Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-31
SUFFRAG|STS NOT
So HOPEFUL NOW
Reports From North Carolina and
Tennessee Prove Dis
quoting.


Washington Special TO Baltimore sun.
Washington, July Qualification Of
the Nineteenth Amendment by the thirty
sixth State in time TO permit 20,000, 900
| American women 10 participate IN the
| Presidential election, which was assumed
| to be virtually an accomplished fact when
| Governor Roberts Of Tennessee announced
that he would call bis General Assembly
into extraordinary session, is once more
in the balances.
| In fact suffrage leaders themselves
candidly admit that they are discour-
aged over the outlook and are frankly
| fearful that the South cannot be de-
pended upon to furnish the one vote
| necessary to put the amendment into
operation The reports they have been
receiving for the past few days are not
| At all to their taste.
Information which has come from
| Nashville to the effect that the amend
ment ut this moment is 81 votes short
| Of victory in the Tennessee Legislature
six votes lacking in the Senate and is
votes In the House-has been followed
| by equally disquieting information from
| Raleigh. n. 6, II is said that North
| Carolinians are dccisively against rati-
| fication
The North Carolina Legislature will
sit for 20 days, beginning August 10,
primarily To consider O revnluation pro-
gram for the State This was the bnsis
| Of the call issued 10y Governor Beckett,
hut once that body reassernbles 1T may
take up the question Of ratification of
the amendment and is certain tn do 80
| If Tennessee balks. as now seems likely.
Originally, Governor Beckett was
sufTragist i'm a mild sense. This was
! nj pf N a
tor. Lee s. overman, was overwhelming
Nv renominated for the Senate on an
antisufraeist platform. Since that time
tho Governor has been suspected Of
weakening in his enthusiasm for equal
suffrage He was recently quoted as
saving that he hoped the Tennessee
/ Legislature would ratify the amend
ment. thereby saving his own State the
excitement and bitterness which he fore
saw II the fate Of the measure were put
UP to the North Carolina Legislature.
Advices received here from Raleigh IN
dicate that the present Legislature OF
the State is unsympathctic IN its attitude
toward the reimbursement Of women.
| No polls have been made in detailed
form. but general survey az the situa-
ton indicates that If the Legislature were
to vote tomorrow il would reject the
branches
To what extent the pressure from the
outside NAV change the votes OF the tar
heel legislators however if it is found
that North Cardinals vote Is needed TO
accomplish ratification Of the amend
ment remains to be seen. Experience IN
Louisiana and Tennessee indicates that
this pressure il Of little avail, the law
makers Of those Commonwealth AK
ing the ground that local and sectional
interests are paramount to the interests
Of the party ~ whole.
II was faan for granted few weeks
ago that Tennessee would not long hest
tate sin tho matter Of ratification Il a
means could be found Of overcoming the
Tennessee constitutional prohibition
against action BY the Legislature on a
Federal amendment submitted after the
Legislature in question had been elected
When the Supreme Court held IN the
Ohio case that State constitutional
provision could not control the manner
IN which State may act upon an amend
/ ment to the Federal Constitution the
obstacles IN Tennessees case seemed to
have been removed
But a qualm has risen in the minds Of
Tennessee legislators. 1t so happens that
they take an oath 70 support the Constr
tuition Of their own State and that Con-
stitution inhibits them from voting on
the Nineteenth Amendment The big
issue which has been raised at Nashville
therefore is not whether the Anthony
amendment should or should not be rati-
fed but whether a member OF the Legs
lature is justified IN violating his oath OF
office, even upon assurance from the
United States supreme Court that his
State law is without binding effect.
Also II Is apparent to suffrage lead
ers here that the anti-suffrage campaign
which eliminated in the burning appeal
sent by the women OF the South to Gov
ernor Cox enioining him as a natter
of party honor If nothing more TO aiC
in defeating the amendment, y havinl
its effects upon the Southerners who vii
SIT at Nashville August S.
Reports from the Tennessee capita
also add that the Republican member
of the legislature of which there ar
about one-fourth have not Responded
as was expected to the plea Of Senate
Harding in behalf of ratification Practi
cally all of these Republicans are from
the East Tennessee counties wher
equal suffrage has never been popula
and it is perhaps not surprising tina
something like half of the Republican
members of the lower house are COUNTIES
against ratification.
If both Tennessee and North Carolin
reject the amendment, its fate will b
sealed insofar as this election is con
cerned Neither of the two New Eng
land Republican governors who hav
been plead with to call their legislator
together to provide the 36th vote ha
yielded and there is not the shghtes
hope in suffrage circles here that eithe
will yield.