Evening star., 1949-11-07
Dust in Their Eyes

The chances are that good many Vir-
sinians will vote tomorrow on the question
Of poll tax repeal without knowing all OF
the facts. For opponents of repeal have
waged 4 campaign which has been both
effective and, in some respects, thoroughly
dishonest.
As q result of misleading propaganda,
some people have been led to believe that
the plan is to substitute annual registra-
ton for the poll tax; in other words, that
the voters will have to register every year
II the poll tax Is repealed.
That is not true.
The recommendations of the Campbell
Commission, which drafted the repeater,
propose that the eligibility OF voters be
established In any one of three ways. II
q person voted in the last preceding gen.
eral election he would be eligible to vote
again without registering. Second, If he
has paid his personal property tax he
would be eligible to vote. The thought
here is that the meeting Of either require
ment would be enough to show that the
prospective voter actually is resident OF
Virginia The third method-registratio
becomes applicable only in the cases Of
those who did not vote In preceding elec-
tion and who have not paid their personal
property taxes.
There has been much criticism of the
proposed requirement for registration 100
days before primary or general election.
It is said this is too far in advance, and
perhaps that is true. But at least it is
q more liberal provision than the present
one, which requires that the poll tax be
paid six months in advance of a general
election in order to vote.
Finally, there is the hue and cry that
has been raised against the Campbell
recommendation for a capitation tax to
replace the poll tax The opponents Of
repeal suggest, without saying why, that
there is something iniquitous about this,
and 1t is hard to think of anything that
could be further from the truth.
Two-thirds Of the poll tax receipts
about q million dollars-has been going
toward the support Of Virginia schools.
That revenue will be lost If the poll tax
Is repealed. Therefore the Campbell Com
mission recommended a substitute tax,
earmarked for schools, and which does not
have to be paid In order to vote, so that
the public schools, already starved for
funds, would not lose million dollars q
year It is astonishing to find the So
called liberals in Virginia opposing this
aspect of the repeal program. They. are
constantly protesting, and with good
reason, against the insufhciency Of school
funds in the State. Why are they against
q proposal intended to keep the schools
from losing a substantial portion OF their
already skimpy revenues?
Underlying all of this is kind of gen.
eral objection which boils down to an
unwillingness to trust the State Legisla-
ture to establish voting requirements. But
unless the details of voting eligibility and
procedure are to be written into the State
constitution which would be cumbersome
and unsound, the Legislature is going to
have the last word in this matter. For the
poll tax Is on the way out. And whether
1t is abolished by Federal or State action,
there is every reason to expect that the
substitute requirements, whatever they
may be, will be written by the Legislature
II the present Legislature cannot be trust
ed to do this-a point Of view with which
The Star does not agree-the best remedy
for the people Of Virginia is to get out and
elect Legislature which can be trusted