The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1919-05-22
WOMAN Suffrage
GAMING IN SOUTH
Municipal Primary Vote
Has Been Granted White
Women in Atlanta.

The municipal primary vote just
granted the women of Atlanta is indl-
catiye OF the ingenuity with which
women have gained their ballot rights.
This Is the second city OF Georgia,
state supposed to be locked and
barred against equal suffrage. to grant
city primary suffrage to women. The
other city Is Waycross which capitu-
lated two years ago before the old
American principle that taxation
without representative is tyranny" SO
many women in Waycross paid largt
taxes that the city invited white wom-
en- IN to the white primary elections.
By q majority. vote, with only one
dissenting voice, the Democratic City
committee OF Atlanta bestowed the
same right ON white women on May
Sd OF this year.
This committee Is made up of a Ger.
tain number OF men from each ward
and one OF its principal duties is to
decide on the regulations governing
primaries.
"The adoption of the equal suffrage
resolution by the committee means
that Atlanta has set the pace for the
state of Georgia in favoring the en-
reimbursement OF women. The action
was made possible by the fact that
the local primary committee controls
the white primary Of the city, which
Is not affected by state laws" says
the Atlanta, Georgia, press.
ut Is within the discretion of the
committee, which acts under sort Of
sgentlemen,s agreement to grant the
ballot to Atlanta women for any one
primary, although similar action would
have to be taken by subsequent COM
mittees to give them this privilege in
succeeding elections"
Theoretically we have obtained a
small share of what we should have"
said Miss Eleanor Raoul, a young
woman law student in Atlanta, and a
former member of the National Amer1-
can Woman Suffrage Associations
Research bureau. But practically we
have. as far as municipal politics goes,
gained as much as we would have,
under broader rights because 1t will
be long, long time before there is
more than one party In Georgia"
The efforts of Atlanta women to
gain this local right began in 1915,
two years before Waycross women got
1t.
The Significance of the Atlanta act
was enhanced by the cablegrom from
Paris, announcing that Senator Will
liam j. Harris of Georgia, had pledged
himself to vote for the federal suffrage
amendment.
This appeared almost Simultaneous
ly with the gain of women's right to
enter into Atlanta primaries.
Both victories coming together
have tremendously heartened the
women of Georgia, who feel that the
wedge of equal suffrage has been driv-
EN- deep into the mind of the Georgia
electorate.
They point to the infinitesimal
speck of equality gained in Tennessee
when Lookout Mountainous little
town near Chattanooga-gained mu-
nicipal suffrage two years ago; now
Tennessee has statewide municipal
and presidential suffrage.
Municipal suffrage, in conjunction
with presidential suffrage, has been
granted women by the legislatures of
Illinois, North Dakota, Nebraska and
Tennessee. It was also given the wom-
en- Of Vermont by legislative grant on
March p, 1917, two years before their
legislature gave them presidential
suffrage.
Women may now vote at municipal
elections in:
All incorporated towns in Vermont.
In Columbus, East Cleveland and
Lakewood, Ohio (1a17).
These are all Home Rule cities,
which. under ohio's new constitution,
can make their own charters. The
woman.s ballot was gained therefore
In these cities by referendum to the
voters at the polls and not by the leg
islature.
In Florida the following charter
towns have equal municipal suffrage:
Fellsmere, 1915, In st. Lucie county;
AnrantiR and Cocoa, In Brevard coun-
II; Orange City and Deland, in
Volusia county; West Palm Beach
and Delray, in Palm Beach county;
Florence villa in Polk county; Moore
Haven, in De Sofa county; Clearwater
In Pinellas county. All these in 1917.
Orlando In Orange county in 1918.
These are charter towns. Precedent
WIS set when the legislature granted
charter including woman suffrage to
Tellsmere. Since then similar char
ters have been granted to the remain
ing towns Governor Cats signed
the Orlando Woman Suffrage charter
10 April OF this year.
Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, also
has municipal suffrage for women by