Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1919-06-18
IOWA Will RATIFY|
VOTES FOR WOMEN
Special Session of Legislature next
! Winter Certain to Approve
WILL BE ONE OF FIRST
STATES TO TAKE ACTION
House Strongly For Suffrage and
Senate ON Record For National
Suffrage Despite Defeat Of
Primary Law Amendment
i'm Last Session

Des Moines-That Iowa will ratify
the woman suffrage amendment to
the constitution at special session
of the legislature next winter seems
assured.
There is possibility that the code
commission now at work on code re-
vision may not finish it's work in time
for a special legislative session to
act on revision next winter Cover
nor Harding however stated officially
yesterday that he would call a special
session to consider woman suffrage
in case the code commission was not
ready to report.
While the attitude of the Thirty
eighth general assembly was a dis
appointment to woman suffrage
workers in Iowa nevertheless there
is little or no question but that when
it comes to a question OF natiop"'
suffrage for women it will receive
hearty support. In fact the house
was strongly for suffrage all thru
the last legislative session but the
senate was against it.
The opposition of the senate to
suffrage was particularly shown in
the defeat of the measure which
would have permitted women to vote
at the primary elections This meas
ure was introduced in the senate by
Senator Holdoegel OF Calhoun county
and in the house by Representative
Weaver of Polk. The HoIdoegel bill
dragged along in the senate and the
house passed the Weaver bill by a
vote of Sc to 15. When the Hoidoe-
gel bill finally came up in the sonar
the Weaver bill was substituted for it
and then this bill was finally beaten
by a vote of IT to 81.
'.Dirty Politics" i'm Senate.
The defeat of this primary bill
was looked upon and generally re-
ferred to as dirty politics" on the
part of political leaders aspiring to
high positions who were afraid of
the vote which women might cast.
However, in order to sort of square
themselves the senator's opposing pri-
mary suffrage championed constitu-
tional suffrage by state amendment
and for the third time in the past
eight years the legislature voted to
grant constitutional suffrage thru
amendment of the state constitution.
This must be passed on by the next
legislature, the Thirty-nfnth, and
then voted on favorably by the peo-
pie before it can become a law.
The special session could not vote
on this state constitutional amend
ment since it is the same body which
first voted on it.
Another suffrage measure which
the house passed promptly but which
the senate endeavored to head off but
finally passed was the Schaffter bill
giving women the right to vote for
president, vice president or presiden-
tial electors. AS matter of fact
after securing the passage of this
measure in a number of democratic
states the women suffrage workers
had the republican states over a
: barrel and the democratic states also
for that matter. Because ir one state
denied to it's women the right to
vote for president of the United
States while other states were grant
ing the privilege, it would be deny
ing itself a considerable voice in the
election of president ana perhaps
contributing default to the election
of some candidate the state might
favor.
However, when it comes to ques'
tion of national suffrage 1t is recog
nized that the opponents among the
members of the Thirty-eighth Gener
al Assembly would be few and II Il
generally recognized. the act of con
gress would be ratified by bis
vote.
Iowa stands a good chance of be
ing one of the first thirty-six states
to ratify the congressional act witt
the special session of the legislature
assured. According to the dispatches
from Washington however suffragist
all thru the country will urge specia
sessions OF their legislatures to ac
IN time to permit the women to yot'
4 at the next general election The fea'
a is expressed that a sufficient numbe
OF southern legislatures may refus
(. n ratify because of the colored vot