The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-02-23
SUFFRAGE BILL DEFEATED
Votes for Women Downed by Maiori-
ty of Three Votes.


Montpelier. Feb. 23.--Before the
largest gallery of visitors which has
attended any OF the 1917 legislative
sessions and after spirited and
lengthy debate in which the entire
woman suffrage question was pret-
ty thoroughly covered, the House
Wednesday afternoon by a yea and
nay vote of ia to Ill rejected the
first of the three woman suffrage bills
which have been introduced so far
this year. The rejected measure.
which was introduced by the Rev.
Fraser Meter of Randolph. granted
to women the same rights as men to
vote for presidential electors. The
bill was the subject of two largely at
tended public hearings at which
leading Vermont women discussed
the question from the suffrage and
anti-suffrage standpoint. The bill
was reported back to the House in
the morning from the suffrage and
elections committee with majority
adverse and a minority favorable re
port, being the first measure of the
session to be so reported.
The discussion of the bill occupied
all of the forenoon and large part OF
the afternoon session. Representa-
tives Metzger of Randolph. Ernest
Moore of Ludlow. Stearns of Burlng-
ton, Howland of Barre city and many
others, including Bond of Searsburg.
who argued that women voters would
end the liquor problem, supported the
bill. Representatives Fenton of Rut-
land city, Phelps of Fair Haven, Pol
lard of Cavendish. Barrett of Cabot
and Cudworth of Londonderry op-
posed the bill. The basis of the argu-
ments seemed to be on the one hand
that women were qualified to accept
the responsibility of suffrage and
should be allowed the ballot, while on
the other hand great stress was laid
upon the point that a majority of the
Vermont women did not wish to vote
and that the Legislature should not
thrust that responsibility upon them
at the wish of the minority.
Most of the arguments on both
sides were extremely interesting If
not convincing and the members and
visitors laughed and applauded time
and again.
The House Wednesday passed the
bill requiring the State commissioner
of taxes to furnish the names of habi-
tual drunkards to liquor licensees. in
stead of having it done by the board
CT license commissioners of each town
as is now the case. The bill and Incl
dentally the present public statutes Of
the State were amended so that the
commissioner of taxes must have a
complaint from board OF license com
missioners in town before he can
notify the licensees of tnat town not
to sell nor to furnish liquor to a per.
son. The present law places this
power arbitrarily in the hands of the
license commissioners and the origi.
nal bill simply substituted the tax
commissioner for the license commits.
sioners.
The act providing that person
who Is or within period of ten years
prior to the time of such appointment
Ito the board of license commission.
ers) has been engaged directly or in.
directly in the manufacture or sale of
intoxicating liquor shall not be elig-
ible to such appointment was ordered
to third reading.
Other bills ordered to third read
ing were those providing that appli.
cants for fishing and hunting licenses
must make application to the town
clerk of the town In which they re-
side and the one giving the fish and