The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-01-11
SOUTH IS ASSURED
THERE'LL Be NO GUT
G. o. P. LEADERS ARE SAID TO
BE SHY OF SECTIONAL IS
SUES AT PRESENT.
MATTER WILL SLUMBER
In Congressional Reapportionment the
South Will Not Lose Members.
Charges of Negroes Before Commit
tee Based Largely on Hearsay.

WASHINGTON, D. C.-Repubh-
can leaders in reapportionment legisla-
ton have given informal assurances to
southern members of the house conf
mittee on census that no real attempt
is to be made at this time to reduce
the south's representation because OF
its alleged discrimination against the
negro voter.
While the census committee during
the past two weeks has heard delega-
tions of negroes who demand that the
south's representation in congress be
reduced, and though Representative
Tinkham, of Massachusetts, is to APP
pear next week and urge an investiga-
ton of election methods in the south
ern states, this does not forecast dras-
tic action by the committee.
G. o. P. Steps Cautiously.
1t is said that democratic members
of the census committee who come
from the southern states have been
privately assured by their republican
colleagues that these hearings are nee
essary to get before the committee
both sides of the negro suffrage ques-
ton, but congress does not plan to
pass a reapportionment bill penalizing
the south.
Republican leaders realize this is not
the time to agitate sectional questions.
The G. O. P. in November carried two
southern states and broke into the
solid south" after half century OF
endeavor. The chiefs of the party are
too wise at this juncture, and as they
are hoping to make further inroads
in Dixie, to nip the south by cutting its
representation and reviving the race
issue.
This practically means that the
forthcoming reapportionment bill will
have no provision for reduced south
ern representation and for another 10
years, at least, the representation issue
will slumber. An effort to penalize
the south because of its handling OF
the negro question through white pri-
maries and other election means TN
questionably would bring on a bitter
and dangerous fight in congress at this
time. The conservative leaders of the
republican party want to let the negro
suffrage issue rest, permitting each
state to work out its election laws fol-
the publication of the ballot and the
fair treatment of all classes of voters
During the week when spokesmen
for the National Association of the
Advancement of Colored People were
before the house committee there was
constant wrangling between southern
members of the committee and negro
witnesses, who preferred wholesale
charges of discrimination against the
negro voter in the south. 1t developed
that many of these charges were based
on hearsay evidence, and Representa-
tive Bee, of Texas; Larsen, of Geor-
gia; Aswell of Louisiana, and Brin-
son, of North Carolina, denied that the
southern states refuse to let the negro
vote simply because he is a negro.
white Primary" Necessary.
Nevertheless, these members stoutly
defended the necessity of the white
primary" which came into operation
about 20 years ago, and was andis, de
signed to eliminate from local contests
the purchasable vote and the holding
of the balance of power by illiterates
of whatever color.