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Page Two THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C. Friday, March 13, 1970 Senate debate on the propos ed five-year extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has again focused attention on how a so-called civil rights law can Ignore constitutional princi ples If such a law affects only Southern States. The VotlngRlghtsActofl965, which has since been upheld In a split decision of the Supreme Court, Is an Iniquitous piece of legislation designed to usurp the undoubted constltutlonsd powers ofsevenSouthernStates to prescribe voting qualifi cations. Last year the Admin istration proposed to extend the Act for a period of five years, but to make It applicable to all of the States by deleting the so-called“trlgger”formu- la from the Act. That formula brought states and counties under the Act, If a state or county had a literacy test In effect on November 1, 1964 and If less than 50 percent of the voting age residents were registered or voted In the 1964 Presidential election. Under the automatic "trig ger" formula of the 1965 Act, five Southern States and cer tain counties In two other South ern States became subject to punitive action by the Federal Government- Federal voting examiners could move In au tomatically to supervise voter registration In these areas. Not only was the 1965 Act Southern-oriented, but It vio lated the constitutional powers given the States to prescribe voter qualifications In a tyran nical fashion which no Court would sanction for the punish ment of a common criminal. In essence, what Congress did in writing toe 1965 VotlngRight Act, and what the Supreme Court subsequently approved in the case of South Carolina V. Katzenbach, was to enact a bill of attainder to condemn certain State officials and toe peoples of their States without giving them a judicial trial. The No. 13 hole on Beaver Lake Golf Club In Asheville Is toe longest par five hole in this country. It Is 690 yards long. ALL-SEASON AIR CONDITIONING warms or cools at a touch! ^he S. B. Parker^ Company L 1104 National Avonut ME 7-3397 Lonnox Comfort Craftsmon c\^r ce^’i^'Od nno» Moreover, this Act actually took away the rights given to toe States in four separate pro visions of the Constitution. On December llto, the House passed toe Administration's proposal to extend the 1965 Voting Rights Act for a period of five years. The bill as It came to the Senate did have toe virtue of uniform application to all of the States. In the Senate, however,Sen ators Hart and Scott offered a substitute bill which sought to leave the 1965 Act provisions applicable only against seven Southern States and extend the existing law for another five years. I shall offer an amendment to provide that If the 1965 Act Is extended for another five years that toe statistical base be changed to the 1968 Presi dential election. It seems to me to be basically unfair to say that no matter what posi tive actions toe States and vot ers take to register between 1964 and 1968, the seven South ern States cannot be exempt from the automatic power of the Federal Government to super vise voter registration within their borders. I hope my a- mendment will prevail. One of the unfortunate things about the present day Is that people and public officials are willing to Ignore the Consti tution to accomplish what they seek. It would be well Indeed for the Nation to heed Wash ington's sage advice concern ing any dissatisfaction with toe C onstitutlon when he said in his Farewell Address: "Let there be no change by usurpation, or even though a change may seem good In one Instance, usurpation is toe cus tomary weapon by which free government Is destroyed." BEASLEY-K ’hUfina/M MMMOU-MMTOM *SRVICI-SAVINOf” 310 Iread Stra«t-«37-2131 LISTEN TO WVWB - FM 97.7 If you spend more time watching the weather than you do with your family you're missing something in life. an electric dryer Carolina Power & Light Company
The New Bern Mirror (New Bern, N.C.)
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March 13, 1970, edition 1
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