A minor House-passed bill which
seeks to give relief for sums owed
the federal government by Texas
wheat farmer, James M. Norman,
was chosen as the vehicle to bring
up S 2750, the so-called Literacy
Test Bill.
My opposition to S.'2750, which
seeks to decree that a sixth grade
education entitles a voting appli
cant to pass ^iteracy tests, has.no
relation whatsoever to any matter
of race or color.
I have always *4 maintained that
all qualified citizens of all races
are entitled-to register and vote.
My opposition is based upon
two reasons. The first reason is that
existing Federal laws are adequate
to secure to every citizen any
where in the United States thie
right to vote; and m consequence,
the enactment of S. 2750 is , wholly
unnecessary and in fact would im
pede rather than accelerate the
registration of literate persons pos
sessing alt the other qualifications
for voting.
The second reason is that S 2750
* is utterly incompatible with Sec
tion 3 of Article I, "Section 1 ■ of
Article II, and the Seventeenth
Amendment, which, prohibit Con
gress from prescribing the qualific
ations for voters for Presidential
electors, Senators, and Representa
tives in Congress; does not consti
tute appropriate legislation within
the meaning of the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments.
Twenty-one states have laws;
making literacy a qualification for
voting. They stretch geographically
from Maine to California and even
to Alaska and Hawaii. The charge
that such laws are complicated and
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do not create objective standards
is without validity.
On the contrary, they are simple
in nature and furnish definite,* ob
jective, and practical standards for
determining the literacy of appli
cants for registration. Moreover,
the Supreme Court has held that
such laws are constitutional, and do
not violate any provision of the
Constitution of the,United States.
Literacy tests today ' are used
daily by Federal and State Agen
cies and schools for multitudes of
purposes. It is passing strange to
hear the- advocates of .S 2750 charge
that the test is complicated, or
lacking in objectivity. This obser
vation is also true becasue existing
Federal laws are suffcient to sel
cure to every qualified person of
any race his. right to vote, in any
Federal election, and to punish any
state election official who under
takes to deprive hitn of Such right.
The advocates of tins bill, cite
statistics which show that many
people are not voting in Southern
states. The tragic truth is that
there are millions of/ American cit
izens of all races in all areas of
the country who are apathetic
toward governmental matters and
do not manifest any interest what
every in exercising the right of
sufferage.
I wish to make it crystal clear
that I deplore the ^ct of any elec
tion official in any Southern State
who wrongfully denies any person
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'even when such obstacles are pr.ec.
ions constitutional and legal princi.
pals. Their impatient zeal , seems
should he so unwise
US bill, and if the.
: of the United States
pphold the law, then the door will
be openejd for uniform federal reg
ulation of all voting requirements.
It is my hope that Congress will
ndt sell America’s constitutional
birthright for a mess of political
pottage.
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