Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1915-03-10
GOVERNOR SIGNS
Twe vENDMENTs
Clarke Takes FhE NctiOn on Suf.
frage and Pro- on Bills.
BIG CROWD WATCKS
AS GOvERNORN $ BILLs
Signing of History Maxi DOcu.
ments Marked by FOtmal
Ceremonies.

A few minutes after o'clock Sat
urday afternoon, Governor Clarke
penned his signature to the constitu-
tional prohibition and the women
suffrage amendments, ending there
by the process by which two of the
biggest pieces Of legislation of the
present session have been enacted.
Temperance and suffrage workers,
senator's and representatives, and
other state officers and employees
numbering not less than 100 made up
the group which filled the governor g
private office when he signed the two
big bills. +&
Mrs. McHOse SpOkeswOman.
Mrs. j. B. McHose, wife of the for
mer Boone county representative,
acted as spokeswoman for the suf-
frage leaders present, gave the gov
ernor the pen with which he signed
the suffrage bill, and received it back
as a souvenir Of the occasion. She
made brief address in which she
thanked the governor for his ready
willingness to aid the women of Iowa
to get the right of suffrage. The
question had already been submitted
to a former legislature, she pointed
out, but it had never before come to
the governor. She predicted the en-
+ franchisement of women would mean
much toward the progress of Iowa.
The governor used different pen
in dating the suffrage bill and it was
presented to Miss Mabel Elwood. en-
rolling clerk of the house. Miss Ell
wood had previously been PROMINENT
ly connected with the passage of the
bill when she was sent to the senate
to read the message in which the
house announced that it had passed
the measure.
Even though they win the right to
the ballot by amendment o the con-
stltut"", vvmen Will not have the
right to election to the general as
sembly, if the view which Senator
Charles II. Thomas takes of the con-
stitutional provision on election cf
senator's and representatives is the
correct one.
After looking carefully into the
matter, Senator Thomas declared in
an interview Saturday that while
enfranchisement OF Iowa women
would apparently make them elig-
ible to the governorship or other
state administrative Offices It would
not make them eligible to become
lawmakers. He directed attention
to section three, article / of the con-
stitution, which reads:
No person shall be a member
or the house of representatives
who shall not have attained the
age OF twenty-one years; be a
MALE citizen of the United
States,' etc.
Bars Assembly Privileges.
The courts hold that where the
word he is used in the language ot
a statute it may mean one of either
sex" Senator Thomas said. But
here we have the positive and spe-
cific term MALE citizen | see
nothing in the language of the con-
stitution to prevent women holding
any other state office, even the gov
ernorship, but it looks as if this pro-
vision would bar them from member
ship in the general assembly, for
state senator's are required to have
the same qualifications as represen-
tatives except as to age.
This should not be- III women are
TO be given the right of suffrage on
equality with men, they should have
equal rights to sit i'm the general as
sembly where laws are made to gov