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4460 Mr. TELLER. Certainly; we intended to give free suffrage there, and we did not intend to give it after this legislature had given it to them. We intended to give it to them ourselves, so that they might be able to vote in the next election. Mr. CULLOM. As a matter of fact, when we struck out the poll tax. if I may be allowed to state the fact -- Mr. TELLER. Certainly. Mr. CULLOM. It was largely on my motion. I did not be- lieve in it. Mr. TILLMAN. Yon mean the properly qualification? Mr. CULLOM. No: I mean in conference. When it was sug- gested that a voter before registering should pay his taxes, it oc- curred to me that the poor man did not have any to pay if he did not own property; that the great mass of the poor people not own- ing much, if anything, would not have any tax to pay at all, and therefore it would be much easier for him to pay a little tax, if he had anything to pay it on, than to be constrained to pay a poll tax. Mr. JONES of Arkansas. Now, as the Senator finds there is a tax of $5 a head, I suppose he will be perfectly willing to have the report go back to the conference committee and let that be stricken out. Mr. CULLOM. If it should go back, I would be in favor of striking it out; of course I would. April 20, 1900 . Senate v. 33 (5) p. 4460-4470 Mr. CHANDLER. I will ask the Senator from Illinois whether he will have concluded his remarks upon the conference report before the close of the routine morning business to-morrow? Mr. CULLOM. It looks a little bit uncertain as to when I shall get through. But I am trying as best I can to give all the infor- mation that the Senate wants with reference to this bill. Mr. STEWART. Will the Senator allow me to make a sugges- tion right here in regard to that point? Mr. CULLOM. Yes. Mr. STEWART. I am so unalterably opposed to making the payment of a poll tax a condition precedent to voting, and I am so unalterably opposed to a property qualification for voting, that I think it is a matter that should not be left in doubt in this case. I advise the Senator by all means to withdraw his report if there is any uncertainty about it and have it made certain. If we adopt