Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-03-14
SUFFRAGE HARD
HIT YESTERDAY.
Wright Bill Sent To The
Morgue By Vote Of SO To
~ After Only Short
Debate.
SHIRT SLEEVE ORATOR.
Author OF Bill Becomes Too
Heated While Supporting
His Measure. Fisher On
Sufragists.

After less than two hours of debate,
which, however. made up in steam
what il lacked in duration, the House
yesterday afternoon knocked out the
cause OF woman suffrage for this SEES
sion Of the Assembly. With the gal
leries well filed, and many enthusiasts
tic sunragists seated about the floor
of the chamber the Wright bill grant
ing presidential suffrage, was killed
80 to ~, and then by a viva voca vote
the "clincher" upon the measure
The debate brought out the first
"shirt-sleeve" orator of the session,
and moved plain Bill" Fisher, of
Prince Georges county, an uncompro-
missing anti, to some remarks about
women in general, and suffragists in
particular, which provoked roars of
laughter
There are other suffrage bills in the
House including the Burdette bill for
municipal suffrage. and the ants bill
for Constitutional amendment with
referendum. An attempt to bring
up and kill the Burdette bill imme-
diately after the Wright measure was
defeated by a motion TO adjourn. But
there seems little doubt that the suf-
fragists mustered their fun strength
! in trying to save the Wright bill, and
the fate of the Burdette bill seems
certain And as the SUITS are very
much opposed to a referendum. it
scarcely seems probable that they will
make serious effort TO support the
measure introduced by the ants.
Delegate Wright. of Caroline, the
author of the bill, was the shirt
sleeve" orator of yesterday. a serious
and ministerial looking gentleman
who in the course of his address, ask
ed, What is the meaning of the word
sissy" which he said he had been
called, became warmly eloquent in
The half hour speech which he made in
defense of his measure. lie had been
speaking only ten minutes, however
when he announced that he was get
ting too warm. and he Immediately
Invested himself of his long frock coat
and went to il" to the acCompani-
ment of the tumultuous APPLAUSE and
loud laughter of the House Just after
taking off his coat he quoted that
passage of Scripture which admon
ished one to LAY aside every weight
and every sin" when entering the race
for good
Delegate Norris and Delegate Dowell
next spoke for the measure. when
Bennett. of Baltimore county, took the
floor in opposition to the bill. None
of the speakers. except Wright, spoke
for more than 10 minutes.
During the vote however. several
members explained their stand. Among
these was Fisher of Prince Georges,
Fisher. talking to Coburn, said:
There was time when l had the
same disease you have" and he said
if he were an expert alienist he would
call the disease "suffragitis"
Mcintosh. the last to speak against
the bill. made the motion to lay on the
table. and when this was adopted,
League of Baltimore moved the
/ Clincher
The bill was introduced at 1 o'clock
and the vote was announced at 6. All
of the suffrage workers, and many of
the ants were on hand, but there was
no great demonstrations from the gal
leries.
The Burdette bill will probably
come up today