Show ltJALIFIOATIOXS OF VOTERS I A public discussion was recently 1 held in the open air in this city It was not largely attended and would not be worthy of a great deal of attention at-tention were it not for the notices which it has received from some of the papers The question on which the debate took place was this Resolved That the constitution I should not be ratified by the people The vote at the close stood nineteen in favor of statehood under the constitution I con-stitution and ninetyfour against it It was stated by the antistatehood champion that he was not opposed to the constitution because of statehood but he was fighting statehood on account t ac-count of the constitution The principal prin-cipal point of objection which he urged was what he termed the property qualification prescribed for voters This he denounced as unAmerican in principle prin-ciple because it guaged a mans citizenship citi-zenship by his tax receipts and he exclaimed Why on the principle laid down by this infamous instrument called a constitution con-stitution a man who raises a band of mules to kick the brains out of offensive offen-sive partisans Is far better qualified to take part in the affairs of government govern-ment than he who sends his earnings in the education and maintenance of sons and daughters TVe make mention of this matter because be-cause of the endeavor not only of the speaker whose words we have quoted but of two or three papers in this I territ ry to mislead the public in reference I ref-erence to the provision of the constitution consti-tution as to the qualifications of voters I There is no property qualification in the constitution for voting except in relation to property and taxation The I Herald has explained this before It appears to be necessary to explain it again The constitution provides that Every citizen of the United States I of the age of 21 years and upwards who shall have been a citizen for ninety days and shall have resided in the state or territory one year in the county four mpnths and in the precinct sixty days next preceding any election shall be entitled to vote at such elec I tion except as herein otherwise provided I pro-vided Hire is the exception referred to in I that section I Except in elections levying a special tax or creating indebtedness no property qualification shall be required for any person to vote or hold olfice It will be seen by these sections that the heroics of the denouncer of the constitution are entirely gratuitous j There is no occasion for them The constitution guards the voter against I any property qualification being imposed im-posed by the legislature Every citizen citi-zen rich or poor prosperous or penniless penni-less is placed on an equal footing as a voter But when a question as to whether a special tax shall be placed on property I ior a special purpose has to be decided I the owners of that property are to be I the persons to determine by their votes whether these special taxes shall be levied Is not that perfectly just and equitable Should persons who have no property be empowered to vote away the property of those who have Yet that it appears is what certain agitators who are endeavoring to pose as the friends of labor would like to establish In Utah And they would if they could defeat statehood state-hood and leave the people in territorial vassalage solely because the constitution constitu-tion contains the fair and necessary provision we have quoted But where is the sense of such opposition op-position to statehood In the levying of a special tax Under un-der the laws of the territory the same principle prevails It would be shameful if it did not Those who pay the taxes should have a voice in the levying of the taxes It would seem that no argument is necessary to establish that selfevident proposition It is only necessary to make the truth in relation to this matter clear to remove re-move from the mind of every intelligent intelli-gent man or woman any feeling of opposition to statehood on account of the provisions in the constitution as to the qualifications of voters There is no part of the American Union where greater liberty of the elective franchise will prevail than in the State of Utah |