amendment shall take effect."

Thus Massachusetts requires that those wishing to exercise the elective
franchise in the future must be able merely to read the English
language; and expends annually more than four dollars per capita to
educate them; while Mississippi requires, not only future electors, but
those who have previously exercised the right to vote to give "_a
reasonable interpretation_" to the satisfaction of a registration
officer, and expends annually less than one dollar per capita for
education!

Here it may be well to state that, although the idea of a qualified
suffrage grew out of the desire and the necessity to prepare the foreign
born element of our population, aliens to our institutions and language,
for an intelligent exercise of the ballot, the Negro does not make
objection or complaint to a just and fair educational test of his
fitness to exercise the right of suffrage. Absolutely loyal to
republical institutions, he is willing to go as far as any in the matter
of fairly and justly protecting the ballot from abuses that grow out of
ignorance.

The Constitution of Mississippi has served as the pattern for the
disfranchising enactments of South Carolina and Louisiana. The main
provision in the South Carolina Constitution regulating suffrage is as
follows:

"Up to January 1, 1898, all male persons of voting age applying for
registration, who can read any section of this constitution
submitted to them, _or understand and explain it_ when read to them
by the registration officer, shall be entitled to registration and
become electors."

It will be observed that the understanding and interpreting clause of
the foregoing operates the reverse of that of the Constitution of
Mississippi. The South Carolina provision was limited to cease after
January 1, 1898, while that of Mississippi was limited to begin January
1, 1892 and to continue thereafter without ceasing.

Subdivision (d) of the above mentioned section of the South Carolina
Constitution provides as follows:

"Any person who shall apply for registration after January 1, 1898,
if otherwise qualified, shall be registered: _Provided_ that he can
both read and write any section of the constitution submitted to
him by the registration officer or can show that he owns and has
paid taxes collectible during the previous year on property in this
state assessed at three hundred dollars ($300) or