The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-03-31

| distant future. | dislike to assume
| any attitude which may be construed
| as delaying its final solution, but |
| am embarrassed when asked to sup
| port the proposed amendment to the
| Constitution of the United States, be-
| lieving as ] do that il is the unqualiti-
ed right of each individual state to
| determine for itself the qualifications
required of those to whom she gives
the right of suffrage. 1t is sover-
eign power of which any state ought
| not to be deprieved without its con
! sent.
The proposed amendment reads as
follows
The right of citizens of the
United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any state on
account of sex
In considering that we must re-
member that the government of the
United States is a union of indepen-
dent states, each of which is soyer-
eign in all governmental powers ex-
! cept the few which have been dele
gated to the general government anu
which are clearly specified in the Con
stitution. In respect TO all questions
not thus delegated to the general gov
ernment, the Legislature of Vermont
is as clearly entitled to determine for
itself who and what particular class
es of its citizens shall be entitled to
vote as is any other sovereignty in
the world TO determine that question
for itself
This right on the part Of the indiyi-
dual states was recognized when the
United States Constitution was adopt
ed, in the provision that
The House OF Representative
shall be composed OF members,
chosen every second year by the
people OF the several states. and
the electors in each state shall
have the qualifications requisite
for electors OF the most numer-
our branch of the state legisla-
turc.
In other words, it was intended
that Representative TO Congress
should be selected by the same class
Of voters that were permitted to vote
for representatives in the General AS
sembly of the state, and each state
was left to determine tina. question
for itself; and it is a significant fact
that at that time no two Of the origi-
nal thirteen states had the same pro-
visions for determining the qualihca-
tons OF their voters.
During the entire history of the
government of the United States
each individual state has determined
for itself who among It's citizens
should exercise this privilege. In an
unanimous opinion of the Supreme
Court CT the United States the propo-
siticn that mere citizenship confers
the right of franchise has been deni-
ed, and the cour; has gone so far as
to hold that
The United States has not vot-
ers in the states. of it's own crea-
ton. The officers of the United
States are all elected directly or
indirectly by state voters
thus reiterating the principle that
the individual states have the sole
right to determine what classes of
their citizens are entitled to the bal
let both for state officers and Rep
resentative to the Congress of the
United States, and in the government
of its own internal affairs
It follows therefore that the states
not only have the right by law to de
termine, each for itself the qualih-
cations of its voters, but it is a priv
illage which ought not 10 he taken
away from any one of them without
its consent. should the proposed
amendment be submitted to the
people by Congress and be ratified by
three-fourths of the states, the sys-
TEN would become operative not onl>
in the states so favoring it, but in
of Vermont is not Judgment of the
the remaining states where the prop
osition has been rejected Thus
three-fourths Of the states would de-
termiae for the remaining one fourth
the policy they should pursue not
only in respect to the election of Rep
resentatives to Congress, but in res
pect to all questions. including those
which pertain only to the internal
affairs of the state.
The injustice of reaching sol
ution OF the question through a con
stitutional amendment and thus
forcing the system upon unwilling
states. is indicated by reference TO
the states where a system has al
ready been adopted and a comparison
Of the population Of these states with
some Of the larger states of the Tn
ion where the conditions are no. only
different. but 50 complex and difficult
that the people should be permitted
TO determine the question for them
selves.
Arizona California. Colorado. kan
sas. Oregon. Utah. Idaho. Washing
ton. and Wyoming are the nine
states which have already adopted
this system. and they would OF course
vote to ratify the proposed amend
ment or these Arizona. Colorado.