evil moment allow itself to make such a grave blunder, such a
criminal mistake, it will thereby forfeit the confidence and support of
the major part of those upon whom in the past it has relied,--and never
in vain,--for its continuance in power. There is nothing in the
situation that would justify the experiment, even if it were thought
that a little temporary and local advantage would be secured thereby.

The Fifteenth Amendment to the National Constitution was not intended to
confer suffrage upon any particular race or class of persons, but merely
to place a limit upon the National Government and that of the several
States in prescribing the qualifications of electors. Whatever power the
national or any state government may have had in prescribing the
qualification of electors prior to the ratification of the Fifteenth
Amendment it still has, save that it cannot legally and constitutionally
make race or color a ground of disqualification. In other words,
whatever qualifications may be prescribed and fixed as a condition
precedent to voting, must be applicable to white and colored alike. A
few States, under the false plea of political necessity, have resorted
to certain schemes of doubtful constitutionality, for the sole purpose
of evading this plain provision of the National Constitution. They may
stand for a while, but, even if they could stand indefinitely, that fact
would furnish no excuse for the party,--a party that has stood so long,
and fought so hard for liberty, justice, equal rights, and fair
play,--to enter into a political alliance with any other party or
faction which would involve a compromise or an abandonment of those
grand and noble principles. The Republican party is still in the prime
and glory of its usefulness. It is still strong in the confidence and
affections of the masses of the people, at least such was the case in
1908, because it had not up to that time allowed itself to compromise or
abandon,--so far as its platform utterances were concerned,--the
fundamental principles which called it into existence and which caused
it to be placed in control of the National Government, and which have
caused its continuance in power for so many years. Whether or not the
unwise and unfortunate southern policy inaugurated by the Taft
Administration will result in disaster to the party is not and cannot be
known at this writing. We can only hope.

THE END

End of Project Gutenberg's The Facts of