The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-01-26
HOW SOUTH IS
KEPT SOLID

The Silver State has been asked
for more information concerning
elections of United States senators
in southern states, following the
line established in an editorial in
the last issue of this newspaper.
The fourteenth amendment to the
United States constitution sets forth
that all persons born in the United
States are citizens of the United
States and of the state wherein they
reside, and no state shall make or
enforce any law which will abridge
their privileges as citizens. The
amendment also specifies that the
right of any citizen to vote shall
not be abridged by any state on
account of race or color, further
providing that in event any state
does abridge the right of its citizens
to vote, its representation in Con-
gress shall be reduced in the pro-
portion that its citizenship is denied
the right to vote.
Taking the United States census
returns as the authority for the
legal voting population and the off
cial returns of the elections as the
authority for the vote cast, it can
be stated as a fact that the right
of citizenship is SO abridged in the
state of Alabama that only one
voter out of every seven voted for
Senators Underwood and Hefiin in
the 1920 elections. In Florida only
one legal voter out of five exercised
the right of franchise; in Louisiana
only one out of ten. In South
Carolina the Democratic United
States senator was elected by re-
ceiying only one-twelfth of the legal
vote of the state. In Virginia only
one out of every six voted in the
elections.
So far as any record shows, none
of the Democratic beneficiaries of
this travesty upon fair ond honest
federal elections has ever denied
there is an abridgement of citizen
ship in the southern states. Yet
when they are asked to abide by the
penalties prescribed by the federal
constitution for such abridgement
of the right of citizenship-namely
reduction of their representation
in congress and the electoral col
lege-southern Democrats fly into
an uncomfortable and vituperative
rage.
As a result of this open, chronic,
insolent defiance of the constitution
in the southern states, the Demo-
cratic party has an unlawful repre-
sentation in congress and in the
electoral college, representation
that constitutes menace to popu-
lar form of government. To illus
trade: The total presidential vote
in Alabama in 1920 was only 240,-
313. The total presidential vote in
Minnesota was 730,S38. Yet, by
virtue of the corrupt conditions
which prevail, Alabama is given the
same number of congressman and
the same electoral vote as Mime
sofa. In other words, it takes three
votes in Minnesota to offset the in
fluence of one vote in Alabama.
Iowa cast SS9,897 presidential
votes; for these she gets IL con-
gressmen. But Georgia, casting
only 150,8s2 votes, gets IL con-
gressmen, being placed on a par
with New Jersey, which polls 904,-
600 votes. That is, one vote in
Georgia offsets six votes in Iowa
or New Jersey.
Mississippi, Louisiana and Kansas
each have eight members in the
House of Representatives. But
Kansas has to cast 570,253 votes
to get this representation, while
Mississippi casts but .S2,494 and
Louisiana but little more than
10000. In other words it takes
seven votes in Kansas to offset
one vote in Mississippi and five to
offset one vote in Louisiana.
Arkansas polls 178,525 votes and
gets seven OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
polls over twice as many-3S2,-
653 and gets only six congressman.
West Virginia polls three times as
many-50S, Ali and gets one less
congressman than Arkansas. Wash