Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-18
woman SUFFRAGE
VOTE IS DELAYED
Senate Again Forced to Side
track Matter-House Com
mittee Hearing Tuesday.

The woman suffrage resolution was
temporarily laid aside when it came up in
the Senate this afternoon at o'clock as
the unfinished business, in order to per-
NIT the Senate to continue with the con-
sideration of the urgency deficiency ap-
preparation bill. Senators interested in the
resolution declared this afternoon that
they were at a loss to say when the Sen
ate would reach a vote on the resolution.
1t may be taken up again this afternoon
after the deficiency bill has been disposed
Of.
Another effort to obtain favorable con-
sideration for woman suffrage legislation
in the House will be made Tuesday. This
time the suffragists and the anti-suf-
fragists will present their arguments to
the House committee on election of Pres
ident, Vice President and members OF
Congress on a bill Of Representative
French Of Idaho giving women the
right to vote for members of Congress.
Chairman Rucker of the committee en-
gagged the largest hearing room in the
office building today for the hearing.
Attacks Fifteenth Amendment.
frage in the Senate yesterday afternoon
Senator Borah Of Idaho shocked suffrage
advocates on the floor and in the galleries
by declaring that it was impractical and
impossible to obtain the vote for women
by a constitutional amendment. He pre-
dicted that after fifteen years OF vain en-
deavor the women would renew their
abandoned request for the ballot before
the people Of the states, because in seek
ing an amendment to the federal Consti-
tuition they had loaded themselves down
with the negro question, the Japanese
question and a dozen other states rights
problems.
you will never carry the required
thirty-six states for a constitutional wom-
an suffrage amendment" said the SEN
ator, until you repeal the fifteenth
amendment
Asserting that the fifteenth amendment
giving the negro the right to vote was a
blunder in the first place and now was a
dead letter. not being enforced in a sin
gle state of the Union, Senator Borah
asked whether the advocates of tl6 won-
an suffrage amendment now penang for
a moment supposed the states of the
south would add 100000 to the list of
those whom they must disfranchise.
Demoralizing to Negro Race.
violation Of law is a bad thing" he
added. 1T is demoralizing to the negro
race to place in the Constitution the form
Of rights that we do not mean to see
they shall enjoy
The fifteenth amendment the senator
declared, was blunder, engendered in a
spirit Of retaliation, with the result that
after the first blush of satisfaction the
north had connived at the south's viola
ton Of it. The amendment infringed upon
states rights, and might furnish prece-
dent for an amendment declaring that the
right to hold real estate or attend school
should not be denied because of race or
color.
tor ito bestow the franchise on the 10000
Japanese on the Pacific slope, or yield up
to the federal government the control of
the school questions of the Pacific coast.
1 would count myself derelict to those
great Pacific states and to the frame
work Of our government II I we;e to here
set a precedent as to who shall own prop
erty in the states
Wisdom Of Government Founders.
Senator Borah defended the wisdom Of
the founders of the republic in weaving
into the fabric of federal government the
Hamiltonian ideas Of a strong central
government with the Jeffersonian ideas
Of local government. The perpetuity of
the government, he said, rested upon
preservation OF these ideas.
Referring to a recent book by q college
professor. who sought to show that the
fathers were opposed to intrust.ng the
government to the people, Senator Borah
declared he had as much respect for the
hand that handled a bomb as for the
hand that sowed seed of anarchy under
the guise of a college professorship.
Answering question by Senator
Thomas, Senator Borah said he was in
favor Of repeating the fifteenth amend
roenf ~ woman suffrage could be obtain
ed in no other way. The Idaho senator
and Senator Vardaman Of Mississippi en-
gagged in an exchange over the progress
Of the negro race.