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Page Two THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C. Friday, March 20, 1970 Senate debate on the exten sion of the controversial Voting Rights Act of 1965 moved in a new direction last week. By a 64 to 17 vote Majority Leader Mansfield won approval of a constitutionally questionable amendment sdlowing 18-year- olds the right to vote. The NAT DIXON NURSERY ■ 61ENBURNIE - Growers of Fine Trees, Shrubs and Plants Quality Shoe Repairing at Reasonable Prices IDEAL SHOE SHOP JOE HATEM, Prop. 903 Broad Stroot ME 7-5011 Coll ... D. E. JONES SHEET METAL CO. tor • HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING Authorized Chrysler>Alr Temp Sales and Service 2216 Trent Bivd. Phone 637-6951 amendment is subject to a Senate - House conference where house opposition to the 18-year-old vote is said to be strong. I voted against the statutory change allowing 18-year-olds to vote for two reasons. First, It seems to me that If the Constitution has any vi tality, this provision is plainly unconstitutional. The Senate has pending in Committee S. J. Res. 147, which would submit to the States a constitutional amendment setting the voting age at 18 years throughout the Nation. If we are to deal with this issue, S. J. Res. 147 has the virtue of following the pre scribed method for changing our basic constitutional law. On the other hand, the Mans field amendment, by taking the statutory approach, runs count er to four express provisions of the Constitution. These are: Article I, section 2, Article II, section 1, and the Tenth and Seventeenth Amendments to the Constitution, which spell out In unequivocal language that the States have the power to pre scribe qualifications for voting, subject only to the condition that race or sex cannot be used to deny any individual the right to vote. Second, I think it is unwise to deal with the 18-year-old voting amendment in summary fashion. A change of this mag nitude deserves considerable study, and the Mansfield amendment was not even refer red to the Judiciary Commit- Fine Seafood Is Only Minutes Away, Pre pared in True Tar Heel Style, at LAURA & RUSSELL'S Bayboro THE BANK OF NEW BERN 31) Pollock St. Now Bom, N. C. "Your Home-Owned Bank" OUCANICO tee for review prior to its consideration. In saying these things, I recognize that there are com pelling agruments that 18- year-olds ought to be permitted to vote, because many of our 18-year-olds possess greater educational opportunities than existed two centuries ago. It is said, too, that if a young man can be compelled to enter the service of his country prior to his 21st birthday, he ought to be permitted to vote, and decide who shall represent him in the government of his com munity, State, and Nation. But there is more to the matter than this. Any legal age requirement contains a debatable arbitrari ness over the standard of ma turity. The fact is that much of our present law governing property, business, and con tracts is founded upon the English common law precept that 21 years is the legal age for adult judgments. True, four States of the Union— Georgia, Kentucky, Alaska,and Hawaii—permit voting before 21 years. Still, 46 states have set 21 years as their voting age, and this fact alone ought to give Congress pause before it ar bitrarily writes a new voting requirement for the entire na tion. The issue now goes to the House, where it is to be hoped that constitutional reverence will prevail. If not, theCourts may have to say whether there is any meaning left to four pro visions of the Constitution which delegated to theStates the power todetermine voting qual ifications. The amount of oxygen dissolved in the Earth's oceans has de creased perhaps 12 per cent since 1920, but nobody knows why. For Master Tune-Ups See Henry Broome at BEN MOORE'S SHELL 900 George St. Chick's Camera Center "Where Photography Is a Profession." 706 PROFESSIONAL DRIVE DIAL 637-3634 ^ViAMider whaf mates if fasfB so qoodP* MlMDUrr Of TW €OCAOU COMPANY IV New Bern Coca-Cola Bottling Works, Inc. NEW BERN, N. C. TNk S CCNTU Ready! Take Off! Zoom in on the color. **Coiorama^* is sure to he noticed! Accented by a wide strap and button ornament. It’s the iooh of today done in zippy color contrasts. **Colorama** is ready for action, pached with fit and comfort. YOUIL FIND THE "DIFFERENT" GIFT YOU'RE looking FOR AMONG THE MANY UNUSUAL ITEMS AT MAMIE'S NOVELTY SHOP 215 Hancock St.
The New Bern Mirror (New Bern, N.C.)
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March 20, 1970, edition 1
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