Evening star., 1942-11-19

large Negro populations. The poll
tax has operated to keep many
of them from the polls on elec-
tion day. So the promise is made
to the Negroes in the other
States that their brothers in
these eight States of the South
shall be enfranchised by the re-
peal of all poll taxes and per-
mitted to vote for members of
Congress and for President and
Vice President.
Majority for Bill.
Both the Republicans and the
Democrats In Congress-except
those from the South-have for
the most part made this promise
in the hope that the Negroes will
support their party when elec-
tions are held and their votes are
needed in Illinois, New York and
other States where their vote
may be the balance of power. In
the Senate, not all of the Repub-
licans nor all of the Democrats,
outside of the solid South, be-
lieve the proposed law is consti-
tutional-and not all of them are
prepared to vote for It's passage.
But majority Of both will sup
port the legislation If it can be
forced to a vote.
Article /, Section 2 of the Con-
stitution reads: The House OF
Representatives shall be COM
posed Of members chosen every
second year by the people of the
several States, and the electors in
each State shall have the quail
flcations requisite for the elec-
tors of the most numerous branch
OF the State Legislature. These
eight States which still have the
poll tax law, provide that the
payment of poll tax shall be
a requisite for electors of the
members of their Etate Legisla-
lures.
The pending bill does not seek
to prevent the States from impos-
ing poll taxes on electors who
vote for the members Of the
State Legislatures. 1t merely seeks
to prevent the imposition of such
a tax on electors who vote in the
States for members of Congress
and for President. The support
ers of the bill have acknowledge
that Congress has no power to
fix or alter qualifications Of
voters for State officials. They
seek to distinguish, however, be-
tween the election of State
officer and of a member Of Con-
gress.
Tenuous Argument.
To do this they deny that the
payment Of poll tax is a quail
f1cation" for voting. They insist
that poll tax is an interference
in the manner" OF holding a
Federal election. 1t is a tenuous
line Of argument, especially in
view of the fact that when the
Constitution was first adopted
all the States had property or
tax qualifications for voters and
continued them in effect.
Gradually the States them
selves have repealed their laws
requiring the payment of poll
taxes as requisite for voting.
1t is matter which should be
left to the States. Tennessee is
about to repeal its poll tax law
today.
When fanatical "drys" In this
country insisted on national pro-
hibition-forcing dry laws on
States which were not ready for
them and did not wish them
they sought a constitutional
amendment. They did not seek
to impose the Federal bill on
the States by mere act of Con-
gress.
The Senate has been forced to
be spectacle to the entire world
with filibuster in full swing
for days now by the insistance
OF the proponents of the anti-poll
tax bill. In the midst of a great
war, this measure is pushed to
the front. A majority Of the
members of the Senate regret
that this has been done. Better
a filibuster, however, with all It's
antics, than plain invasion Of
the Constitution