The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-04-30
WOMEN MUST
Wait A LITTLE
Continued from Page ~

of UNFOLDING his argument that womel
should vote on the constitution he reaC
an important legal opinion on the Ques
ton. This was addressed to the con
vention and he said he would have
presented it before the body went int
committee of the whole had he beer
! present. 1t reads as follows:
10 the president and members of the
constitutional convention-The under
signed members of the legal profession
having common interest with other cit
liens of Utah, not only in the formation
or good constitution but in a regular
submission of il for adoption by the peo-
PIE pie ana an observing that there is consider.
Bile diversity of opinions on the question
whether all persons who may exercise the
elective franchise under this constitution,
II adopted, may vote at the election next
November for its ratification or rejection,
we offer the following suggestions on that
/ subject:
Two Provisions.
Section four of the enabling act fixes
the time for that election and contains
this language as to voters: The qualified
voters of said proposed state shall vote
| directly for or against the proposed con-
stitution. and for or against any provision
separately submitted"
Section two also contains a provision on
the same subject in these words: Per
sons possessing the qualifica tons entit-
ing them to vote for delegates under this
cation OF rejection of the constitution. ="
they are all male citizens of the United
States over the age Of twenty-one years
who have resided in said territory for
one year next prior TO such election
Mention of One Excluding Others.
1T is supposed by some that the per-
sons thus mentioned in section two are
the only persons entitled to vote for or
against the constitution, on the maxim
that the mention of one person or class is
an exclusion of others.
1.-The maxim is sound and applicable;
for the right to vote at this election must
be granted and the right can be exercised
only by those to whom it is granted, The
mention of those who may vote need not
be in one section exclusively; particular
persons may be mentioned in one section,
and others in another section. and the
maxim will cover the cumulative enumer-
alton, and only those mentioned in either
section will be excluded.
Does section four profess to confer the
right to vote, and by different and pos
sibly more comprehensive description
than that contained in section two?
Qualified Under Statehood.
I'VE think it does-'The qualified voters
of the proposed state are manifestly
those who will be qualified voters when
the proposed state becomes a state;
those who possess the qualifications that
the constitution of the proposed state re-
quires. The persons declared entitled to
vote in section two are not declared in
ludl SecllOn 10 De QudllIeQ voters OF the
proposed state and in our judgment the
constitution might be so framed that no
male citizen only twenty-cne years of age
could vote; that no citizen who has not
resided in Utah longer than enc year
could vote. On the other hand, the con-
stitution may so define the qualifications
of voters that they may exercise the right
1T and from eighteen years of age, and
after six months residence. If so, it may
define the right in a manner to make no
distinction between the sexes. The quail
ing to the requirements of the constitu-
ton, including the persons mentioned in
section two, whether they possess all the
constitutional qualifications or not, would
Seem plainly to be the persons to whom
the constitution must be submitted. In
other words, if women are granted in the
constitution the right to vote, they have
the right to vote on the ratification or re-
lection Of the constitution.
Requiring Residence.
Sion qualified voters of the proposed
state means the voters within the boun-
diaries Of Utah, and has no force TO re-
quire anything but being voters within
dence within that area, for it requires
them to be qualified voters To be such
they must have all the qualifications emu
in the constitution.
1T should be borne in mind that con-
situations generally prescribe the qualifi-
cations Of the persons to whom the ques-
ton of their adoption is submitted. Those
who will be qualified to vote after the
adoption of constitution, may be fifty
trusted, to decide whether it shall De
adopted.
The American Practice.
THE submission of the constitution to
the qualified voters of the proposed state
follows the American practice. and is
consistent with the other fea-
ture of the Enabling Act-that providing
for the election of the first state officers
at the very election a which the adoption
Of the constitution is to be decided.
u. G. SUTHERLAND,
"CHAS. c. DEFY,
JOHN A MARSHALL
GEO. SUTHERLAND.
III. P. HENDERSON,
The Political Complexion.
Squires-What is the political COM
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