It all turns upon section 1 of the fourteenth amendment. which is in these words: All persons born or naturalizeod in the United States. and suliect to the juris. diction thereof. are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they resld. No State shall make or enforce anmy law which shall abridge the privileges or immaunities of citizens of the United States. nor slmall any State deprive any person of life. liberty. or property. without .lite process of low . nor deny to any person within its jurisdietion tim equal protection of the laws. I propose to take up this section sentence by sentence and see whether by any fair reasoning whatever the power asserted in this bill to prescribe the qualifications of jurors in a State court can be logically or reasonably deduced. - Tme first sentence is: All persons born or naturalized in the United States. and subject to the jurisdietion thereof. are citizens of the United Slates and of the tate wherein they reside. Manifestly that confers upon them no right to sit as jurors. and if it did it would confer upon every woman a right to be a juror. it would coifer upon every. minor a right to be a juror. The more fact that persons born within tie United States or here naturalized become citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. confers no right to be selected or to act as jurors. Let me illustrate that. Take the case of a person naturalized who caiuot speak ornunderstand one word of the English language. May not the State say that he shall not be a juror? Does not State after State declare that such persons shall not be jurors?
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naturalized