The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1918-01-01
is THE TIME RIPE?
Chancellor Allison Questions Exped-
iency of Suffrage Amendment.


Below appears letter from Hon
John Allison of Nashville, chancellor
of the Seventh Division, and conceded
to be one of the foremost jurists in
Tennessee. Like everything that
comes from ths psn Of this gentle
man, it is we'll worth reading, ire.
spective Of the attitude one may take
on the particular subject at hand.
The chapcellor's letter fol]9ws:
To Tennessee's Senators and Repre-
seNtatlvss IN ths Rrsssnt Congress,
Washington, p. e.:
Dear Sirs-In the latest address Of
the president to the Congress he said:
"Our present and immediate task Is
to win the war, and nothing shall turFn uF 2!
US aside from It until it is accom-
plished.'
On behalf, ! believe, Of q majority
of the wsmen, and certainly a large
majority Of the men Of Tennessee, t
eafRestiy urge yeq net to be now
turned asidea frem that "task' %
consider An aaaeAdlMeAt sf the eensti-
ttien Of the UaitM States ths merits
eE which, II any, Will keep until a
more eppertune time to consider it.
1also urge you to adhere to the ori-
anal publicly expressed view of the
PRESIDENT sN female suffrage is a
question foi states, and, as he was
Understood the time he SO declar-
,, ID, not question for the Congress te
force consideration. Of % the states,
nut a question for the states to take
| |p and consider whenever public SEN
lment in u state demanded it. In
Mat same address to Congress he also
laid in substance, if not in plain
words, that the United States govern
ment does not seek to Impair or re-
arrange the Austro- Hungarian en-
pire," but our government does and
would insist that smaller states Of Eu-
rope, the Balkans and others, shall be
left free to choose their own form of
government and to select their own
rulers, or, rather, servants, to admin
ister such government.
Now, why, ask, should not the sew
eral states of our Union be left free
to determine for themselves when, if
ever, they shall enter upon the con-
sideration of changing their long es-
tablished fundamental laws? That
The Congress with the approval Of the
president, has the right to submit
to the constitution of the
United States, to the states for their
adoption or rejection, no one will deny,
but there is a far cry between the
right to do SO and the necessity and
wisdom Of doing it at this particular
time. deny that there now exists
and necessity for forcing upon the
states consideration of female suf.:
rage, and i also Insist that it would
be unwise to do SO, in view Of four
present and immediate task"
Let me speak plainly. You gentle
men from Tennessee know that there
be reasons why nationwide" female
suffrage would affect the southern
states. Immediately. Immediately
upon Congress forcing upon the south
ern states the white people Of the
southern states would be driven to
''the immediate task" of also consider
ing means and. organization whereby
to save their social, domestic and po-
litical fabrics, and to preserve domes-
tic peace and possibly general trans
guilty, not to say anything Of thus
adding this additional evidence to the
tendency to GENERALIZATION.
Must the southern states be forced
BY tie Congress to enter upon this
task" during the existence Of our war
with Germany! Will it be wise for
The Congress to inject, during the
period Of the war, into southern poll
Tics social, racial and kindred prob
ems, the consideration Of which will
divert some part Of their
time, though the effort from consid-
grafton Of tour present and immediate
task?"
We do not understand that the pres
dent has thrown the weight o1 biz