing fearful of the large number of
cannot speak English and who know moth
ing Of the spirit Of American institutions.
\ considerable number of those foreign
born voters think in terms of the Russian
Soviet rather than in terms Of the Dec
laration of Independence. The only news
papers they read are printed in foreign
languages and edited by men who have not
discovered that the abuses from which they
suffered In Europe do not exist in America.
The result of these conditions is that
there is a bloc OF voters who vote on Rus
sian or Polish or Hungarian issues instead
Of on issues growing out of American soil.
The evil Is admitted. Whether the New
York Legislature has gone about removing
it in the right way we shall not attempt
to decide. If the constitutional amendment
setting up the educational qualification
should be adopted, however, New York
would be only following the example of
several other States.
In Maine and Massachusetts,. of the New
England States, voter must be able to read
English and TO write. In Connecticut he
must be able TO read and to write his or
her own name. In California and Wash
ington he must be able to read and write
English, and in Wyoming he must know
enough to read the State Constitution. In
the far West and in the extreme East
lutEt IS u lut TfbuTu lOT 'uNNullOn' anu
this is doubtless responsible for the limta-
ton on the right to vote.
The right to vote is restricted in several
Southern States, but the restriction there
is due to a desire to provide legal excuse
for keeping the Negroes from the polls.
In Alabama and Louisiana a voter must
either have a certain amount of property
or must be able to read and write. In
Florida he must be able to read and write
his name In Maryland he must read. In
Mississippi he must be able TO read the
Constitution or explain it to the satisfac-
tion of the election officers. And in South
Carolina he must be able to read if he were
not registered before January l, 1898. As
no Negroes were registered before that date
the educational qualification applies espe
cially to them.
Aside from the South, where local con-
ditons are peculiar the educational qualii
cation has been established in order that
the electors may be equipped to inform
themselves on the issues of n political cam
paign. In other States the compulsory edu-
cational system has been introduced for the
same purpose.
The justification for the free public
school system was originally political.
There were private schools to which the
children of the well tot do were sent, but
it was early discovered that if we were to
have an intelligent electorate the State must
educate all who could not get an education
otherwise Then the voters could read the
newspapers and inform themselves on the
questions at issue and draw such conclusions
as their Judgment dictated. Otherwise de-
signing men would mislead the ignorant for
their own purposes.
When compulsory education removes il
litcracy completely it will not matter
whether there is an educational qualification
for voters or not save as it may apply TO
foreigners who have not yet learned English.
No one suppoSes that education makes
men honest or that illiteracy is the prime
cause of political corruption. The educated
anarchist who comes to America is more
dangerous citizen than the iliterate peasant,
and his canncity to work mischief increases
with his ability to indulge in sophistcal
arguments supported by historical refer
enCCS.
If the Pennsylvania Constitution con-
tanned an educational qualification, thou
sands Of citizens would be unable to vote.
1t is worth noting that the commission ap-
pointed to suggest amendments to the Con-
stitutiOn did not propose that voters should
be able to read and write. The commits
sioucrs may have concluded that such n
restriction was unnecessary in view of the
campaign for removing illitcracy that is
now in progress, a campaign which in few
wears will give to every child the rudiments
Of an education. As the program of the
State Department Of Education includes
provisions for instruction for illiterate
adults. we. in PENNSYLVANIA, are in fair
vnv TO have the whole Citi2enry qualified
TO vote. even though a voter we're required
to read and write.