Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-19
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Features Of the Special Session.

Features of the Special Session.
Ii is apparent that the two leading
features of. the special session OF the
General Assembly, which will convene
st Dove2 at noon on Monday will be
EQUAL Suffrage and the School Code
The latte. it is said, will be first considered
as the Republican factional leaders who
are fighting Governor Townsend and
endeavorins TO defeat his efforts to be
/, elected delegate to the Republlcan
/ National Convention seem to be using
the code as a club with which to beat
him down. They care not whit for the
interests involved in our public school
system, SO long as they can gratlfy their
factiona! spite against the governor.
But it is different in respect of the
contest over the ratification OF the Equal
Suffrage Amendment. That IS womans S
fight and politicians concern. Women
are actively engaged in urging ratlhca-
tion, and arc bringing every possible
rrrssu,re tn bear upon members Of the
LEGISLATURE TO vote for ratlhcauon.
Manv politicians. both Republican and
Democratic, are dong likewise. They
arc urging the members representing
their respective parties 10 vote for ratih-
cation, in order that one party NAV not
s,z,re more than the other the political
advantage they believe will accrue to
granting the privilege of franchise to the
women of Delaware and possibly, through
annroyaI bv the Delaware Legislature,
siding in bringing about the result IN
time to permit all women throughout
the country TO participate IN the election
for President and Vice-President. next
November.
But not all the women or all the poiiti-
ciaps are working for ratification OF
the Suffrage Amendment. The women
opposed to suffrage are as active as the
women proponents of the cause, and they
claim. as the result of a canvass made
more than q year ago, to represent q large
majority of the women OF Delaware. They
have headquarters at Dover, and will
fight ratification to the last ditch. Also,
politicians of both parties are found IN
opposition to ratification, and they will
appeal to the representatives of their
respective parties IN the Legislature TO
set their faces against the cause OF votes
for women.
So here we have all the elements Of a
contest of intense earnestness, possibly
of much bitterness, and surely of extra
ordinary interest. The activities of the
women workers, pro and con, will not
be confined to Dover. They will extend
al over the State, a nd, 1t is said. into
the homes of members of the Legislature.
And so the latter stand for having the
contest over Equal Suffrage dinned into
their ears not only at Dover, but in the
usually safe refuge of their families
How interesting this may be. Fancy
the predicament of legislator who may
be averse TO women voting to have the
wife of his bosom sternly or appealingly
requesting him, possibly ordering him,
to vote for ratification of the Suffrage
Amendment. Consider the dilemma of
the legislator who believes in Equal
Suffrage as matter of principle having
his principles assailed by the partner of
mis- joys and sorrows In persistent appeals
not 10 make voters of the thousands of
eolored women in the State, thereby
incurring the danger of making them, by
reason of the undue political prominence
they will be clothed with. more reliable,
more impudent. and generally more IN
satisfactory as helpers in housework than
many Of them already are Also think of
the horrible possibility Of the legislator
who votes against the desire Of his spouse
being confronted on his return home with
an angry, scorned woman, armed with
rolling-pin or Fatiron and thirsting for
revenge.
Verify, the-lot of the average legislator
at the special session viii be hard one
There will be no isle of safety in the form
of compromise for him to resort to. 1t is
a matter of either for or against Politi-
clans of the Republican party will ask
their party members TO vote for ratifca-
ton for the sake Of the party, which
would gain tremendously in yotIngstTength
thereby Others will insidiously urge them
70 vote against ratification in order to
preserve the Republican party of Della
ware from complete Negro domination
Democratic politicians will urge Demo
cratic members to vote for ratification